Institutional Climate and Faculty Governance in Higher Education: A Shift from Capitalist to Shared Governance Models

Abstract

Campus and institutional climate is a key measure of success for academic institutions. Higher education leaders serve in their positions, on average, less than 6 years, with a steady decline in this tenure over the past 20 years. This study aims to focus on the relationships and institutional climate between university faculty and university administrators as they apply to faculty governance. This study uses a qualitative case study method, in which 6 faculty members within the College of Engineering at a Northwestern United States university (referred to by the pseudonym State University) are interviewed to gain perspectives on their perceptions of these relationships. The guiding question for this case study is: What are the things that build trust between faculty and administrators that create a healthy collegial academic environment? The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of specific themes that are shown to promote a healthy and positive institutional climate at the faculty and administrative levels which contribute to a healthy shared faculty governance structure as an alternative to the current capitalist governance model. An exploration of faculty governance is a key theme to this research.