Of shared governance & trust: survey reveals differences in institutional values between HBCUS, TWIS but not all scholars agree - Cover Story

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 1, 2004 by Kendra Hamilton

A new survey appears to reveal sharply different perceptions of shared governance between historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and traditionally White institutions (TWIs). The study's author, Dr. James T. Minor, a research associate at the University of Southern California's Center for Higher Education Policy, is cautious in evaluating his findings. "I don't think we understand all we need to understand about the context. We shouldn't take the numbers at face value," he says. But the statistics tell an interesting tale of their own.

In answer to the statement, "shared governance is an important part of my institution's values and identity," 69 percent of HBCUs surveyed in 2003 agreed or strongly agreed. By comparison, a 2002 sample--composed mostly of traditionally White institutions--had an 84 percent rate of agreement with the statement.

Breaking the HBCU figures down by respondent provided an even more interesting pattern of responses: 77 percent of chief academic officers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, as did 70 percent of faculty senate leaders. But among department chairs, whom Minor saw as speaking for the faculty ranks, only 24 percent agreed or strongly agreed.

The comparable figures for TWIs in 2002 were: 95 percent for chief academic officers, 86 percent for senate chairs and 76 percent for department chairs.

Minor saw a similarly startling pattern of responses to answer to a second statement. Asked if "trust between the president and faculty is good or sufficient to move the institution forward," 77 percent of the institutions in the 2002 survey of TWIs agreed or strongly agreed. The overall agreement rate for HBCUs was significantly lower--68 percent. But there were interesting variances by institutional type.

At baccalaureate-granting HBCUs, the pattern of responses was, in tact, quite similar to that at TWIs: 74 percent agreed or strongly agreed. But at doctoral-granting HBCUs, the agreement rate fell sharply--down to 57 percent.

And the breakdown by status of respondent continued to show a sharp disconnect between higher-ups and the rank-and-file. A whopping 97 percent of chief academic officers at HBCUs agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. At lower ranks, however, agreement plummeted. Only 65 percent of faculty senate leaders and 57 percent of departmental leaders agreed or strongly agreed.

National education observers see reasons for concern.

"In this survey, as in any survey, definitions are very important. Shared governance means different things to different people. Unless it is defined, there is no telling what type of response you may get," notes Dr. Nancy King, a former faculty senator at Texas Southern University and publisher and editor of University Faculty Voice, an independently owned newspaper that specializes in issues of concern to HBCU faculty. But having noted that, King adds, "The statistic for doctoral HBCUs is very disappointing because these institutions should be the leaders of the entire Black education community."

Dr. Yolanda Moses, former president of the American Association for Higher Education, who currently holds joint appointments at the University of California-Riverside and the Claremont Graduate University, agrees.

Moses points to the fact that traditionally White institutions showed a similar pattern of variance by respondent on the "trust" issue: that is to say, 90 percent of chief academic officers at TWIs agreed with the "trust" statement, while only 76 percent of faculty senate chairs and 72 percent of department chairs did.

"I think what we're seeing is a national issue, though it's one that affects HBCUs more," she says. "If this is what the data are showing, that gap (between higher-ups and rank-and-file) has to be closed. It has to be closed for effective leadership and learning to take place."

Dr. M. Christopher Brown, executive director and chief research scientist at the United Negro College Fund's (UNCF) Frederick Patterson Research Institute, says he's not so sure that HBCUs are any different from majority White institutions in terms of shared governance.

"I can tell you, having spent my entire career (before coming to UNCF) at majority institutions like Missouri, University of Illinois and Penn State, what the president says runs the institution, what the dean says runs the college and what the department head says runs the unit," Brown says. "We have more structures that provide the 'illusion' of faculty governance and participation but, as someone who has been serving in an administrative capacity for many years, I know a lot of decisions are made long before the faculty are ever given the opportunity to air their grievances and concerns. And what you end up with is tinkering around with the nuances instead of substance (of the decisions).

"I'm not sure if this is an area that affects HBCUs more. And that's important because so little empirical research exists. What we have is partly anecdote, partly romantic mystique or just straight-up lies," Brown says.