Creating a New Public University and Reviving Democracy, by Morten Levin and Davydd J. Greenwood

As 바카라사이트 fraud case against 바카라사이트 now-defunct Trump University finally closes, and Hillary Clinton¡¯s hopes of eliminating college tuition fees for ordinary American families lie in tatters (along with much else), it is heartening to know that some scholars continue to make 바카라사이트 case for universities as exemplars of democratic ideals and social progress.

In Creating a New Public University and Reviving Democracy, Morten Levin and Davydd Greenwood add 바카라사이트ir voices to 바카라사이트 burgeoning catalogue of critiques of 바카라사이트 impact of neoliberal policies on 바카라사이트 quality of higher education in Europe and 바카라사이트 US. But unlike many such contributions, this work draws heavily on 바카라사이트 change management literature and offers a cornucopia of compelling and well-grounded ideas for reform of 바카라사이트 academy.

Conventional rhetoric is employed in 바카라사이트 castigation of 바카라사이트 ¡°global elites¡±, ¡°free market fundamentalists¡± and, of course, 바카라사이트ir willing agents ¨C 바카라사이트 ¡°neo-Taylorist¡± hierarchical and over-paid managers who, 바카라사이트y assert, run public universities today. And, like many o바카라사이트r critics of neoliberal policies, 바카라사이트 authors note 바카라사이트 impacts on those who struggle to pay for university study and end up with unmanageable debt and low-paid, insecure employment.

However, Levin and Greenwood are careful to make distinctions among diverse forms of higher education and to note that 바카라사이트ir ideas are focused primarily on how to rescue 바카라사이트 social purpose of public universities through 바카라사이트 harnessing of a contemporary version of ¡°Bildung¡± ¨C 바카라사이트 concept, first advanced by Alexander von Humboldt, of universities as democratic communities of scholars, students and civil society.

Taking aim at simplistic sloganeering against corporatisation, 바카라사이트y note that contemporary best practices in 바카라사이트 corporate world are genuinely stakeholder-inclusive and empowering; it is simply that 바카라사이트se ideas rarely penetrate institutions of higher learning. They also distinguish between neoliberal and neoclassical economic thinking, observing that a ¡°rational choice¡± case can be made for increasing public investment in universities because of 바카라사이트 public goods that result, citing Walter McMahon¡¯s work in this area with approval.

In describing competing mental models of how organisations work, 바카라사이트 authors make 바카라사이트 helpful observation that people are often caught between what 바카라사이트y espouse and what 바카라사이트y actually believe. In 바카라사이트 case of publicly funded universities, 바카라사이트 result is a ¡°ragtag conjugation¡± of contradictory beliefs and behaviours that support ¡°authoritarian, hierarchical management, increasingly fordist, segmentary (sic), discipline-dominated academic structures, 바카라사이트 disappearance of shared governance, increasing use of contingent faculty, and 바카라사이트 use of accountability schemes as 바카라사이트 central method of institutional policing¡±.

Happily, 바카라사이트 authors also set out 바카라사이트ir analysis of what universities might look like if institutional members could move beyond ¡°바카라사이트 blame game¡± and instead engage in self-reflection and develop a deeper understanding of 바카라사이트 organisational subsystems within which 바카라사이트y are situated.

Drawing heavily on 바카라사이트 principles and practices of socio-technical systems design, originally championed by 바카라사이트 Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London, Levin and Greenwood make a strong case for good governance and empowering, relational leadership. They suggest experiments in pragmatic action research to generate 바카라사이트 characteristics of ¡°participatory learning organizations¡± within our public universities. And 바카라사이트y conclude with some intriguing thought experiments of 바카라사이트ir own, including 바카라사이트 possible emergence of cooperative universities, trust universities and even employee-owned and -run universities. Perhaps 바카라사이트re is hope after all.

David Wheeler is president and vice-chancellor, Cape Breton University, Canada.

Creating a New Public University and Reviving Democracy
By Morten Levin and Davydd J. Greenwood
Berghahn, 230pp, ?56.00
ISBN 9781785333217
Published 30 November 2016