Administration, Reform & Policy, Education Policy & Reform, Policy, Higher & Continuing Education 

The William G. Bowen Memorial Series in Higher Education 

"Locus of Authority argues that every issue facing today's colleges and universities, from stagnant degree completion rates to worrisome cost increases, is exacerbated by a century-old system of governance that desperately requires change. While prior studies have focused on boards of trustees and presidents, few have looked at the place of faculty within the governance system. Specifically addressing faculty roles in this structure, William G. Bowen and Eugene M. Tobin ask: do higher education institutions have what it takes to reform effectively from within? Bowen and Tobin use case studies of four very different institutions--the University of California, Princeton University, Macalester College, and the City University of New York--to demonstrate that college and university governance has capably adjusted to the necessities of the moment and that governance norms and policies should be assessed in the context of historical events. The authors examine how faculty roles have evolved since colonial days to drive change but also to stand in the way of it. Bowen and Tobin make the case that successful reform depends on the artful consideration of technological, financial, and cultural developments, such as the explosion in online learning. Stressing that they do not want to diminish faculty roles but to facilitate their most useful contributions, Bowen and Tobin explore whether departments remain the best ways through which to organize decision making and if the concepts of academic freedom and shared governance need to be sharpened and redefined. Locus of Authority shows that the consequences of not addressing college and university governance are more than the nation can afford"-- Provided by publisher. 

Table of Contents:
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix -- 1. Introduction 1 -- 2. Historical Overview, Part 1--From the Beginnings to World War II 13 -- Antecedents in Europe and Colonial America 14 -- The Emergence of the Research University 27 -- Control of Faculty Personnel Decisions--and Issues of Academic Freedom 34 -- World War I and the Interwar Years 45 -- 3. Historical Overview, Part 2--World War II to the Present 67 -- World War II and the Growth of Sponsored Research 68 -- The "Red Scare" and the Loyalty Oath Controversies 70 -- The Explosive Expansion of Higher Education, Leading to the "Golden Age" of the 1960s 77 -- Protests and Rebellions 87 -- Retrenchment in the 1970s--and Subsequent Ups and Downs 98 -- The Real Estate "Bubble" Breaks--and Fiscal/Political Realities Take Hold (or Do They?) 109 -- The Impact of Experiments with Online Learning 112 -- The Pathways Initiative at CUNY 127 -- 4. Faculty Roles Today and Tomorrow--Topical Issues 131 -- The Selection and Tenure of the President 133 -- The Faculty Appointment Process--Criteria and Decision-Making Authority 139 -- The Role of the Faculty in Giving Advice of All Kinds 142 -- The Role of Faculty in Staffing Decisions--and the Rise of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty (the New Majority) 151 -- Faculty Responsibility for Maintaining Academic Standards in Admissions, Curricular Content, and Student Performance 165 -- Control over New Teaching Methods--Online Learning 169 -- 5. Overarching Challenges 177 -- Confronting Trade-offs and the Need for Upfront Consideration of Costs 177 -- Aligning Roles and Responsibilities 182 -- Coping with an Ever-Changing Academic Landscape 189 -- Clarifying Notions of "Academic Freedom" 201 -- Rethinking "Shared Governance" 205 -- Case Studies 213 -- Introduction to the Case Studies 213 -- The University of California 217 -- Princeton University 261 -- Macalester College 291 -- The City University of New York 315 -- INDEX 361.