This article provides an account of the undermining of collegial governance at the University of Alberta in relation to the restructuring of the university in 2020 by the senior administration and board on advice provided by the Australian consultancy firm, the Nous Group. The current president of the university has publicly promoted the…

In the last three decades, Canadian universities have grown in size and complexity and undergone deep transformations. Meanwhile, who should be appointed as highest-ranking administrative officers and what they ought to be doing once appointed has remained hotly debated. This paper examines how Canadian universities' understanding and framing of…

This paper examines how the stated roles and qualifications of Canadian university presidents and provosts have evolved over the past thirty years and the growing presence of recruiting firms. The study analysed 153 job advertisements published by 22 universities between 1987 and 2017. Roles were categorized according to aspects of organizational…

As of our most recent census data, racialized people comprise 22.3% of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2016). Canadian universities have espoused commitments to diversity and inclusion but there has long been a gap between the rhetoric and practice. Research has demonstrated that under-representation is a problem at all levels of…

Three years post-pandemic, the global higher education sector faces a crucial turning point. COVID-19 deepened existing inequities but also drove global innovation and adaptation. This report highlights five key themes discussed by Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) members from over 20 Commonwealth countries at the 2024 ACU…

Purpose: This paper reports on a research study examining opportunities for and characteristics of effective leadership for whole university approaches to health, well-being and sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-method qualitative approach was used: semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with vice chancellors…

Globalization has changed the landscape of higher education. The purpose of this study is to enhance understanding of how higher education leaders are engaging emerging questions about successful leadership, particularly when it comes to international student populations in times of crisis. Guided by the Intercultural Leadership framework, this…

Purpose: Universities claim to provide many benefits to their context. What remains less clear is what is meant by context. Whatever it is, context is fundamental to decision-making. Understanding what context means is crucial to understanding leadership in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Theoretically informed by Eacott's…

On October 20, 2023, Red Crow Community College ("Mikaisto") board of governors, elders, staff, and students made their grand entry into their long-awaited new campus. This marked a new era for adult education on the Kainai First Nation Blood Tribe, in Stand Off, Alberta, Canada. The college's former campus was located at St. Mary's…

This paper examines the growing influence and impact of university Vice Presidents (VPs) Research on coordinating Canada's innovation policy. As universities have become increasingly entrepreneurial, the institutional responsibilities go beyond policy implementation and have shifted towards shaping national level policy debates. By utilizing…

Using a sample of women natural sciences and engineering (NSE) faculty members from 13 Canadian universities, we investigated the impact of women academic leaders on women professors' perceptions of gender bias. Logistic regression analyses indicated that professors who perceived more workplace gender bias were more likely to feel that they needed…

This study examines earnings inequality by gender and academic field among senior university administrators, including presidents, vice presidents, associate and assistant vice presidents, and deans, using data from the Canadian province of Ontario. While a 4.4 percent earnings gap between male and female administrators is initially identified,…

This qualitative investigation addresses three "new universities" in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta and their presidents' ascriptions of organizational identity to their universities. Through extended, semi-structured interviews and narrative analysis, this investigation uses organizational identity theory and…

The rich potential of university/city government relationships is often overwhelmed by day-to-day conflicts over everything from planning and land use to transportation and noise. Such disputes--even a single, unresolved incident--can create an enduring narrative of antagonism that undermines the relationship ongoing. Leveraging recent doctoral…

The real compensation of senior university administrators in Ontario has increased by over 43% in the last decade. The escalation is especially pronounced for presidents and provosts: their pay has risen by 63% in real terms between 1996 and 2006. These trends have been evident in universities of all types, for both genders and for professional as…