Leadership Under Fire, Second Edition : The Challenging Role of the Canadian University President

An insightful commentary on the leadership challenges faced by university presidents and a comprehensive survey of the changing university landscape. While the role of the university president has evolved dramatically in recent years, the recruitment pool and selection process have changed little since the 1960s. In Leadership Under Fire, Ross Paul combines leadership theory, interviews with eleven of Canada's most successful presidents, and thirty-five years of personal experience to shed light on the complexity and importance of leading a university and identifies some of the critical challenges and opportunities facing Canadian universities today. Paul illuminates some of the ways in which Canadian universities are unique and uses these differences to make clear the importance of organizational, cultural, and institutional fit for leaders confronting critical academic issues such as academic leadership and accountability, student success and support, university funding and fund-raising, strategic planning, government and community relations, and internationalism. His analysis reaffirms some long-standing practices, while arguing that changes are badly needed in others. While much has been written about university leadership elsewhere, Leadership Under Fire focuses on Canada and some of the men and women who have made a real difference to the quality of its post-secondary institutions. Paul builds on their stories to offer useful perspectives and advice at a time when the quality of universities was never more critical to the country's economic, social, and political success. Cover Title Copyright Contents Introduction to the Second Edition Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations PART ONE: CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES AND THEIR LEADERSHIP 1 Distinguishing Characteristics of Canadian Universities with Implications for Their Leadership 2 Canadian University Presidents: Who They Are and How They Are Selected PART TWO: ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE 3 Organizational Culture and the University 4 Setting the Direction: Institutional Vision and Strategic Planning 5 Academic Leadership: Getting the Balance Right PART THREE: KEY ISSUES FOR TODAY'S PRESIDENTS 6 Student Access and Success: Confronting a Declining Undergraduate Experience 7 International Outreach 8 Financial Issues: Underfunded or Fat Cats? 9 Presidential Leadership and Day-to-Day Administration 10 The External Roles of the President 11 Institutional Governance and Presidential Accountability 12 Institutional Autonomy and System Diversity PART FOUR: THE WAY FORWARD 13 How Much Difference Does a President Make? The Case for Open Management 14 Leadership under Fire: Seven Major Issues for Today's Presidents Appendix A: Presidential Profiles: Eleven Who Have Really Made a Difference Appendix B: Universities Included in the Presidential Recruitment Survey Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z