Leadership and academic culture in the senate presidency - An interpretive view

This article utilizes current interview data from 42 senate presidents to analyze patterns of leadership orientations. The language and symbols that faculty leaders use reflects their beliefs and behaviors about shared governance. Three themes that arose from the interviews are discussed. References to citizenship, skepticism about faculty governance, and a desire for personal career gain were dominant themes. The study suggests that the various dimensions of academic culture influence leadership and that thinking of shared governance through a cultural lens rather than a bureaucratic or political standpoint enhances our understanding about how to improve shared governance.