University presidents: leading an ‘organized anarchy’
As Dr. William Cooper prepares to pass the mantle of presidential leadership to Dr. Edward Ayers, this is an opportune time to reflect upon the position of university president.
There are differing views about presidential leadership in higher education, but much of the literature underlines the position’s peculiar lack of authority. Some years ago, an important study by the Association of Governing Boards suggested that the college presidency “operates from one of the most anemic power bases in any of the major institutions in American society.” The classic work in the field calls presidential leadership “an illusion” and the university an “organized anarchy.” Presidents, for example, do not hire nor can they fire the faculty. They also operate within two systems of decision-making, one for academic concerns and one for administrative matters.
In most colleges, every major decision is made collaboratively and is subject to elaborate protocols of shared governance. Presidents have to answer for decisions over which they have little control, so responsibility often is divorced from authority. Off-campus constituencies—including local residents, public officials, donors and alumni—often feel a sense of ownership, and they demand to be involved.
Some observers say that these factors turn many presidents into “jugglers-in-chief” instead of leaders. I recall one Richmond Board of Trustees meeting with several contentious issues on the agenda and a group of students demonstrating around the lake for co-educational housing. One of the CEOs on the board whispered a comment that I heard often, “I don’t think I could do your job.”
The same studies that describe the presidency often suggest ways to exercise presidential leadership. Given the metaphor of “organized anarchy,” it is not surprising to hear the recommendation that presidents should be deft administrative tacticians. They should know how to play the peculiarities of shared governance to their own ends by delaying and deflecting the issues and by co-opting and distracting the opposition.
Others suggest that knowing and celebrating the culture and history of a university is the first lesson for effective leadership. Still others emphasize the president’s development of multiple skills, sensitivities and expertise in the political, administrative, collegial and interpretive domains.
I believe that one of the most important challenges of presidential leadership is to integrate its different dimensions into a coherent whole. It becomes a process of sense-making and sense-giving that is rooted in the narrative of a university’s identity. When a university’s vision for the future grows from its defining experiences and values, it can be translated into strategic leadership, and a whole series of connections follow. Budgets and plans become unified. Goals and actions are fused. Resources are created and matched with needs, as legacy and change are interwoven.
The history of our University shows something of the power of strategic leadership, since Richmond has creatively balanced legacy and change from its earliest days. Yet through all its transformations—from seminary to college, from college to university, from regional to national—its story is coherent and moving. Its exquisite campus provides a unifying sense of place, and its educational purpose to transform minds and lives has never wavered.
The University connects diverse educational opportunities with exceptional skill. It combines the intimacy of a college with the resources of a university. The University’s narrative shows collaborative leadership distributed widely in the pride, initiative, talent and engagement of our alumni, students, faculty and staff. Richmond does all this by keeping one of its defining values at the heart of its story—a sense of possibility that gives it the will to confront its weaknesses and the energy to accomplish great things. This sense of possibility has animated the life of the University and the aspirations of each of its presidents from the beginning, and I have total confidence that it always will.
Chancellor Richard Morrill served as the University’s seventh president from 1988–98 and as distinguished university professor of ethics and democratic values from 1998–2004. His book, Strategic Leadership, is scheduled for publication later this year.
