Leading and Managing the University – Presidents and their Senior Management Team

Abstract

This article focuses on the role and responsibilities of university presidents and their senior teams in leading and managing the modern university. The authors recognize this focus as a twentieth-century phenomenon, and that earlier studies, or studies in some parts of the world, would cast a different perspective on the presidential role, relationships, and central tasks. The central themes of the article include an exploration of the task of leading and managing the university and the range of literature relating to university presidents and to senior management teams. The types of literature in the field are wide ranging, from empirical studies and policy reports to personal and media accounts. After framing the scope of the enquiry, the authors outline landmark studies on the role and responsibilities of presidents. They also introduce seminal work on the much slimmer literature on senior management teams. They conclude by identifying research gaps in the field and point to areas where research can be strengthened and where new work is needed.