Via ConfessionsofaCommunityCollegeDean, a Chronicle article on the importance of shared governance in universities:

Shared governance, especially in the context of a search for a top administrator, means that professors, staff members, and sometimes students get to participate in the process — unlike the bad old days when a university official could hire whomever he (and it was invariably a male) wanted without any input. “Shared” means that everyone has a role…
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“Shared” doesn’t mean that every constituency gets to participate at every stage.
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Clearly, the main reason why a search — especially for an administrator — cannot be a simple matter of a popular vote is that someone must remain accountable for the final decision, and committees cannot be held accountable.

Many governance institutions break down because they are a committee structure that is charged with decision making, rather than oversight, and no single individual is responsible for outcomes. At the same time, individual committee members will invariably cry foul when their own brilliance is dismissed by the group or the decision maker.

Categories: Careers, Governance, The Academy