I’ve had some interesting experiences both as a student and as an employee in multiple higher-ed institutions and multiple states in the US. Having grown up with education-oriented parents (one of whom got their doctorate in education), I’ve always been aware of some of the tension-causing issues between faculty/admin (for example, in the University of Michigan, football is obviously something which is a source of revenue, but also a source of tension in terms of spending and priorities for educators). Eastern Michigan University had some serious issues with corruption and misuse of finances at the top of the admin hierarchy. It also had seriously questionable ethics when it came to student safety, and transparency (at the time I attended, a student was found murdered in the dorms, and there was a failure to clearly communicate to the family the cause of death, let alone the rest of the campus community). These are really specific examples, but they seem to not be outliers, but rather continuations of a trend of a widening gap between higher-ed “admin” and the higher-ed “community” (faculty/students/employees). I’ve observed it in every academic institute I have been a part of, with varying degrees of disgruntlement. I’m assuming there is always some tension simply due to the conflict of practical financial concerns are generally not in sync with the loftier “morality” that drives many to pursue careers in academia (a desire to contribute to the community, to help society as a whole, etc). I have frequently questioned the ethics of how institutions pressure students to purchase things from their bookstores that could more affordably be acquired online- obviously, a backbone tenant of OER. But I think the gap between admin and community is continually widening. Higher-level admin sometimes use what seem like almost police-style tactics with controlling information, ignoring or insulating themselves from feedback, and justifying decisions as being budget-based or “in the best interest” of the institution without actually being transparent about spending or budgets or allowing for fully-informed feedback from the community. In Jon Stewart’s July 22 monologue, he makes an emphatic point about higher-education and “pre-compliance”. I feel like this is perhaps the most visible fissure that seems to be the most universal between higher admin and campus communities.
It seems to me that there is almost a contempt being shown by those who are in control of major decisions in administrations towards campus communities, and this has not only highlighted a difference of priorities and values, but also is the start of a concerning trend that we have already seen in politics across the globe, but particularly in the United States- a trend of ignoring regular democratic safe-guards, making more decisions “behind closed doors” (cue Hamilton song “The Room Where It Happens” ) and realizing how much higher-ed admin can get away with. An example of this being the entire fiasco that was the short-lived presidency of Bob Caslen at the University of South Carolina- something that I watched unfold with a mixture of anger and schadenfreude that was only possible when I was still under the impression that eventually poor group decisions by higher administrative officials would eventually have consequences. Although there were some, they only seemed to happen after extreme damage had been inflicted upon the school. And there is a dark vortex of who/what in terms of responsibility and fall-out.
I feel like everything I read, everywhere I look I’m seeing signs of reduced faculty and student input, and increased censorship/repression, where faculty and students alike are left feeling wrong-footed, lacking information, and losing agency.
I hope I’m wrong. I’m hoping that there are more positive stories of higher-ed communities working well in symbiotic, open relationships with higher-level admin. I’m just not sure where to look to find them. I’m not even certain what I hope to get out of this post- maybe proof that I’m extremely subjective and imagining things? Confirmation that others have been observing something similar? Anyways, I think the main focus/question I wanted to pose to the community: in your institution, do you feel like the higher admin communicates clearly and listens to feedback? Are there documented recent examples of the democratic process bridging the gap between community and administration? Is agreement due to fear of reprisal (either by admin from withholding of government aid/or faculty/students from admin?)
Or is this a splintering that’s been in the machine for decades and is finally becoming pronounced, with an unknown but inevitable breaking point? And does that breaking point look like academic institutions closing their doors permanently, or faculty and students accepting a voiceless role in the future? Or some other solution? Is it even possible for profit-based institutions in the United States (and maybe this expands beyond higher-ed, and goes to hospitals and prisons, etc.) to shift into a more European model of financing? …Or am I so completely out of depth and foolish that this entire post is completely out of touch with reality?