Academic Leadership Roles Research Articles

Tracking the Careers of Academic General Pediatric Fellowship Program Graduates: Academic Productivity and Leadership Roles

Objective Little is known about the careers of graduates of academic general pediatric (AGP) fellowship programs. We evaluated the careers of 2 cohorts of AGP fellowship graduates: an early cohort trained during 1978 to 1988, and a later cohort trained during 1989 to 1999. Methods We surveyed all known AGP fellowship graduates in both cohorts by using a confidential mailed survey. We assessed graduates' current professional work and analyzed curricula vitae for principal investigator (PI) grants; first-authored, peer-reviewed publications; and leadership positions. Results From the early cohort, 95 of 131 eligible graduates (73%) responded; from the later cohort, 93 of 133 (70%) responded. Two thirds of each cohort remain in academics; of these, nearly half are on tenure tracks and over half have major educational roles within their university. The percentage in the early cohort who have been PI on a research grant by 5, 10, and 15 years postfellowship was 44%, 53%, and 54%, respectively; in the later cohort, it was 62%, 75%, and 75%, respectively ( P = .004 vs early cohort). During the 10 years postfellowship, the early and later cohorts averaged 5.5 and 7.4 first-authored, peer-reviewed papers, respectively ( P = .4). By 10 years, a high proportion of both cohorts had become division chief (19% vs 16%), had other academic leadership positions (43% vs 59%), or were leaders in professional organizations (20% vs 30%; all P = NS). Conclusions Graduates of AGP fellowship programs have achieved considerable academic success. Recently trained fellows appear even more successful. The academic outcomes of these AGP fellows bode well for the future of AGP.

Successful Leadership Development for Women STEM Faculty

The Leadership Institute, funded by the National Science Foundation to encourage women faculty in engineering and science to prepare for academic leadership roles, was designed to increase the accessibility of such training for faculty in the Midwest by providing short-term workshops within their geographic area at low cost. The leadership training was limited to women who had already received tenure and focused on the portable business and leadership skills women need to make a successful entry into department chair and dean positions. The participants learned about budgeting conventions at their home campuses, but most of the training was designed to generally equip them for academic leadership roles. This article describes the training and reports the results of longitudinal data collection to document the movement of women faculty into named leadership positions and assess the effectiveness of the leadership training

The role of programme directors as academic leaders

This exploratory study investigates the academic leadership roles and responsibilities performed by programme directors in higher education (also known as programme leaders or course leaders). It will be argued there has been a lack of recognition and research into the leadership role for programme directors, attention instead focusing on departmental heads and senior managers. The many challenges facing higher education are discussed, including the need for effective leadership. Failure to recognize, identify and develop the skills involved could be a costly omission for any institution. The study described in this article draws on a number of in-depth informal interviews with academic staff, each encouraged to reflect and ‘tell their story’ regarding their role in providing academic leadership and to explore key themes and critical factors to achieving success and to consider if the perspective on academic leadership at programme director level can be identified. The study identifies themes which suggest that programme directors provide a unique and influential academic leadership role; one that has a significant impact on the quality of student learning and programme innovation. The findings also suggest a programme director’s ability to lead is not derived from positional authority but in their ability to influence by transforming policy into practice. The concept of ‘influence’ represents a recurring theme in both the literature and the findings of the study. The degree to which programme directors have influence is governed by the individual’s personal attributes and the situation within which they operate. The organizational structure that best permits programme directors to develop their leadership potential is one based on shared or distributed leadership.

Identifying challenges for academic leadership in medical universities in Iran

CONTEXT The crucial role of academic leadership in the success of higher education institutions is well documented. Medical education in Iran has been integrated into the health care system through a complex organisational change. This has called into question the current academic leadership, making Iranian medical universities and schools a good case for exploring the challenges of academic leadership. OBJECTIVES This study explores the leadership challenges perceived by academic managers in medical schools and universities in Iran. METHODS A qualitative study using 18 face-to-face, in-depth interviews with academic managers in medical universities and at the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran was performed. All interviews were recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim and analysed by qualitative content analysis. RESULTS The main challenges to academic leadership could be categorised under three themes, each of which included three sub-themes: organisational issues (inefficacy of academic governance; an overly extensive set of missions and responsibilities; concerns about the selection of managers); managerial issues (management styles; mismatch between authority and responsibilities; leadership capabilities), and organisational culture (tendency towards governmental management; a boss-centred culture; low motivation). CONCLUSIONS This study emphasises the need for academic leadership development in Iranian medical schools and universities. The ability of Iranian universities to grow and thrive will depend ultimately upon the application of leadership skills. Thus, it is necessary to better designate authorities, roles of academic staff and leaders at governance.

