There is a growing body of literature on the roles that deans play in challenging times; however, what is often missing are deans' own voices as they reflect on their experiences trying to manage the dilemmas and crises inherent in their work. This is particularly true of the past few years when deans have managed unprecedented levels of…

"Crossing over to the dark side" is a popular reference to someone's decision to leave the supposed "good, pure, and honest" side of something to go to its "bad, evil, and suspicious" side. This idiom is typically used when an administrator moves into a faculty position or vice versa. While there is a plethora of…

This paper examines how the stated roles and qualifications of Canadian university presidents and provosts have evolved over the past thirty years and the growing presence of recruiting firms. The study analysed 153 job advertisements published by 22 universities between 1987 and 2017. Roles were categorized according to aspects of organizational…

Interpretive and narrative research approaches, the experiences of academic administrators other than deans, chairs, and presidents, and academic identity work beyond graduate students and beginning professors are all areas that are underrepresented in the literature on higher educational administration. This article builds on recent narrative…

The emergence of agreements between private pathway colleges and public English-medium institutions represents a new development in internationalization that further challenges the public higher education landscape. While these institutional arrangements are controversial and often criticized, university senior administrators have been…

Innovation and its associated practices (e.g., entrepreneurial-focused curricula, creativity initiatives, makerspaces) are increasingly moving from the periphery to the center of postsecondary institutional identities on an international scale. Set against this context, the purpose of this study was to examine a Canadian institution distinctively…

Higher education has seen a shift that means its leaders are no longer only being recruited and perceived as senior academics who lead teaching and research. Leaders are now sometimes recruited and viewed as managers who oversee the operation of their institution, college, faculty, or school. This paper analyses the initial findings of an…

Universities in most countries have become more managerial, but in different ways, for different reasons, and with different results. This article explores the collegial and managerial roles and qualifications of Canadian university deans. The study analysed 223 job advertisements published between 2011 and 2015. The analysis distinguishes between…

Over the past few decades universities and colleges have undergone changes that have increased the complexity of academic managers' roles. There is some evidence now that these managers have come to experience significant role ambiguity, conflict, stress, and other negative effects--and that their wellbeing has been compromised. However, the…

Policies for educational institutions reflect social values. However, modern Canadian society is pluralistic; many values are held, and often these are in conflict with one another. Neither an appeal to the facts nor reasoned argument will reconcile such conflicts. Policy makers must think globally and act locally to ensure that all levels of…

This volume contains 11 papers on the under-representation of women in higher education management in Bahrain, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru, the United States and Canada, the South Pacific and the West Indies. All papers were written by women vice-chancellors, presidents and senior managers of universities in those…

The university as a system of formal authority is considered in the Canadian context. The structure of the 27 largest Canadian universities (ranked by operating income) is analyzed with reference to their organizational charts. It is assumed that the structure symbolizes an official style of authority and responsibility reflected by the number of…

The need for networking to improve college administrators' managerial capabilities is discussed, and a new exchange program between British Columbia and England providing professional development and leadership education opportunities for senior administrators is described. Additional short-term professional development programs to help…

A study of 10 public colleges in Alberta (Canada) examined the role of value judgments in presidential decision making. Data were drawn from surveys of 10 administrators and interviews with 4 concerning decision making in representative situations. Findings are presented concerning the types of decisions made, processes used in making them, and…

A discussion of collective bargaining for part-time college faculty looks at research conducted in Canada and the United States and uses the case of York University (Canada) to examine the politics of collective bargaining and the mediative roles assumed by management in three specific conflict areas of part-time employment policy. (MSE)