'Locus of Authority' - Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed

The idea of shared governance probably conjures different notions for trustees, administrators and faculty members. But let’s say it’s a spectrum, with faculty advocates who want a say in major (or minor) institutional decisions while hoping trustees and administrators will stay out of the curriculum on one side. On the other side, think of administrators and governing boards who desire more involvement in curricular and other decisions long considered to be primary faculty domains, who are happy to be left alone on finance and management. Now imagine somewhere right in the middle: that’s where Locus of Authority: The Evolution of Faculty Roles in the Governance of Higher Education, a new book by William G. Bowen and Eugene M. Tobin from Princeton University Press, aims to land. From neither a wholly faculty- nor administration-driven perspective, it seeks to deliver a friendly but urgent message about the importance of shared decision-making to higher education’s future. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/05/new-book-argues-more-effective-collaborative-methods-shared-governance