The Twenty-First-Century University: Dilemmas of Leadership and Organizational Futures

Abstract

Conceptions of the purposes of universities have been a source of debate for many centuries, but in the twenty-first century, the worldwide expansion of higher-education systems, the pressures of globalization, the growing competition to attract overseas students, the rise of international rankings and league tables, and pressures on both public and private funding of universities have led to fresh questioning about what purposes universities should serve—and how universities should be funded. Questions about whether universities should be part of the public or the private sector have also fed into this debate, as higher-education institutions have increasingly been permeated by markets (markets for students, for scholars, and for knowledge). Meanwhile, universities’ traditional missions of teaching and research have been joined by new requirements for entrepreneurial and public-engagement activities. This chapter explores the ways in which current debates about the purposes of universities have informed the practices, values, development, and dilemmas of higher-education leaders and their senior teams. It will also consider the ways in which new conceptions of the purposes of universities could lead to reshaping the future organizational structures and cultures of higher-education institutions.