The chair of the board of trustees leads the board and facilitates board processes. He or she plays an important role in ensuring that the board effectively governs the institution and that trustees work together well. The chair is often perceived as the major spokesperson for the board. She or he is usually the primary point of contact with the…

The report documents a major breakdown in governance at UVA, focusing on the role of the board of visitors and its rector, Helen Dragas, who initiated the effort to force the president's resignation. It finds that the events at the university resulted from "a failure by those charged with institutional oversight to understand the institution…

The purpose of this research study was to enhance understanding of successful conflict management by community college Presidents through highlighting and describing conflict experiences with the faculty union or the board of trustees in a community college context. The following questions guided the research: (a) How do community college…

This manual is designed for those working with conduct boards composed of students and/or faculty. This manual serves two purposes: (1) To provide the Adviser and/or trainer(s) with guidelines, philosophy, and information so as to better structure your conduct board program (or to create one); and (2) To serve as an actual model for a manual for a…

One of the most significant changes in patterns of authority and influence in higher education during the last quarter century is the great growth of faculty power, coupled with rapid faculty professionalization. Several studies have pointed out that under ordinary conditions, ruling "elites" take over faculty affairs, and participation…

Presents an ethical decision-making model that can help presidents and boards maneuver through difficult situations. Describes six steps: identifying the ethical dilemma; gathering facts, self-monitoring, and consulting; asking important questions; creating alternate courses of action; evaluating alternatives; and implementing a course of action…

Conflict between a president and a governing board can be reduced by third party intervention. Before a board changes presidents, trustees should seek the best available outside analysts to help clarify issues and circumstances and identify possible alternative courses. (MLW)

Describes a campus conflict in hopes that information can help student personnel workers to assume a more effective role in conflict management. (Author/CJ)

Conflict between president and governing board or within the governing board can be reduced, it is suggested, through informal third-party intervention. Some broad categories of conflict are named including the finance dilemma, the divided board, the domineering individual, the special interest syndrome, and the breakdown in confidence. (MLW)

Because in academic controversy both judicial expertise and legal precedent are virtually nonexistent, an Academic Dispute-Settlement Commission is proposed. (IR)

The success of a country's education system depends to a large extent on the mutual trust and co-operation existing between all partners. However, numerous documented incidents in the media have confirmed that there is a field of tension between school governing bodies of public schools in South Africa and the Department of Education, which is of…

Despite the recent attention to shared decision making, there has been little research investigating the process. This paper presents and compares three case studies describing the leadership and decision making of three shared-decision-making teams over 4 years. The teams--from one primary, one middle, and one high school--were set in one school…

Boards should clearly establish what is expected of the university president, including the six elements of good leadership: tolerance of freedom, tolerance of uncertainty, the ability to integrate motives and efforts into a meaningful aggregate, the ability to persuade, the ability to represent the institution, and influence with superiors. (MSE)

The challenge for the college governing board is to use the assets of the institution's known past as a foundation for planning for the largely unknown future. They must handle the difficult tasks of replacing a president, responding to legitimate new demands, and avoiding institutional stagnation. (MSE)

As public universities look to private philanthropy to produce the capital to invest in quality, it is important to think carefully about the implications for universities and their foundations. In this new reality, the role of the public university president is becoming much more than simply the institution's academic leader. Instead, a leader's…