Presidential position advertisements assignment

Analysis of three President advertisements and what they reveal about the institutional context and the role Name: Institutional affiliation: Course: Date: Introduction As told by Birnbaum (1992), many universities and colleges exist in turbulent environments that constantly challenge their operations and overall effectiveness in disseminating their set goals and objectives. Over the years events and incidents have occurred and left behind harm on the school values, leadership, and governance, among others. The problems, as seen across different universities in the US, vary and more often demand a unique set of leadership skills. Poor approach or wrong leadership approach often results in difficulties for presidents and in worst cases, resignation as was the case with Jason Wingard's resignation as the president of Temple University in 2023 (WHHY, 2023). In reality, so much of presidential leadership depends on context and this paper analyses three presidential advertisements: Chancellor, University of Minnesota as posted on Dec 9, 2022; President position at University of Wayne State University as posted on January 17, 2023, and President position in University of Oregon, as posted in December 2022. Each of the three university has distinct histories, mission, and vision. First, The University of Minnesota Morris, a public liberal art college in Morris, Minnesota, was founded in 1960 and has since thrived to fulfill its vision of being “an affordable, undergraduate, intentionally small, residential, public liberal art college” currently attracting about 1500 enrollments from 32states and about 23 countries (UNM, 2024). On the other hand, Wayne State University opened its gates in 1868 and continues to offer word class education in Detroit. As a public university, Wayne state university had a total enrollment of 16116 in 2022 fall and seeks to work towards its mission of “creating and advancing knowledge, preparing a diverse student body to thrive, and positively impacting the local and global communities” (Wayne State University, 2024). Finally, the University of Oregon, a public university, opened its doors in 1876 in Eugene, and with about 20,000 enrollment yearly, the institution seeks to serve its mission of, “striving for excellence in teaching, research, artistic expression, and the generation, dissemination, preservation, and application of knowledge” (University of Oregon, 2024). The Analysis of the similarities and differences in these advertisements is critical in understanding the institutional context and the type of leadership required. Advertisement No 1: Chancellor University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) In the UMM advertisement posted on December 9th, 2022, the key point reiterated was that UMM believes in shared governance and was in pursuit of a president/chancellor with key skills such as collaboration, innovative leadership style, and transparency. Getting to serve in this role demands also that one can emulate UNM qualities and zeal to lead the institution's fundraising efforts to support the institution's set goals and priorities. The innovative nature of the president assuming this role is to have the capacity to find ways of enriching new and already existing connections. Other key requirements demanded from the new president are the ability to respect and stay proud of the institution's history and tradition while being able to continue building strong enrollment growth and serving as a spokesperson for the institution on and off campus. Overall key point from the advertisement is that UMM strongly values shared governance and innovation, with a strong focus on both academic excellence and fundraising efforts. For a new chancellor to excel in this kind of environment he or she must be transparent innovative, and collaborative. Success in this role also includes promoting academic excellence and increasing institutions' environment growth through effective leadership abilities and fundraising initiatives. Advertisement 2: President Post, Wayne State University In Wayne’s description of their desired president, it is emphasized that the incoming president will serve as the university’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and being selected by the board of governors, he or she must report to them. the similarity of this advertisement with that of UMM is on issues of leadership suppo...