University Governance and Management: Critical Engagements with Theory, Policy and Practice
May 13, 2015
This seminar provides an opportunity to critically examine changing modes of university governance and management in the context of global trends in higher education policy.
Two papers will stimulate the debate:
‘Ruling knowledge: Universities and the governance of knowledge creation’ Professor Rebecca Boden, University of Roehampton
Governance can be broadly defined as systems for or approaches to decision-making. The governance of universities is therefore the means by which decisions are made within them. Any form of governing involves the exercise of some form of power, and in this paper I explore the shifting and complex landscape of governing power in UK universities and ramifications that has for the nature of the knowledges produced and what they are used for. I will also suggest how governing regimes might be beneficially reformed to aid the further development of the social role of the university.
‘Appointing university executives: a case of managerialism in action?’ Dr Sue Shepherd, University of Kent
The prevailing academic narrative asserts that managerialism is all pervasive in today’s universities. But what exactly is managerialism and how does it differ from new public management and neoliberalism, terms with which it is often confused or conflated? In an attempt to gain greater conceptual clarity, this paper presents an ideal-type model of managerialism as ideology. This is then utilised to explore the extent to which recent changes to the appointment of deputy and pro vice chancellors might be considered symptomatic of ideal-type managerialism. Thus, the academic narrative itself is subjected to critical examination.
Find more information here.
16:00-18.30
