Prelims

Half Title Page

Transformational University Leadership

Series Title Page

Great Debates in Higher Education is a series of short, accessible books addressing key challenges to and issues in Higher Education, on a national and international level. These books are research informed but debate driven. They are intended to be relevant to a broad spectrum of researchers, students, and administrators in higher education, and are designed to help us unpick and assess the state of higher education systems, policies, and social and economic impacts.

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Title Page

Transformational University Leadership

A Case Study for 21st Century Leaders and Aspirational Research Universities

By

Hilary L. Coulson

University of Florida, USA

Yali Zou

University of Houston, USA

And

Frank Fernandez

University of Florida, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2022

Copyright © 2022 Hilary L. Coulson, Yali Zou and Frank Fernandez.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters' suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83982-121-9 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83982-118-9 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83982-120-2 (Epub)

Dedication

For the University of Houston on the eve of its centennial anniversary.

HLC, YZ, FF

List of Figures and Tables

About the Authors

Hilary L. Coulson, PhD, is a Lecturer in the Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women's Studies Research at the University of Florida. Her work examines the origins and continuities of core American pillars like universities, schools, and prisons by examining leadership structures, gender, and culture. Coulson has experience lecturing courses in gender studies and qualitative methodologies and works toward an interdisciplinary understanding of organizational formation, leadership, and success. Her latest work on leadership during crises can be found in Higher Education.

Yali Zou, PhD, is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and University Endowed Professor for Global Leadership Studies at the University of Houston. She is also Director of the Asian American Studies Center and the Asian International Program. Dr. Zou is the author of seven books and has published numerous articles in the United States and China. Her research focuses on comparative education, cross-cultural and transnational issues, and global leadership. Dr. Zou consults with universities and corporations nationally and internationally, and leads global leadership development programs in education, public administration, and business administration. She is also a frequent public speaker in the United States, China, and Europe.

Frank Fernandez, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration & Policy at the University of Florida. He writes about educational equity and policy issues and international higher education. He is coeditor of the award-winning The Century of Science: The Global Triumph of the Research University (Emerald, 2017, 2019). He also coedited Gender Equity in STEM in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Policy, Institutional Culture, and Individual Choice (Routledge, 2022) and An Asset-Based Approach to Advancing Latina Students in STEM: Increasing Resilience, Participation, and Success (Routledge, 2021). He co-wrote The Contested Campus: Aligning Professional Values, Social Justice, and Free Speech (NASPA, 2020) to outline principles for good leadership amid free speech and academic freedom controversies.

Acknowledgments

This book started over a lunch meeting in Toronto, Canada, in spring 2019. We began data collection and met again in Portland, Oregon (USA), in fall 2019. Then the global pandemic delayed the project. We thank Kim Chadwick from Emerald for first being open to the idea for this book and for working with us to extend our timeline for writing the book.

The pandemic affirmed our personal beliefs and then our empirical findings on the importance of good leadership in higher education. Although the University of Houston experienced its own challenges adapting to the multiple challenges that arose starting in spring 2020, we witnessed as Renu Khator's leadership team made tough – but prudent – decisions, which other universities often emulated. Ultimately, the exigencies of the pandemic made it impossible to interview Dr. Khator for the book, but we are grateful to her nonetheless. Her example of leadership during a prolonged crisis added a new and unanticipated dimension to this book.

We appreciate all the administrators who took time to talk with us and whose words form the basis of the case study. Specifically, we thank Eloise Brice, Amr Elnashai, Michael Johnson, Robert McPherson, Jim McShan, Paula Myrick Short, Stephen Spann, and Richard Walker for their time and willingness to share their knowledge and experiences. Without their interviews, our document analysis and figures would lack context. Their lived experiences make our findings compelling. We would be remiss if we did not extend special thanks to Dean Bob McPherson and Provost Paula Myrick Short. They are both stalwart supporters of the Asian American Studies Center. They support faculty as individuals and collaborators. This project is one example of how their academic leadership supports interdisciplinary research.

At the Asian American Studies Center, we thank Elizabeth Gonzales. Elizabeth purchased recording equipment, coordinated travel logistics, and reimbursed project costs. We also thank Rachel Holman who was a doctoral student at the University of Mississippi. In the early phases of the project, Rachel generated an initial set of rough transcripts that allowed us to quickly dig into our interview data.

Finally, Hilary and Frank are eternally grateful to Yali. More than anyone else, Yali helped us feel welcome in our early faculty appointments at the University of Houston. She has continued to mentor and support us through multiple transitions. Had she not been a coauthor on this book, we would certainly have interviewed her about entrepreneurial and transformational leadership.