May, 1997 - Vol. 1, No. 8

Changing Governance in Higher Education

Marvin Lazerson compares recent changes in the governance of colleges and universities with analogous reforms in the governance of private companies. During the past decade, institutional investors such as TIAA-CREF and public pension funds have prodded corporate boards to become more engaged and active in their oversight of company leadership. Similar forces for change are now emerging in higher education.

Before the late 1980s, Lazerson observes, college trustees "were the president's people chosen for their institutional loyalty." Under recent prodding by legislatures, governors, students, and parents, however, boards are becoming more independent and more challenging. "They are not minding their own business," he concludes, "because everything is their business."

College and university boards are often pressing for more accountability and less deficit; better teaching, more outsourcing, and fewer programs. "Power is shifting to governing boards," and, Lazerson warns, "passivity in the face of these changes is dangerous." Some administrators and faculty, as a result, are increasingly responsive to trustee concerns and better at keeping them informed.

Implication: Build working relations among more engaged trustees and administrators, and faculty to revitalize the campus now before outside pressures force the change.

Source: Marvin Lazerson, "Who Owns Higher Education? The Changing Face of Governance," Change: The Magazine of Higher Education 29 (March/April, 1997), 10-15.

Leading When You Are Up Against the Wall

"Hey," declares astronaut Jack Swigert, "we've got a problem here." NASA's Mission Control queries: "This is Houston, say again, please." Astronaut James Lovell, mission commander, confirms: "Houston, we've had a problem." For flight director Eugene Kranz, the message from Apollo 13 presages much more than a problem. And as the spacecraft's massive system failures became all too evident in the minutes after an explosion, mastering the moment will require more than management.

Astronaut Jim Lovell and writer Jeffrey Kluger render an account in Lost Moon of the actions that follow, focusing on both the astronauts in Apollo 13 and the ground controllers under the direction of Eugene Kranz. "Let's everybody keep cool," Kranz warn just after the explosion: "Let's solve the problem." As his engineers report one failing system after another, Kranz presses them to focus on what's working: "What do you think we've got in the spacecraft that?s good?" And, finally, he declares that failure will not be an option: "We will never surrender, this crew is coming home."

Source: Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994). The film "Apollo 13" is based on this book.

From Functional to General Management

Wharton Executive Education is offering an open-enrollment course, " Executive Development Program: The Transition from Functional to General Management," on September 7-19 and November 9-21, 1997.

Information:execed@wharton.upenn.edu and http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/execed

CONFERENCE: Picking Company Leaders

Wharton's Center for Human Resources is sponsoring a conference on "Selecting Corporate Leaders for the Next Century" at the University of Pennsylvania on June 11.

The conference is gathering company executives, executive search managers, business consultants, and academic researchers for discussion of the changing leadership qualities required by business firms and the implications for succession planning and executive selection.

Conference speakers include Professor Constance Helfat of the Wharton School; June Delano, Director of Executive Education at Eastman Kodak; Dennis Carey, Vice Chairman of Spencer Stuart; and Frank Doyle, former Executive Vice President of GE.

Information: Kathryn Pearcy, Wharton Center for Human Resources, kpearcy@wharton.upenn.edu

Good leaders "are able to say 'never' -- as in 'never compromise on matters of principle,' and 'never give up' (to which Churchill added, 'never, never, never, never)."
-- John C. Bogle, Chairman, Vanguard Group of Investment Companies.

"There's an inconsistency in the process of becoming a top manager and being a top manager. A developing manager focuses hardest on 'managing' better -- bringing together technical disciplines such as manufacturing, marketing, selling and financing. The premium on top management though, is less on 'managing' and more on leading -- supplying vision, providing inspiration and influencing action. The development process short-changes the role of leadership.... Being a successful top manager means overcoming the limitations of becoming one."
-- Ronald Naples, President and CEO, Hunt Manufacturing Co.

Source: The Search for Leadership, Howard Fischer Associates, Inc.