The Interesecting Authority of Boards, Presidents, and Faculty: Toward Shared Leadership

This chapter explores the leadership dynamics of universities through the lens of governance and the three groups of actors that play dominant roles — trustees, presidents, and faculty.3 While we recognize the important contributions of students or staff,4 this chapter focuses on the three groups most consistently influential and that are part of the formal governance structure. In addition to describing the leadership of boards, presidents, and faculty, it explores the organizational and environmental contexts of leading in the academy, select theories of leadership that pertain to higher education, and the intersection of faculty, trustee, and administrative influence.