Page 105 - Crisis in Higher Education

Understanding the Root Causes • 77

their turn in administration and gladly returned to the faculty after
a few years on the job. This ensured that administrators would do what
they thought was best for the institution because they would most likely
return to a faculty position at that university for the remainder of their
career, facing the consequences, good or bad, of their actions. There was
an incentive to treat faculty fairly because the next administrator may
be a tenured faculty member whom they treated poorly. In addition, this
process naturally created experienced administrators, who could mentor
new ones, thereby creating an understanding of and links to the past.
This process maintained institution memory, which was valuable when
writing new policies and plans. There were not big differences in salaries.
Administrators may receive a summer salary if they worked twelve
months rather than nine months, which is the length of a typical faculty
contract. Plus, they might get a modest stipend. Because administrators
were usually senior, tenured faculty members, they had above-average
salaries, but there would often be tenured faculty who earned as much as
or more than top administrators.
Today, many high-level administrators, from college deans up the
ranks to president, are outsiders who are hired through a national search
process. Most of these administrators began their careers as tenured
faculty but have shifted to administration for various reasons. As part
of a cadre of professional academic leaders, they often arrive at a new
job looking for the next step up the ladder, seeking a similar position at
a better university, a better position at a comparable university, or both
a better university and position. They have limited knowledge of the uni-
versity, so it takes a year to learn the ropes, another year to revise the
strategic plan, and soon after they are occupied with looking for their
next job. There is very limited institutional memory, so the same ideas
and plans are considered and the same mistakes are repeated again and
again. Most of these people are honest, hard-working, and fair, but having
a professional administrative class and only a few years on the job does
not provide consistent, effective leadership. There are high-level admin-
istrators who stay longer than a few years, and they have the potential to
be very effective. To cope with the administrative change, a new industry
has emerged to help universities. These firms specialize in running job
searches that include building a large pool of qualified applicants, doing
reference checks, and managing the process. These firms often see the
same applicants more than once as they move up the ladder to better jobs
at better universities.