Search Results for: conflict

Challenging Androcentrism and Implicit Bias in the Academy

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

Higher education is still “a man’s world,” though it doesn’t have to be. But equipping women with tips and tools for getting ahead isn’t enough to level the playing field; deep change requires a shift in organizational culture. This is the first in a series of articles looking at how college and universities can navigate that shift.  by Rosalind Spigel, Organizational Development Consultant and Leadership Coach, Spigel Consulting  Recent studies have documented persistent gender inequities in higher education, including gender gaps in faculty salaries and only slow increases in the percentage of women in leadership positions. Women in higher education (and across sectors) face formidable barriers to advancement not only because gender bias exists on a personal level, but also because these biases are built into our organizational structures. Equipping women with tips and tools for getting ahead isn’t enough to level the playing field; deep change requires a shift in organizational culture. This is the first of a series of articles in which I will be looking at how men and women practice leadership traits, how these traits are often interpreted, and how biases held by both women and men keep women on the margins and impede their advancement […]

The Transformational Small College President

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

The recent Sweet Briar crisis highlighted the difficulties that at-risk institutions face in ensuring their basic survival. Not only has the feasibility of a women’s college been questioned, but also the viability of small colleges in general. Often, colleges respond to difficulties with incremental improvements and enhancements — short-term remedies that tend not to address the fundamental issues; stories about substantive change are harder to find. What are proven ways for a president to lead an at-risk institution back to long-term, sustainable financial health? Answers were to be found at a recent Academic Impressions conference, “Foundations for Innovation at Small Institutions.” (You can read the paper that sparked this conference here. The conference featured presidents of relatively small institutions who have led quite amazing turnarounds. I will share some of their stories — and insights that can be gleaned from them — below. A Diagnosis: What Makes the Small College Turnaround Difficult? Yet these turnarounds tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Why are so many at-risk institutions slow to react to their situation? The answer is that there is a clash of worldviews within the university, all competing for influence over the institution’s direction: It would be […]

Recruitment In Today’s Data-Driven, Evolving Higher Education Landscape

Posted on by Brady Stanton

It has been said that all the world is simply a struggle between the “Haves” and “Have Nots.” How you view admissions and recruitment at your university probably depends a lot on which type of university you work at, whether you’re at a public, private, or for-profit institution, and—especially—what the mission of your institution looks like. Are you at one of the private “Haves” or perhaps one of the public “Have Nots?” Are your founding and mission based on access for a wide swath of the population, or is your purpose designed to serve the elite students—and only the elite students—who have risen to the top of the pyramid of academic achievement we sometimes call “merit?” It makes a big difference. In my first post in this series, I wrote about marketing, and how all higher-education institutions do it to some degree. I also mentioned that the enrollment management and/or admissions/financial aid departments are leading the charge when it comes to the four components of marketing (price, product, place, and promotion). And in this post, we’ll get down to “brass tacks,” where we actually apply those concepts as we attempt to enroll a class in the next term that is […]

Creating a Safe Space in Your Class During a Crisis

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

You’re in class (online). Your students are in class. And all of your minds are on COVID-19, quarantine, and making ends meet. How can we as instructors step back, break down the sense of isolation and hopelessness, and use the sharing of our experiences of crisis to create a safe space for students to grow and learn?  by Marina Hofman, Ph.D., Palm Beach Atlantic University These are traumatizing times. Discouragement, uncertainty, and loss are sweeping across our nation—and our students are navigating uncharted territory in their lives. How can we connect with our students and bring them hope during this unprecedented crisis? Many of our students are distracted and scared. Many of our faculty are, too. How do we create space in our classes for both faculty and students to speak their stress and fear and find hope in moving forward together amid uncertainty? Faculty connection to students is essential for student learning and engagement even at the best of times. During this current pandemic, it is more important than ever. Safe to Be Vulnerable I made the decision early in my career to share my own story of fear, loss, and uncertainty with students. I do this in recognition […]

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