The roles of the president, faculty, and staff in cultivating the commitment and engagement necessary to produce revitalization at faith-based colleges.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Ford, Mark Clayton.

Contributor:

Hartley, J. Matthew, advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education, Higher.

Education, Higher--Administration.

0446.

0745.

Penn dissertations--Higher Education Management.

Higher Education Management--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Education.

Education--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Higher Education Management.

Higher Education Management--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Education.

Education--Penn dissertations.

0446.

0745.

Physical Description:

203 pages

Contained In:

Dissertation Abstracts International 72-07A.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

The majority of church-affiliated colleges and universities in America are small, fragile, and caught in the middle of rapidly changing economic and educational conditions. For years, these tuition-dependent institutions have managed to survive among the publicly subsidized giants by promoting education with a moral purpose and individual student attention. In recent years, however, a decrease in denominational loyalty and support has challenged the viability of these institutions.

Because faith-based universities provide spiritual instruction and academic preparation for approaching generations of church leaders and congregants, their survival matters and their frequent patterns of struggle must continue to be examined. Understanding the ways in which such schools have been stabilized will continue to build the body of knowledge necessary to enable similarly situated universities to continue their unique contribution to the academy, church, and nation.

This is a qualitative study of three small, faith-based schools in the United States. Data was derived from fieldwork that included interviews with faculty, staff, administrators and presidents. Data was also gathered from media reports, institutional documents, and observations. The major themes of this research including mission, purpose, identity, crisis, employee commitment and engagement, and mission-centered change were examined through the stories of three proven revitalization presidents and their faculty. The presidents were recruited to rescue schools besieged by scandal, financial crisis, and enrollment declines. The question for all three presidents and their faculty was, Could it be done again? The universities they were asked to save each displayed, in different ways, a lack of faculty and staff commitment and engagement. Could the trend be reversed, and if so, how?

The findings suggest that collaborative work aligned with the institution's core ideology was key for the faculty to be involved in order to produce a widely embraced sense of purpose. It was critical for the new presidents to quickly find those bellwether faculty leaders who would work together to engender revitalization. Each president also needed to produce a series of small wins, such as a pay raise, to encourage employee commitment and engagement. The case studies illustrate the differences that exist between turnaround and revitalization.

Notes:

Thesis (Ed.D. in Education) -- University of Pennsylvania, 2011.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-07, Section: A, page: 2298.

Adviser: J. Matthew Hartley.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175.

ISBN:

9781124631714

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.