Leadership Development in Dental Education: Report on the ADEA Leadership Institute, 2000–08

This report describes participants' assessment of their experiences in the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Leadership Institute program. The ADEA Leadership Institute is designed for mid-career faculty members who desire to attain administrative roles within their own or other institutions or enhance their effectiveness in these roles. This year-long program, conducted in four phases, is ADEA's flagship career enhancement program and provides dental educators with perspectives about oral health policy and legislation, organization and financing of higher education, the dental school's role within the parent institution, financial management, legal issues, recruiting faculty, and opportunities to acquire and practice skills associated with effective leadership. ADEA Leadership Institute Fellows also explore team-building, personality preferences, leadership styles, emotional intelligence, stress management, work-life balance, strategies for leading change, and giving and receiving feedback, as well as engaging in self- and peer assessment throughout the year. Each year up to twenty-one fellows are selected to participate in the institute in a competitive application process. In 2009, 149 fellows who participated in the institute from 2000 to 2008 were invited to take part in a survey to establish their profiles and academic leadership roles, determine their perceptions of the benefits from the institute curriculum, and elicit their suggestions for improvement. The survey response rate was 73 percent (n=109). Ninety-nine percent of respondents gave an overall positive assessment of their experiences. The most beneficial experiences, according to respondents, included networking with the program participants, advisors, and instructors (78 percent); self-discovery through self-assessments and evaluations (44 percent); and a 360 degree feedback process to provide additional reflection about areas for improvement (17 percent). Least beneficial experiences identified by survey respondents included sessions devoted to oral health legislation (33 percent), group projects (28 percent), and mentorship received during the institute year (12 percent). In the final part of the survey, participants provided suggestions for improvements and new areas for program planners to consider. Additions to the current curriculum (30 percent)-such as how to recruit and retain faculty-and advanced leadership training (15 percent)-including behavioral change theory-topped the improvement list. The results of this study indicate that the ADEA Leadership Institute is fulfilling its mission. Fellows are advancing in their careers and assuming administrative leadership roles within their home institutions while making scholarly contributions to the literature and undertaking leadership positions in ADEA.

Hospitalist Takes on Academic Leadership Role

Hospitalist Takes on Academic Leadership Role

“Not doable jobs!” Exploring senior women's attitudes to academic leadership roles

In this paper we analyze selected findings of a recent Australia-wide empirical study that investigated the impact of the presence of senior women executives on management cultures. The study involved interviews with 255 senior male and female executives in Australian organizations from the public, private and tertiary sectors. This paper covers data gathered from five Australian universities where 81 interviews took place. It specifically looks at the fact that the women interviewed, all in senior positions as Dean, Director or above, had rarely put themselves forward for the jobs they were now occupying. Analysis of their responses demonstrates that many of the women exhibited conflicting views about senior positions. Some had experienced discrimination, others were reticent about their capacities, ambivalent about the choices or resisted the heavy demands of the jobs.

Women and Academic Psychiatry

This special issue of Academic Psychiatry provides an excellent and varied series of articles that celebrate the richness of women in psychiatry and highlight many of the challenges facing female psychiatrists in academia. The articles include surveys of female psychiatrists’ activities (1–3), reviews of the issues facing women in medicine and psychiatry during training and throughout their careers (4–7), and descriptions of the personal journeys of three academic psychiatrists with different backgrounds (8– 10). Since women now constitute approximately 46% of U.S. medical students and more than 50% of psychiatry residents, a better understanding of the issues and career paths of women in medicine and psychiatry is vital for those responsible for training physicians and structuring academic and medical care systems if we are to realize the full potential of women in our field. Psychiatry, pediatrics, and, more recently, obstetrics/gynecology have been the specialties most frequently chosen by female physicians due to the patient populations these specialties serve and the skill sets they require. In addition, many women choose psychiatry because it can be better time-defined than most other specialties and less intrusive to the rest of the practitioner’s life, therefore making its practice more compatible with parenting and other family roles. Although not overly-abundant, psychiatry has visible female leaders and role models, with several women having served as presidents of major psychiatric organizations and female psychiatrists holding prominent practice roles in the community. Today, female psychiatrists are more likely to enter academic careers than they were in the past but less likely than men to remain in academia or rise to the highest ranks. As a result, female psychiatrist role models at the highest academic ranks are sparse, and most Chairs and departmental leaders are still men. Many senior female psychiatrist role models are master clinicians and therapists, often serving as parttime or clinical faculty rather than full-time academics. Some suggest that this is a cohort effect that will change as more women enter our field and that women will eventually rise to academic and organizational leadership roles proportionate with their numbers. However, I believe that this prediction is unlikely, as women have a harder path than men in medicine and psychiatry because of both societal and professional cultural expectations. Our society continues to expect women to be primarily responsible for child and family care giving and the maintenance of the home, an issue, noted in one of the articles (9), that is even more significant in certain subcultures and for some international medical graduates. With the increasing number of dual career families, one member, usually the man, is expected to work full-time and earn the majority of the family income, while the other, usually the woman, is expected to decelerate her career and if necessary work only part-time in order to allow for time to take care of the children and the home. The training and junior faculty years coincide biologically with the usual time for child bearing and child rearing, resulting in female physicians with children being unable, and often unwilling, to devote full-time to a career that conflicts with their concurrent family responsibilities. This puts them out of step with the usual academic expectation that junior faculty are to devote full-time attention to their careers and establish a track record of productivity if they wish to be successful. In addition, postresidency research training, in either a formal fellowship or as a member of an ongoing research group, is often required for a physi

