Qualities of University Leaders in the 21st Century

Prof. Georg Winckler

President, European University AssociationRector, University Vienna, Austria

National University of Ireland, 2 December 2008

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Universities in the 21st century

Governance and leadership

Qualities of Leaders of Universities

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Universities in the 21st century(Modernisation Agenda 2006)

1. broaden access on a more equitable basis2. reach out to more research excellence3. break down the barriers surrounding European

universities 4. provide the appropriate skills and competences

for the labour market5. create genuine autonomy and accountability for

universities6. reduce the funding gap so that 2% of GDP will be

spent on HE by 2015; besides 3% of GDP spent on R&D and make funding more effective

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Universities at the beginning of the 21st century

(Ralf Dahrendorf 2000) I

(1) Little sense to search for an idea of the university, universities are „a ragbag

of institutions with no clearly defined boundaries and no substantive core”, there

are many institutions turning information into knowledge and providing (higher)

education.(farewell to Wilhelm v. Humboldt,

Cardinal Newman, Karl Jaspers)

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Universities at the beginning of the 21st century

(Rald Dahrendorf 2000) II

(2)Conditions under which universities will bloom: - autonomy, with funding from a variety of

sources- vibrant and innovative systems (exploring new avenues of knowledge, new

theories and applications, new methods of teaching, overcoming stagnation) - openness for the world outside, outreach - important issues of public concern are debated

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Governance and leadership

Faculty tends to maintain „shared governance“Trustees stress their role of ultimate responsibility and want „business standards“University leaders want flexibility, new institutional strategiesStudents as „silent stakeholders“

What are the optimal governance structures for the future?

Dependent on the mission and profile!

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Qualities of Leaders (Shaw 1999)

interpersonal competence (knowing the players, dealing with conflict)group knowledge (understanding groups and their dynamics)transforming organizations (implementing values, mission and vision)dealing with the public (speaking out loud, fund-raising)