Reference no: EM13372258
Frances Workman had been president of Willard University for less than two years, but during that time she had become very popular throughout the state. Frances was an excellent speaker and used every opportunity to speak to citizen groups statewide. She also worked hard to build good relationships with the major politicians and business leaders in the state. This was not easy, but she managed to maintain favorable relationships with most.
She also had worked on the internal structure of the organization, streamlining the administrative component. She started a new alumni club to help finance academic needs, such as new library facilities and higher salaries for faculty and staff. In addition, she lobbied the state legislature and the state university coordinating board for a larger share of the state's higher education budget dollars. Her favorable image in the state and her lobbying efforts resulted in large increases in state funding for Willard. Interestingly, Frances was so busy with external matters that she had little time to bother with the daily operations of the university. However, she did make the major operational decisions. She delegated the responsibility for daily operations to her three major vice presidents.
Before Frances's arrival, Willard University had several presidents, none of whom had been popular with the state's citizens or particularly effective in managing the university's internal affairs. The lack of leadership resulted in low faculty morale, which affected student enrollment. Willard had a poor public image. Frances worked hard to build a positive image, and she seemed to be succeeding.
Another state university, Eastern State, had Alvin Thomas as president. Al had been president about three years. He was not as popular externally as Frances. He was not a particularly effective speaker and did not spend much time dealing with the external affairs of the university. Al delegated much of that responsibility to a vice president. He did work with external groups but in a quieter and less conspicuous way than Frances did.
Al spent much of his time working on the internal operation of the university. When he arrived, he was not pleased to find that Eastern was under censure by the American Association of University Professors ( AAUP) and that the university had a large number of students without adequate faculty. In addition, Eastern was not involved in externally funded research. Al was committed to developing a quality university. Although he did not change the fundamental administrative structure of Eastern, he did extend considerable responsibilities to each of his vice presidents. He had high performance expectations for those on his staff, set ambitious goals, and reviewed every significant decision made in the university, relying heavily on his vice presidents and deans to implement them effectively. He developed a thorough planning system, the first of its kind at Eastern. He maintained good relations with the board of regents, but faculty viewed him as somewhat " stilted" and indifferent. Frances projected a positive image to people in the state and along with that had built a positive image of Willard. The results of her efforts included an increase in enrollment of more than a thousand students in the past year. This occurred when enrollments were declining for most other colleges and universities in the state. Willard received the largest budget increase ever from the state university coordinating board and the state legislature. Finally, the outside funds from her special alumni club totaled almost $ 2 million in its first year. Faculty morale was higher, but faculty members viewed Frances warily because of her external focus.
In contrast, Eastern received an average budget increase similar to those it had received in the past. Although Eastern still had more students than Willard, its student enrollment declined slightly ( by almost 300 students). However, the university was removed from AAUP censure. Externally funded research had increased by approximately $ 2 million during the previous year. Faculty morale was declining, and most faculty members did not believe they had an important voice in the administration of the university.
Discussion Questions
1. Based on the information provided, describe Frances's and Al's leadership styles.
2. What are the important factors that the leaders of Willard and Eastern must consider in order to be effective?
3. Compare and contrast Frances's and Al's effectiveness as leaders of their respective universities. What did each do well? What could each have done to be more effective?