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No description available.

This historical case study of Eastern Mennonite University faculty between 1965 and 2000 explored the shifts in social bonds, examined through the concept of ritual (Collins, 2004), concurrent with cultural, social, environmental, and professional forces that impacted the institution. Employing the concepts of cohesion (as the specific other) and solidarity (as the general other) (Mead, 1934) provided a distinction between individual relational networks and the shared ideological commitments that bound faculty together.;Results of the study demonstrated the significance of intrinsic motivators on faculty hiring, persistence, and perceptions of institutional purpose and employment desirability. Physical space (as the place of assembly) and metaphysical space (as the sense of relational or conceptual connection) emerged as significant frames to understand social bond change. Physical faculty dispersal due to campus sprawl contributed to a reduced sense of relational closeness, making opportunities for cross-disciplinary social and task interaction increasingly important.;The terms of social bonds changed concurrent with the shift from strong to weak ties (Granovetter, 1973; Lindenberg, 1998). The strongly-tied religious, educational, and ethnic Mennonite community of the 1960s contained many mutually-reinforcing rituals. The shift toward weak ties was brought on by the professionalization and diversification of faculty, the reinterpretation of Mennonite values and beliefs, and other internal and external forces. The effect was a de-emphasis on ethnic Mennonite rituals as the source of cohesion, and an increased emphasis on educational task rituals. However, social connections established despite difference provided significant new bases for solidarity and cohesion in a professionalized religious community.

The purpose of this study was to portray full-time community college faculty with doctorates and to identify differences and/or similarities between two-and four-year full-time faculty with doctoral degrees. The author also hoped to explore why community college faculty with doctorates decided either to enter or remain in the community college sector of higher education.;This study used a mixed design to answer the research questions. The National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF-93) database was used to answer the first two questions. Chi-square analysis identified statistical differences between the two- and four-year faculty. Interviews with 21 faculty in three community colleges in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States were used to answer the third question.;Findings indicate that the two- and four-year full-time faculty with doctorates are similar. The pattern of differences between the two groups revolves around the community college faculty commitment to and engagement in teaching and the four-year faculty commitment to and engagement in research.;Thematic analyses revealed personal and professional motivators for selecting and staying in the community college. Personal motivators included feelings of self-satisfaction and intrinsic reward in addition to "fit" with personal and family needs. Professional motivators included enjoyment of teaching along with the existing challenges of teaching in the community college.

Colleges and universities have historically found that their projected image, character, prestige, and reputation is highly significant to success, even though these illusive indicators of quality may be little more than emotional responses to what people believe, rather than reality. These over-simplifications are based on filtered messages and perceptions, and when they occur, a Gestalt view results that relates to the institution as a whole. One avenue often utilized by institutions of higher education to achieve this institutional image or character is through the president or major spokesman.;One important historic case of the spokesman's role in higher education is that of Philip B. Lindsley, educator and Presbyterian clergyman, who served as president of the University of Nashville from 1825 to 1850. He is, in effect, the nineteenth century precursor of the twentieth century university president. While involved in all aspects of his small and struggling institution, he devoted much of his time and energy addressing the external affairs of the university. He solicited monetary support both from individual citizens of Nashville and from the State of Tennessee for his private nonsectarian institution. He was keenly aware of the power of the press in influencing public policy just as he understood that higher education is not an isolated entity, but instead, one that must fit within the overall needs of society--economically, socially, educationally (at all levels of lower public education), and morally.;The Lindsley of nineteenth century Nashville stood in dramatic relief to most college presidents of the time. But his legacy was not to be in his own university, which closed shortly after his resignation in 1850. Instead, the significance of Philip Lindsley would be in the themes he addressed, through public speeches and published papers, regarding the direction of higher education in Tennessee and beyond.;In this frontier environment, where the impossible was thought only slightly less attainable than the difficult, Philip Lindsley confused the visionary with the real and turned his dreams into illusions. Herein lies his importance as a "type" and "role" for the American college president.;His professional inscription stands separate from the University of Nashville. He became a symbol of educational leadership through the celebration of his philosophies and creeds. After a while and with his repeated oratory, Philip Lindsley's reputation gained increased acceptance merely because of his recognition. Image and institution ceased to be one.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the existing literature to determine how the line-staff structure may influence academic managers and their institutions. The study focused on identifying behavior-linked line-staff distinguishing variables on which academic line and staff managers may differ. Emphasis was placed on using information in the literature to generate new research propositions.;Forty-four documents which compared line and staff managers on one or more position, personal, and psychological variables were reviewed using a structured content analysis procedure. Twenty-one behavior-linked line-staff distinguishing variables were identified. The strength of each variable as a candidate for future research in higher education was measured by weighting each variable for breadth and frequency of documentation, consistency in reported findings, and continuity of interest. Dominant difference, impact, and behavior patterns for each variable were determined by calculating the percentage of agreement among documents on (1) how managers were reported to differ on a candidate variable; (2) how managers were reported to be impacted, i.e., advantaged or disadvantaged, by difference on a variable; and (3) what organizationally relevant behaviors were reported to be associated with difference on a variable.;It was concluded that the literature indicates that the line-staff structure shapes twenty-one variables differently for line and staff managers and that differences on these variables can lead to behaviors which disrupt organizational functioning. Further, the line-staff structure appears to influence academic managers in much the same way as it does their counterparts in other organizations. It was also concluded that some of the variables are stronger candidates for study in higher education than others, and that levels of agreement among documents on differences, impacts, and behaviors were sufficiently high to support using these data to formulate new research propositions about the line-staff structure and its influence on academic managers.;Specific conclusions for each candidate variable were expressed as new research hypotheses about expected differences, impacts, and behaviors. Overall, these hypotheses indicated that academic line managers may be favored by the line-staff structure while staff managers may be disadvantaged.

