In recent years, the issue of administrative burden in universities has received growing attention around the world. Although professional staff are central to the operation of universities, little effort has been made to understand how these staff see these administrative burdens impacting their work, and to harness their views on how to best…

Research has noted an increase in negative workplace behaviours in the higher education sector between leaders and staff. A component of this change has been attributed to the managerial shift associated with faculty leadership roles. Positions such as dean are now sometimes filled via evidence of management experience when traditionally these…

This paper contends that one key reason for the lack of adoption of comprehensive change models based in higher education (HE) teaching and learning is that they lack a strong theoretical underpinning, thus potentially impeding their effectiveness in dealing with the complexities of human and organisational behaviour. Change theories that…

This paper examines trust as a fundamental aspect of fiduciary relationships in education. The specific relationship under examination is that of academic employee and university employer. Both have the value of trust assigned to them as an implicit part of their social and professional contract. The setting is Australia, but the principles apply…

Performance management systems have been an inevitable consequence of the development of government research evaluations (GREs) of university research, and have also inevitably affected the working life of academics. The aim of this paper is to track the development of GREs over the past 25 years, by critically evaluating their adoption in the UK…

This article examines Language Policy documents within higher education institutions in Sweden. Its main focus is on how national language policies and policies for internationalization of the higher education are reinterpreted as local language policy. The analysis of ideologies surrounding the prescribed language(s) in meetings of decision…

Can authentic leadership engender ethical communities? If so, in what ways? One way that leading authentically may help engender ethical communities is by attending to relationships. Focusing on relational aspects may have value in promoting the ethical potential of authentic leadership. For that ethical potential to be realized, however, leaders…

Deploying Russian philosopher M. M. Bakhtin's notions of utterances or communicative interactions, we explore the life histories of two administrators at State University, a predominantly White institution of higher education in the Midwestern United States. In particular, we explore how working with White students, peers, and supervisors demands…

The article explores the role of the Registrar (Chief Operating Officer) in a university, and the ways in which we value the contributions of professional, managerial and administrative (PMA) staff. It assesses the conditions in which PMA staff work and describes the professional development opportunities they enjoy. The article goes on to analyse…

This article provides a critical analysis of microaggressions and anti-discrimination law in academia. There are many challenges for faculty claiming discrimination under current civil rights laws. Examples of microaggressions that fall outside of anti-discrimination law will be provided. Traditional legal analysis of discrimination will not end…

Objective: Being successful in the role of an Interim Chair requires an approach to transitional leadership that is different from that of individuals filling the Chair role permanently. This article reviews pertinent literature on the topic. Method: The author reviewed the literature, cited pertinent articles, and supplemented with personal…

The metaphors of the ivory tower and ivory basement are used in this chapter to reflect how many women understand and experience the academy. The ivory tower signifies a place that is protected, a place of privilege and authority and a place removed from the outside world (and consequently the rigours of the market place). The ivory tower, by…

The current review presents both postulated and empirically tested consequences of university unionization and labor strikes on the North American institution's administration, faculty, and students. The review explores the impact of collective bargaining on employee working conditions including job security, academic freedom, university…

This study of 276 couples compares coworking couples, which means both partners work for the same university, with noncoworking couples, those couples in which only one partner is employed at a university. Among the employees at the two universities studied, one in seven dual-earner couples cowork. These couples are more educated and are less…

Conflict is common in college student life, where economic stress, close living conditions, and exposure to new people and ideas challenge students. Four vignettes illustrate typical conflicts concerning roommate relationships, workplace relationships among students, broken intimate relationships, and sexual harassment. Resolution options and…