University Governance

Two City-States in the Long Shadow of China: The Future of Universities in Hong Kong and Singapore by Bryan Penprase and John Aubrey Douglass CSHE 10.21 (September 2021)

Bryan Penprase
John Aubrey Douglass
2021

Hong Kong and Singapore are island city-states that exude the complicated tensions of postcolonial nationalism. Both are influenced directly or indirectly by the long shadow of China’s rising nationalism and geopolitical power and, in the case of Hong Kong, subject to Beijing’s edicts under the terms of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Both have productive economies dependent on global trade, and each has similar rates of population density--Hong Kong’s population is 7.4 million and Singapore is home to 5.8 million people. It remains to be seen whether Hong Kong’s peripheral...

SCIENCE AND SECURITY: Strengthening US-China Research Networks Through University Leadership by Brad Farnsworth CSHE 11.21 (September 2021)

Brad Farnsworh
2021

This paper describes the current criticisms of academic research collaboration between the US and China and proposes a university-led initiative to address those concerns. The article begins with the assertion that bilateral research collaboration has historically benefitted both countries, citing cooperation in virology as an example. The paper continues with a discussion of the criticisms leveled by several US government agencies against the Chinese government, especially with regard to the Thousand Talents Program (TTP). A close examination of publicly available appointment letters...

The University of California’s Faculty Code of Conduct at Fifty: A Procedural and Sociological History of UC’s Evolving Ecosystem of Policies, Rules and Norms for Faculty Discipline, by William C. Kidder, CSHE 12.21 (December 2021)

Wiliam C. Kidder
2021

The occasion of the 50th anniversary of the University of California’s Faculty Code of Conduct is an opportune time for this unique CSHE paper, which documents the web of policies, rules, procedures, norms and institutional actors related to faculty discipline at UC campuses, including the socio-political context of successful and unsuccessful reform efforts across the decades. Compared to other spheres of college and university governance, rules and norms for disciplining faculty misconduct are less frequently the subject of sustained attention by scholars of higher education....

When are Universities Followers or Leaders in Society? A Framework for a Contemporary Assessment by John Aubrey Douglass, CSHE 1.22 (February 2022)

John Aubrey Douglass
2022

In assessing the current and future role of universities in the nation-states in which they are chartered and funded, it is useful to ask, When are universities societal leaders as societal and constructive change agents, and when are they followers, reinforcing the existing political order? As discussed in the book, Neo-Nationalism and Universities: Populists, Autocrats and the Future of Higher Education, the national political history and...

The Private Side of Public Universities: Third-party providers and platform capitalism by Laura T. Hamilton et al. CSHE 3.22 (June 2022)

Laura T. Hamilton
Heather Daniels
Christian Michael Smith
Charlie Eaton
2022

The rapid rise of online enrollments in public universities has been fueled by a reliance on for-profit, third-party providers—especially online program managers. However, scholars know very little about the potential problems with this arrangement. We conduct a mixed methods analysis of 229 contracts between third-party providers and 117 two-year and four-year public universities in the US, data on the financing structure of third-party providers, and university online education webpages. We ask: What are the mechanisms through which third-party relationships with universities may be...

International Education in a World of New Geopolitics: A Comparative Study of US and Canada by Roopa Desai Trilokekar, CSHE 5.22 (July 2022)

Roopa Desai Trilokekar
2022

This paper examines how international education (IE) as a tool of government foreign policy is challenged in an era of new geopolitics, where China’s growing ambitions have increased rivalry with the West. It compares U.S. and Canada as cases first, by examining rationales and approaches to IE in both countries, second, IE relations with China before conflict and third, current controversies and government policy responses to IE relations with China. The paper concludes identifying contextual factors that shape each country’s engagement with IE, but suggests that moving forward, the future...

Neo-Nationalism and Universities: Populists, Autocrats and the Future of Higher Education

John Aubrey Douglass

The rise of neo-nationalism is having a profound and troubling impact on leading national universities and the societies they serve. This is the first comparative study of how today’s right-wing populist movements and authoritarian governments are threatening higher education.

Universities have long been at the forefront of both national development and global integration. But the political and policy world in which they operate is undergoing a transition, one that is reflective of a significant change in domestic politics and international relations: a populist...

Creating a Great Public University: The History and Influence of Shared Governance at the University of California by John Aubrey Douglass, CSHE 4. 2023 (October 2023)

John Aubrey Douglass
2023

Since establishing its first campus in 1868, the University of California (UC), California’s landgrant university, developed into the nation’s first multicampus systemin the United States, and is today widely recognized as the world’s premier network of public research universities. This short essay provides a...

ROPS Special Thematic Issue: Reflections on the Challenges of Representation and Academic Freedom

2023

CSHE is devoted to supporting open and civil debate on key issues facing higher education. The ROPS contribution posted below by Steven Brint and Komi Frey discusses the University of California policies and practices of using DEI statements in the hiring and advancement of faculty, and how these policies and practices intersect with academic freedom as well as broader issues related to the contemporary academic culture of universities—what some may view as a controversial issue within the academy.

Because the editors of ROPS anticipated differing views regarding their analysis, and...

The Attractiveness of European Higher Education Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Faculty Remuneration and Career Paths by Alice Civera, Erik E. Lehmann, Michele Meoli & Stefano Paleari, CSHE.1.23 (March 2023)

Alice Civera; Erik E. Lehmann; Michele Meoli; Stefano Paleari
2023

The academic professoriate is a determinant of successful higher education systems. Yet, recently, worsening conditions of employment, deteriorating salaries, and threats to job security have made the academic profession less attractive, especially to young scholars, in several countries. This paper investigates the salaries as well as the recruitment and retention procedures in public higher education institutions from a cross country perspective. The UK, Germany, France, and Italy are adopted as case studies to determine the attractiveness of European higher education systems. The...