In response to the need for further research on promotion and tenure decisions, this study examined one of the criteria used in these decisions: inbreeding. Based on an analysis of the academic marketplace modifying Spence's theory of job market signaling behavior, the following research hypotheses guided the study: (1) female inbred faculty have patterns of productivity which are significantly different from the patterns of productivity of male inbred faculty; (2) inbred faculty show less professional advancement than noninbred faculty; and (3) inbred faculty receive fewer institutional rewards than noninbred faculty.;The data for the research was taken from the 1977 Survey of the American Professoriate. This instrument was designed and implemented under the direction of Everett Carll Ladd, Jr. and Seymour Martin Lipset. Seven statistical hypotheses were tested covering the productivity of male and female inbred faculty, their professional advancement, and their rewards. Methodological factors included a broad operationalization of academic productivity, the use of multivariate analyses, and the inclusion of a test for the statistical significance of discrimination in rewards.;The results of the analyses showed that inbred faculty do experience discrimination in rewards and in some areas of professional advancement. Significant differences were found in the patterns of productivity exhibited by female and male inbred faculty members. Women show higher performance in most traditional institutional areas while men emphasize external activities. The results indicate that institutional origin cannot be used as a reliable signal in the academic labor market.

The purposes of this study were (1) to gather information on advisor and advisee perceptions, (2) to gather information on advisor and advisee expectations, and (3) to analyze the satisfaction level of the participants. This research was conducted at the College of William and Mary during the 1980-1981 academic year. Questionnaires were used to survey both freshman students and their advisors.;The results indicated that in general advisees had lower perceptions of the Freshman Advising Program, had higher expectations for advising, and were less satisfied with the advising system than the advisors. These results were significant for the analysis of perceptions for the dimensions of Academic Planning, Knowledge, Personal Development, Developmental Advising, and Advising Style and for the Total Perception Score. In the analysis of expectations, these results were significant for the dimensions of Academic Planning, Career Planning, Knowledge, and Developmental Advising and for the Total Expectation Score. When satisfaction with advising was considered, the results were significant for all six of the dimensions and for the Total Satisfaction Score.;Female advisees had greater expectations for advising on Career Planning than male advisees. They also were less satisfied with their current advising on the dimensions of Academic Planning and Knowledge.;Satisfaction with advising decreased as advisees increased the number of visits to the advisor and as they lengthened the time in their advising sessions.;Advisee satisfaction with advising was affected by the congruence between the advisee's intended major and the advisor's teaching field only on the dimension of Knowledge. Advisees were most satisfied with advisors in the social sciences on all dimensions except Career Planning in which case they were most satisfied with advisors in the natural sciences/mathematics. Advisees were least satisfied in all cases with advisors in the humanities. Advisors did not differ in their satisfaction with advising by field.;Further research is indicated for three areas. First, the negative relationship between advisee satisfaction and length of advising sessions, number of contacts, and total exposure to the advisor needs to be investigated further to determine the effects on satisfaction which advisee-advisor dissonance in perceptions and expectations and which advisee personal characteristics have. Second, additional research on advisor teaching field as a criterion for satisfactory performance is needed. Third, the personal characteristics of advisors need to be studied to determine their impact on the advising system. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).

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The purpose of this study was to both identify and analyze those major political factors which had a significant impact on the establishment and growth of Richard Bland College. The study was also designed to record a significant period in the history of a two-year branch college and to provide insight into the political nature and developments of a changing Southside Virginia.;It was hypothesized that the establishment and growth of Richard Bland College was based largely on decisions of a political nature rather than on sound academic planning. Further, the effective use of politics enabled the institution to survive many of the crises it faced during the period 1958 to 1972.;The historical method of research was used in writing about the establishment and growth of Richard Bland College. This method allowed for the examination of primary source documents, the obtaining of oral testimony from participants and observers, and the scrutiny of relationships among people, places, and events.;It was concluded that politics permeated every major decision that was related to the establishment and growth of the institution. The role played by local, state, and national political figures and the rivalry that existed among local political sub-divisions materially affected Richard Bland College during the period being considered. Decisions of a political nature which related to nearby public and private colleges also affected Richard Bland.;Further research into the post 1971 period is needed to analyze the changing social nature of Southside Virginia and to determine the effect of neighboring colleges on the future of Richard Bland. The future viability of the institution might be studied in light of state and national educational decisions.