Kiernan Mathews

Effective Academic Governance: Five Ingredients for CAOs and Faculty
Ott, M. W., & Mathews, K. (2015). Effective Academic Governance: Five Ingredients for CAOs and Faculty. The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education. Download the full textAbstract
The COACHE research-practice partnership is designed to enact organizational change for the benefit of faculty and, by extension, the institution. But does every college's system of shared governance have what it takes to meet their own or, indeed, higher education’s most pressing challenges? This white paper looks beyond the rhetoric toward a more differentiated understanding of the ingredients of effective academic governance. Ott and Mathews offer a five-factor framework grounded in the literature, developed from interviews, and, now, tested in a survey of thousands of faculty. The report concludes with advice for assessing and fostering the qualities of “hard” and “soft” governance practices essential to sustainable change in the “real world” decision-making of committees, assemblies, senates, councils, and unions.
Perspectives on Midcareer Faculty and Advice for Supporting Them
Mathews, K. (2014). Perspectives on Midcareer Faculty and Advice for Supporting Them . Cambridge, Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education. Download the full textAbstract
This 8-page white paper was produced for an invited presentation at the Association of Public Land-grant Universities' (APLU) Council on Academic Affairs Summer Meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The paper examines the experiences of midcareer faculty, who face an increased teaching load, greater expectations for service and advising, a more competitive market for grants, and the disappearance of mentoring programs that supported them as early-career faculty. The toll of these obligations is heavier on women and faculty of color. Institutions can address the challenges midcareer faculty face by designing orientations that cover the entire career, implementing career re-visioning programs, providing opportunities for re-engagement, and mentoring associate professors.

Essential Resources for the Evidence-based Chief Academic Officer

by Kiernan Mathews

A woman doing research in the periodicals section of a libraryFor the chief academic officer or senior administrator in faculty affairs, there's little time to hunt for the latest research that could improve the practice of academic leadership. This time-scarcity problem steers decision makers, in the interest of expediency, to revert to the status quo--doing things the way they have always been done. It's no surprise, then, that we keep seeing the same results.

How do we get the best research on faculty in front of those in a position to make a difference? I've assembled a few “essentials” as a start to incorporate into the professional rhythms of the provost or academic dean.... Read more about Essential Resources for the Evidence-based Chief Academic Officer

Liberal Arts Colleges and COACHE: Big Impact on a Small Scale

by Kiernan Mathews

A path leading toward a red-brick building on a college campusFor most of COACHE’s 13 years in existence, research universities have dominated the roster of our institutional partners. Their sheer numbers of faculty are a quantitative researcher’s dream!

However, a quiet but sizable minority of liberal arts colleges have consistently relied on the Collaborative’s surveys, analysis, and leadership coaching. Over time, I have been so encouraged by the efforts of their presidents and deans to create the conditions in which faculty do their best work.... Read more about Liberal Arts Colleges and COACHE: Big Impact on a Small Scale

A New COACHE Benefit: Leadership Development in the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education

by Kiernan Mathews

A group of adults taking notes in a classI am pleased to make this special announcement about a Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) collaboration that many of friends at member institutions have noted is long overdue.

Starting this year, two of HGSE's most trusted names--COACHE and the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education (HIHE)--are working together to provide more and better leadership development options to the network of COACHE institutions. What's more, COACHE members now save up to $1,000 on HIHE tuition--if you apply for the summer programs by Friday, February 12.

... Read more about A New COACHE Benefit: Leadership Development in the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education

Post-tenure Review from a Growth Mindset

by Kiernan Mathews

A woman in a pantsuit and heels climbing stairsI recently fielded a question from a COACHE partner who wanted to know about institutions doing good work in annual appraisal processes that makes real distinctions in faculty performance. There are effective, developmental, faculty-driven approaches, and COACHE data can be deployed to identify them. At our project, however, we start with frameworks—the four lenses of Reframing Organizations by Bolman and Deal are a favorite device here at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

... Read more about Post-tenure Review from a Growth Mindset

Where the Faculty Affairs Things Are: Conferences and Convenings

by Kiernan Mathews

This blog post was republished in 2019 with an updated list of resources: "Where the Faculty Affairs Things Are (Now): Conferences and Convenings Updated"

A group of colleagues around a conference tableEvery so often in my work at COACHE, I meet a brand-new vice provost or associate dean responsible for faculty affairs (or faculty development, or faculty excellence, or so on) at his or her university. Nine times out of ten, these are faculty who demonstrated their leadership as department chairs or on important university-wide committees and now find themselves as academic administrators without a community of peers on campus. It can be a difficult transition. Where do they turn to find support, professional development, and comfort that they aren't alone?

... Read more about Where the Faculty Affairs Things Are: Conferences and Convenings

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