Purdue struggles with autocratically imposed civics literacy

As a testament to the importance of institutions being careful to act in ways that are consistent with their rhetoric, faculty are pushing back at Purdue University's civics requirement. Alice Pawley, associate professor of engineering said, "It's like democracy and civic literacy are so important, we're willing to be dictators about it." Other faculty said that their own colleagues did not engage the planning and decision making process so the fault is not that of the Purdue President or Board but of the faculty.

Including faculty in decision making rose to an even higher level after a successor for Purdue's current President, Mitch Daniels, was named without a search or any involvement beyond the Board of Trustees. Defenders of the selection of Mung Chiang say that he was selected for academic leadership at Purdue and subsequently groomed to move into broader leadership. One has to ask the question, if Chiang was so highly qualified, why not have that confirmed in a search? With presidential searches at other institutions failing and notable presidents being hired and then not working out, perhaps a more secretive and orchestrated process is justified. Something is not working here!

Leadership in higher education is not easy and it requires everyone to embrace the idea of fluid leadership that moves across different individuals and groups. Those in positional roles have a responsibility to exercise inclusive leadership and those without specific roles must authentically participate through active followership. It's too easy for either group to point fingers but shared leadership should be easier in higher education than it usually is in actuality.