University leaders ‘need to be better prepared for tough times’

Any period leading a higher education institution is always going to be intense, but in many parts of the world the 2020s have so far been a whirlwind.

Fernando León García, who has been the president of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) since 2021, said throughout this period universities had fallen victim to what he calls the “three Ps”: polarisation, politicisation and populism.

It has resulted in both some very loud exits – with the leaders of several high-profile US universities hounded out of their posts after short tenures – and many more quieter ones, with leaders worldwide deciding to bring forward retirements or return to faculty roles away from the heat of high office.

Leading a university remains an attractive position but more needs to be done to prepare people for the job, said Dr León García, who finishes his three-year stint at IAUP at the organisation’s conference in Beijing in October and will be replaced by Shawn Chen, the chair of China’s Sias University.

“There needs to be a more structured, mindful approach to the succession of leaders,” he said. “Unless you are engaging in a more deliberate manner in making sure you are preparing that succession, people might move into that position without sufficient knowledge or awareness, and they have less likelihood of being successful.”

IAUP celebrates its 60th anniversary this year after being founded in 1964 by university leaders from the US, South Korea, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Liberia. Dr León García acknowledged that there were parts of the current job description that those presidents would not recognise.

“Of course, common elements carry across, but historically I think leaders have had a more inward-looking role,” said Dr León García, also the president of Mexico’s CETYS University.

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t act with relevant external organisations but I think, as times move forward, we see leaders with an increasing need to spend more time outside their universities and in activities they probably did not before.”

Fundraising was one area that had become an increasing focus of leaders, Dr León García said, because – whether tuition fees are paid for by students themselves or governments – resources dedicated to higher education are “dwindling” and universities need to find alternative revenue streams.

Building connections with business and industry was another part of the job that had become more significant, he said, alongside interacting more with governments and politicians.

This latter remit has been complicated by growing scepticism – and a sometimes downright hostile attitude – among policymakers towards institutions that provide post-compulsory education.

Campus resources for higher education leaders

In Mexico, the premiership of strongman leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who leaves office this month, has been particularly bruising, and it has felt as though higher education has been “under attack”, said Dr León García.

The country’s next president, Claudia Sheinbaum, hails from the same Morena party but has signalled a different approach, said Dr León García, who hoped the new administration would bring a “renewed sense that colleges and universities can contribute to development of Mexico” and that it could move on from a “difficult time to one that looks a bit more promising”.

The experience shows how universities are often at the mercy of changing policy environments and, despite their best efforts, can “lose a sense of legitimacy and standing in societies”.

Universities in other Latin American countries have also come under attack, he said, citing Venezuela as “one of the extreme examples” but also flagging how university presidents in Colombia had been removed by governments in the past few years.

Dr León García said higher education was “an easy target to go after and criticise for many of the ailments in society” but argued that leaders also had a responsibility to be clearer about what institutions can bring to a country.

Populism has further had the effect of making countries more insular and inward-looking, with the US, Australia and the UK all becoming more hostile to international students and scholars as a result.

This poses its own challenges to a global organisation such as IAUP, Dr León García admitted, but he said cross-border partnerships between institutions are even more vital when governments try to close countries off.

Tackling the issues required university leaders to shed a mindset that developed during Covid that was always focused on the short term and quick-fix solutions, he added.

“There is a wide array of challenges leaders are facing. We must find a way, not only individually but collectively, to try to help each other better understand and support our institutions and the general standing of higher education in countries around the world.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com