From the other side of the academy to academic leadership roles: Crossing the great divide

AbstractEvolutionary paths for faculty are no longer sacred routes to chief academic officer roles.

Research and development in technikons: lacunae and challenges

This article is underpinned by the current changes in the South African Higher Education environment and its impact on research within the Technikon sector. It is based on a case study of the M.L. Sultan Technikon (which has subsequently merged with Natal Technikon in April 2002 to form the Durban Institute of Technology). Instruments used include the weighted publication index for 2001 by amount of research activity and a survey of the structural and personal factors related to institutional research productivity. The rationale for the article is the growing sense of disillusionment among academic staff at previously disadvantaged Technikons that have a legacy of poor governance and research capacity. Also, standards of research and teaching have come under increasingly close examination as can be seen with the release of the New Academic Policy for Higher Education. Evidence from parallel investigations in the UK (Bassey 1995) and Australia (Ramsden 1998) point to the crucial role of academic leadership at management level in maintaining morale, enhancing productivity and increasing research output. The key recommendation of the article points toward a change in the dichotomous model of Technikon work (teaching versus research, practice versus theory) to continuous ones. More important to the Arts and Humanities is the need to devise appropriate measures of the range of scholarly outputs. (South African Journal of Higher Education: 2003 17 (1): 9-15)

Effects of Perceptions and Mentorship on Pursuing a Career in Academic Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology

To understand the perceptions of residents and Fellows in obstetrics and gynecology about the impacts of race or ethnicity, gender, and mentorship experiences on pursuing careers in academic medicine. Two surveys were administered: one to a sample of 2,000 Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and one to the 4,814 obstetrics and gynecology residents taking the 1998 in-training examination. The questionnaires asked about demographics, perceptions about careers in academic medicine, and residents' experiences with mentorship. Response rates were 96.8% for residents and 40.6% for FELLOWS: Of the residents, 26.1% indicated they would not consider a career in academic medicine. First-year women residents were more inclined to pursue careers in academic medicine than were first-year men (p =.042), but their interest declined during residency. Women residents (43%)-especially minorities-felt that men were mentored and recruited more for faculty positions, while men (38%) felt that women were mentored and recruited more. Fellows' reports of recruitment did not differ by gender. Most white residents did not perceive racial or ethnic bias in mentoring or recruiting, while most non-white residents did. Almost one third of non-white women residents felt that supervisors were more likely to condescend to women and minority individuals. It is likely that neither men nor women residents in obstetrics and gynecology receive adequate mentorship for careers in academic medicine. Perceptions of bias are a serious barrier to developing racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in leadership positions.

Managing the Effective University

Aabstract Universities face an almost certain future of relentless variation in a more austere climate. Changes in the environment — mass higher education, knowledge growth, reduced public funding, increased emphasis on employment skills, pressures for more accountability have been reflected in fundamental internal changes. One result has been a growing sense of disillusionment among academic staff. At the same time, standards of research and teaching have come under increasingly close examination, while inter‐university competition has never been greater. Evidence from several investigations points to the crucial role of academic leadership in maintaining morale, enhancing productivity, and helping staff to welcome momentous change. Tomorrow's effective universities will require academic managers whose leadership qualities resemble those of good teachers in higher education.

Modifying Students’ Perceptions of School Ability and Role through Classroom Intervention

This study was conducted to determine if students having successful academic leadership experiences tend to improve both their self-concept of problem-solving ability and their classroom performance. 5s of low self-concept of problem-solving competence were given special classroom intervention training preparing them to assume specific academic leadership roles. After functioning in classroom leadership roles, the experimental Ss modified their perceptions associated with their ability to perform in school, intensified their classroom involvement, and increased the productivity of their classroom participation more than the control Ss. The results of this study may indicate that classroom intervention programs can effectively assist certain students to enhance their self-concept of school-related ability and, thereby, to improve their classroom performance.