Inspiring a Shared Vision
Questions Regarding Higher Education
What value is there to be gained by studying higher education leadership? What difference can it make?
By studying higher education leadership, faculty and staff in the university environment can gain a better understanding of how the university is structured, affecting the way that they structure their classes and impact their students. Leadership affects many changes in the university, from the issue of tenure and professors to what groups are allowed to be present on campus. In addition, higher education leadership also plays a vital role in determining whether students and instructors will be penalized for perceived misconduct. Understanding how these processes work can make a major difference in how a university professor conducts him or herself and how students go about making requests. An extraordinarily relevant analogy is the relationship between a citizen and the federal government. By knowing how the federal government works, the citizen is more likely to be able to affect change.
2.How can we as academic leaders inspire a shared vision?
As academic leaders, we can inspire a shared vision by focusing on the student as the center of the academic institution. While academic institutions must operate as businesses in a sense, they also have a higher responsibility, and that responsibility involves preparing young people to not only be successful, but also to be socially responsible. If academic leaders focus on this goal, and put it before all others, it will be easy to promote a shared vision. While many academic leaders became involved in the educational field for professional reasons, generally, it is some higher ideal that generally drives a person to education. Certainly, it is important to focus on the business aspect of the university, or the institution would cease to exist, but spending more time focused on the idealistic description of education can inspire shared vision.
