Lexington Books Critical Administration in Higher Education: Negotiating Political Commitment and Managerial Practice (Critical Communication Pedagogy)

Critical Administration: Negotiating Political Commitment and Managerial Practice in Contemporary Higher Education explores the challenges that higher education administrators face when negotiating political commitments in the day-to-day practice of university life. Jay Brower and W. Benjamin Myers have collected reflections from 12 administrators, all of whom identify as critical/cultural scholars, about how ideological commitments affect their identities as administrators and the work they conduct. Contributors reflect on how their academic training helps them understand their role as administrators in higher education in terms of central issues surrounding power, ethics, and identity, and how they entwine with managerial responsibilities. Each contributor focuses on specific experiences where their managerial duties intersect with political commitments. Ultimately, this collection provides opportunities to observe the challenges and opportunities of performing ethical leadership in contemporary higher education. Scholars of education, critical/cultural communication, and administration will find this book particularly useful. Review Brower (Western Connecticut State Univ.) and Myers (Univ. of Toledo) have contributed to and edited this important resource for both faculty and staff leaders in institutions of higher education. Many university faculty do not begin their careers with leadership in mind but find themselves poised to move into these roles over time. Those committed to social justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity will want to take on the challenge of leadership with a critical cultural lens, which can be difficult at times to uphold given the realities of administrative leadership. This collection of narratives from faculty who have navigated the move to administration and done so with a critical perspective allows readers to learn from their experiences. Each author provides lessons about the positive and negative aspects of power, the difficulties of balancing the needs of colleagues with those of the administration and stakeholders, the limitations of influence when in liminal spaces, and the understanding that change takes place slowly. This book is an excellent introduction for those who wish to serve or find themselves serving as temporary or permanent leaders. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.--CHOICE Critical Administration in Higher Education: Negotiating Political Commitment and Managerial Practice is a must-have for any administrator who cares about diversity, inclusivity, and justice in the workplace. The authors who contribute to the volume go all in by sharing personal stories, offering candid advice, and connecting to the relevant scholarly literature. I know this book helped me to think about how I can be an ethical and just chair, and it will undoubtedly help many others. Jay Brower and W. Benjamin Myers are to be commended for this unique, thoughtful, and bold collection of essays!--Jimmie Manning, University of Nevada, Reno If we espouse to the notion of educational leadership as a democratic process that includes the reciprocity of shared power towards mutually satisfying ends, then Critical Administration: Negotiating Political Commitment and Managerial Practice in Contemporary Higher Education is a must-read. Not only for people interested in leadership in the context of higher education, but for all of us who are intricately interconnected in the commitments of institutional labor that is always relational.--Bryant Keith Alexander, Loyola Marymount University About the Author Jay Brower is associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Media Arts at Western Connecticut State University. W. Benjamin Myers is associate professor chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.