Managing academe: The AAU provosts

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to illuminate the role of the chief academic officer at research universities. First, it identities the activities of provosts as a collective---as a group of similarly situated executive managers who interact with one another on a regular basis. Next, it examines the careers of chief academic officers, including their transition into administration and their professional relations with presidents, deans, and faculty. Further, it identifies and analyzes the spoken agendas of the provosts, including the management mechanisms they employ and the directions they pursue. Fundamentally, it asks, "What is the role of chief academic officers at research universities, and where are they taking their institutions?" The investigation is a multiple case study of twenty AAU research university provosts and five collective bodies through which they meet and interact. The study employs qualitative research methods including participant-observation, direct personal interviews, and document analysis. The data gathered in the study is analyzed through the frameworks provided by several organizational and sociological theories as applied to leadership and management in higher educational organizations. Chief Academic Officers at research universities are revealed in this study to be interconnected executive managers who work individually and collectively to advance the cause of research universities and to establish the directions pursued on the campuses. At once complex and contradictory, the role of the research university provost begins with reluctant acceptance of administrative responsibilities and progresses through the acquisition of new knowledge and skills to the utilization of powerful management mechanisms and professional contacts. Ultimately, the provost draws upon these skills, mechanisms, and contacts to advocate for the advancement of research universities generally and to reshape the campuses individually in response to the competitive marketplace. As they do so, the activities of deans and faculty are redirected to projects that benefit the institutions through the attraction of external resources.