Legitimacy in the Academic Presidency

Rita Bornstein

doi:10.5771/9781461638797

Summary

How did the 1990s and early 21st century impact the evolution of the college presidency? The legitimacy and performance of higher education were called into question during this period, and respect for some of its leaders declined. An economic downturn and the concomitant change of student enrollment patterns have required presidents to lead in compromised conditions. The new emphasis on financial management and fund raising has opened the job of academic president to those with nontraditional backgrounds. These new presidents must gain legitimacy differently from those of more traditional backgrounds, who are struggling with their own legitimacy challenges. In order to understand legitimacy, Bornstein has spplied theory from the social sciences and higher education literature, proposing five factors that influence presidential legitimacy: Individual, Institutional, Environmental, Technical and Moral. She also proposes six threats to legitimacy: Lack of Cultural Fit, Management Incompetence, Misconduct, Erosion of Social Capital, Inattentiveness, and Gradiosity. In light of these threats, she suggests strategies for gaining and maintaining legitimacy.

This book focuses on the impetus for leading change. Bornstein draws on numberouns sources for a theoretical perspective on the factors associated witht he president's role in creating legitimate change. She proposes a construct of four factors to implement legitimate change: Presidential Leadership, Governance, Social Capital, and Fund Raising. The concepts of transformational and transactional leadership are examined for their ability to facilitatle change. Bornstein finds their effectiveness limited and proposes "transformative leadership", a contextual approach that fits between transformational and transactional leadership in the conceptual continuum. Since presidents are often recruited on the basis of their academic experience, their legitimacy depends on securing resources to strengthen or transform their institution; fund raising is essential. Fina

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2003
ISBN-Print: 978-1-57356-562-2
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4616-3879-7
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 235
Product type: Book Titles

1. Table of Contents No access
2. Preface No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
1. Chapter 1. The Academic Presidency under Siege No access
2. Chapter 2. The Decade of the 1990s—A Time of Testing No access
3. Chapter 3. Millennial Requirements for Leadership Legitimacy No access
1. Chapter 4. The Presidency: Calling, Corporate Executive Role, Job No access
2. Chapter 5. Theories of Legitimacy No access
3. 1. Individual Legitimacy No access
  2. Institutional Legitimacy No access
  3. Environmental Legitimacy No access
  4. Technical Legitimacy No access
  5. Moral Legitimacy No access
  6. Presidential Legitimacy Rating No access
4. 1. Lack of Cultural Fit No access
  2. Management Incompetence No access
  3. Misconduct No access
  4. Erosion of Social Capital No access
  5. Inattentiveness No access
  6. Grandiosity No access
5. 1. Enhancing Individual Legitimacy No access
  2. Enhancing Institutional Legitimacy No access
  3. Enhancing Environmental Legitimacy No access
  4. Enhancing Technical Legitimacy No access
  5. Enhancing Moral Legitimacy No access
  6. Caveats for Presidents No access
6. 1. An "Interrupted and Discontinuous" Life No access
  2. An Unlikely Candidate No access
  3. Big Shoes No access
  4. The Tests of Leadership No access
  5. Acceptance No access
1. Chapter 10. The Impetus for Change: Crisis, Niche, Quality No access
2. 1. Organized Anarchy No access
  2. Chaos Theory No access
  3. Punctuated Equilibrium No access
3. 1. 1. Transformational Leadership No access
    2. Transactional Leadership No access
    3. Feminist Perspectives on Leadership No access
    4. Transformative Leadership No access
  2. 1. Governance Structures No access
    2. Strategic Planning No access
  3. 1. Trustees: Leaders and Servants No access
    2. Faculty: Experts and Innocents No access
    3. Administrators: Colleagues and Rivals No access
    4. Students: Challengers and Builders No access
    5. Alumni: Gatekeepers and Hosts No access
    6. Community Leaders: Suppliers and Buyers No access
    7. Politicians: Givers and Takers No access
    8. Donors: Drivers and Passengers No access
  4. 1. Resource Alternatives No access
    2. Fund-raising Legitimacy No access
    3. Presidential Attitudes No access
    4. The Big Hat and the Big Tent No access
  5. Change Legitimacy Rating No access
4. 1. Precipitous Presidential Departure No access
  2. Illegitimate Process No access
  3. Insufficient Funding No access
  4. Homeostasis No access
5. 1. Enhancing Presidential Leadership for Change No access
  2. Enhancing Governance for Change No access
  3. Enhancing Social Capital for Change No access
  4. Enhancing Fund-raising for Change No access
  5. Caveats for Presidents No access
6. 1. Great Expectations No access
  2. Seeking the Oracle No access
  3. Credits and Debits No access
  4. "On the Move" No access
  5. Through a Rearview Mirror No access
1. 1. Institutional Legitimacy in the Succession Process No access
  2. Rites of Passage: Separation, Transition, Incorporation No access
  3. Rites of Passage in Presidential Succession No access
2. 1. 1. The Decision to Leave No access
  2. 1. Search and Selection No access
    2. Testing and Assimilation No access
  3. 1. Passing the Baton No access
    2. Inauguration No access
    3. Acceptance No access
  4. Succession Legitimacy Rating No access
3. 1. Pandora's Box No access
  2. Intrusive Predecessor No access
  3. Inattentive Governing Board No access
4. 1. Ceremonies and Rituals No access
  2. Transition Planning No access
  3. Legacy Planning No access
  4. Caveats for Presidents No access
5. 1. Letting Go No access
  2. Recalling the Rituals of Entrance No access
  3. "To Be of Use" No access
Appendix A. Interview Schedule No access Pages 205 - 206
Appendix B. Survey Instrument, Cohort, and Responses No access Pages 207 - 212
Bibliography No access Pages 213 - 226
Index No access Pages 227 - 234
About the Author No access Pages 235 - 235