Academic Freedom, Shared Governance, and Leadership in Innovative Universities Richard K. Miller, Ph.D. President Needham, MA USA Keynote Presentation

What Makes Universities Great? World class universities are always the result of world class people PEOPLE “Making universities and engineering schools exciting, creative, adventurous, rigorous, demanding, and empowering milieus is more important than specifying curricular details,” Dr. Charles Vest, former President of MIT and of the US National Academy of Engineering. CULTURE

What Kind of Culture Is Needed? Intrinsic Motivation/Academic Freedom Shared Vision/Higher Calling Core Values/Respect for Others “I’ve never worked this hard in my life, and there is nothing I would rather be doing!” (Olin College) Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose(Youtube: RSA Drive)

Examples of a Culture of Innovation

Feasibility Viability Desirability INNOVATION Engineering and Science Business and Entrepreneurship Psychology, Arts, Humanities Educating for Innovation

Learning to Improvise Can Innovation Be Taught? Tony Wagner (Harvard University) Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World

Who Is Responsible for Attracting the People and Building the Culture? It starts with the President Establish and live your core values Create a shared vision Let your passion infect others Attract the right people in leadership “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi)

Leaders can’t create excellence from the top, but they can easily stop it (often unintentionally!)

What is the primary role of Governance? Defining the purpose and goals of the university Recruiting and supporting the President Assume fiduciary responsibility for all assets Preserve inter-generational equity in all forms (Trustees are unpaid volunteers who donate their time and treasure)

Does Governance manage the university? NO. The Leadership Team manages, the Trustees “govern.” If Governance isn’t management, what is it? Governance = Management = Leadership

Leadership: Do the “right” thing (President - CEO) Management: Do things right (Leadership Team - COO) Governance: Oversight Ask questions, judge the judgment of the President, change leaders when necessary (Trustees - Chair) Quality Cost Speed

What is Fiduciary Responsibility? Responsibility of the Trustees to act solely for the benefit of the university in protecting all its assets (money, facilities, people, reputation, etc.) Avoid any form of self-dealing and even the appearance of any conflict of interest Provide the highest standard of care and extreme loyalty to the long-term interests of the university

Teamwork: Trustees + Leadership Team Board – Leadership: NO SURPRISES Board Chair – President: NO SECRETS Leadership – Campus Community: Transparency Communication is Key It doesn’t matter what you told them. It only matters what they heard! 1.Tell them what you are going to tell them 2.Tell them 3.Tell them what you just told them!

Teamwork: Trustees + Leadership Team Challenges Credibility Academic culture = corporate culture The “clock speed” problem Lack of trust and respect Trustee micromanagement (weak President) Trustee disengagement (dominant President) Trustee “education” Trustee composition Level of detail in reports to Trustees Trustee workload and preparation for meetings Richard P. Chair, et al., Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Non-Profit Boards

Teamwork: Leadership Team + Faculty/Staff Challenges President – Leadership Team Transparency, nearly democratic decisions Leadership Team – Faculty Faculty naïveté/attitude “It’s not my problem!” They don’t know what they don’t know Alignment of values and rewards Freedom + Responsibility Chronic work overload for everyone Steven Sample and Warren Bennis, The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership

Strategic Planning in a University Assumes the future is predictable Assumes faculty energy can be directed Academic freedom implies open discussions and long planning period Trustees often assume top-down process and rapid conclusion Trustees often assume a “plan” involves implementation details Students, staff, parents, alumni, public as stakeholders

Summary Exceptional People Academic Freedom and Culture of Innovation President sets expectations and vision Leadership Team manages implementation Governance provides oversight and support A Complex Dynamic Ecology of Excellence