Engaging the Six Cultures of the Academy

In The Four Cultures of the Academy, William H. Bergquist identified four different, yet interrelated, cultures found in North American higher education: collegial, managerial, developmental, and advocacy. In this new and expanded edition of that classic work, Bergquist and coauthor Kenneth Pawlak propose that there are additional external influences in our global culture that are pressing upon the academic institution, forcing it to alter the way it goes about its business. Two new cultures are now emerging in the academic institution as a result of these global, external forces: the virtual culture, prompted by the technological and social forces that have emerged over the past twenty years, and the tangible culture, which values its roots, community, and physical location and has only recently been evident as a separate culture partly in response to emergence of the virtual culture. These two cultures interact with the previous four, creating new dynamics.

Preface ix

About the Authors xvii

Introduction 1

1. The Collegial Culture 15

2. The Managerial Culture 43

3. The Developmental Culture 73

4. The Advocacy Culture 111

5. The Virtual Culture 147

6. The Tangible Culture 185

7. Bridging the Gap 219

Appendix I: Academic Cultures Inventory 251

Appendix II: Marking Key for the Academic Cultures Inventory 257

References 261

Name Index 275

Subject Index 279

The approaches suggested are appreciative inquiry and the ironic perspective, applying paradox and polarity to theory. (The Journal of Continuing Higher Ed, 06/08)

THE AUTHORS

William H. Bergquist is an international consultant and professor in the fields of organizational psychology and management and president of the Professional School of Psychology, California. He is the author of forty-three books, including The Four Cultures of the Academy.

Kenneth Pawlak is chair of the Creative Arts, Social Service, and Education Division at Langara College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has held a variety of positions across the academy, from managing capital and budgets to faculty and student development.

Engaging the Six Cultures of the Academy

In The Four Cultures of the Academy, William H. Bergquist identified four different, yet interrelated, cultures found in North American higher education: collegial, managerial, developmental, and advocacy. In this new and expanded edition of that classic work, Bergquist and coauthor Kenneth Pawlak propose that there are additional external influences in our global culture that are pressing upon the academic institution, forcing it to alter the way it goes about its business. Two new cultures are now emerging in the academic institution as a result of these global, external forces: the "virtual culture," prompted by the technological and social forces that have emerged over the past twenty years, and the "tangible culture," which values its roots, community, and physical location. These two cultures interact with the previous four, creating new dynamics.

Bergquist and Pawlak look at culture's impact on postsecondary education, where it plays a major role in defining patterns of perceiving, thinking, and feeling about the nature and scope of education. The authors propose that each of the six key cultures operating within higher educational institutions has much to say about educational mission, vision, values, and purposes and about roles to be played by instructors, students, administrators, trustees, and even the general public. They offer a framework that can guide leaders and inspire new courses of action for the further improvement of functioning within these complicated institutions. Specifically, they describe ways in which to use (or not use) the concepts of organizational culture so that those who work in academic institutions can improve their daily lives as leaders, administrators, faculty members, trustees, and concerned stakeholders.

In the case of each culture, they examine its distinctive history, perspectives, and values, and offer specific suggestions concerning ways to engage the six cultures so that each culture can contribute to the learning of educators—rather than reinforcing limiting and inflexible assumptions about the nature and direction of the higher education enterprise. "In this book, Bergquist and Pawlak expand the analysis of the interaction of academic cultures on campus and introduce the kinds of creative strategies required to address the complex challenges confronting twenty-first century institutions in a globalÑtechnologically sophisticatedÑcontext. Those committed to improving institutional quality will find this book intellectually substantive and directly applicable to their own campuses."-- Eugene Rice, senior scholar, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Washington, D.C.

"William Bergquist's The Four Cultures of the Academy, has long been an indispensable guide through my career in academic administration. I was delighted to see that Bergquist and his collaborator Kenneth Pawlak not only updated this book and expanded it to include the virtual and the tangible cultures, but they also explained how the cultures are integrated on a campus. . . . It is a rare gift and a must must-read."--Joseph L. Subbiondo, president, California Institute of Integral Studies

“In this new book Bergquist and Pawlak . . . . provide critically important insight for understanding the six different cultures now found in post-postsecondary education and the subtle leadership practice adjustments that need to be made to engage all six cultures. This one is definitely on my ‘required required-read’ list!”—Dr. Jan Lindsay, vice president, education, Douglas College

“This book offers a compelling strategy for handling the challenges of living and working in academic institutions—an appreciative perspective that builds on the strengths and values of the six cultures within the academy. This should be required reading for anyone in contemporary higher education.”—Jessica Muller, anthropologist and medical educator, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco

“Educational institutions are complex organizations and have become more complex in recent years. In particular, community colleges, with their diverse student and faculty populations incorporate many equally diverse cultures. Scholarly, efforts to analyze and critique these multi cultures have come important contributors to the understanding of organizational behavior. Hence, the book is a welcome tool to deeper understanding the complexity of organizations in the field of higher education.”—John Dennison, professor of higher education, University of British Columbia