heads of departments would then be line reports into these C-level executives.
This would save the president a great deal of
time, which could be shifted to a focus on marketing – namely, fundraising and
partnerships. It would allow executives who are trained in administrative skill sets or possess expertise, rather than individuals who joined the administration because they could not get faculty positions, who chased administrative degrees that would qualify them to enter the administration and receive larger salaries, or scaled the ladder through attrition, to do what they do best – namely, manage people and programs. It would also provide a means
whereby issues and recommendations were vetted prior to reaching the president (C-level executives could tap into more casual but more efficient communications tools like chat or videoconferencing). And it might even save institutions a great deal of money, as people
who report into the C-level suite need not be vice presidents or chancellors but directors.
Establish Safe, Secure, and Healthy Environments
Colleges and universities must set as a priority the establishment of safe, secure, and healthy environments. If institutional environments are not safe, secure, and healthy, a sense of community will neither form nor grow: students will be distracted from academic work, faculty and staff will question how committed the institution is to their well-being, funders will challenge the need for investment, and the institution will constantly face threats to health and safety that may ultimately end up in lawsuits.
Already discussed were mental health issues confronting students and how such
concerns were on the minds of college presidents. But there are also concerns over physical safety.
First among these concerns is violence being perpetrated against students. Research published by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, suggests “one in 10 college students will be raped or sexually assaulted during their college years.”21 A report of the U.S. Department of Justice indicates college-age Americans are the most likely group to suffer any type of violent crime.22
Additionally, according to findings published in June 2022 from the School Survey on Crime
and Safety, there were:
27,300 crimes on postsecondary education campuses in 2019-2020. That’s nearly 19 reported crimes per 10,000 full-time students. Of these reported crimes, 43% were forcible sex offenses, 33% were burglaries and 11% were motor vehicle thefts. Nearly 3% were classified as hate crimes, defined as a crime “motivated, in whole or in part, by the perpetrator’s bias against the victim based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.” Race was the motivating factor in 45% of the reported hate crimes. In 22% of the cases, it was sexual orientation.23
Compounding this situation is the deteriorating infrastructure previously identified when discussing deferred maintenance of buildings and grounds that contributes to safety
concerns, as well as the lack of general
The argument is made that tenured faculty serve as a stabilizing influence on the college, the reality suggests tenure is operating more as a “licensing” function that blocks competition by restricting entry into higher paying jobs.
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