Dissertation Proposal Defense by Jeff Bourgeois

Dissertation Proposal Defense by Jeff Bourgeois

Date and Time

Monday, November 21, 2016

This event occurred in the past

  • Monday, November 21, 2016 at 2:45 p.m.

Location

Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, 141

5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110

Cost

Free*

Details

Neither Here nor There: Leadership and Global Mindset in Presidents of

U.S.-Accredited Universities in Foreign Countries

 

 
 
 
by
Jeff Bourgeois

Christopher B. Newman, PhD, Chair
Afsaneh Nahavandi, PhD, Member 
Karen M. Lee, PhD, Member
James T. Harris III, DEd, Member

Abstract

    The role of a university president combines the symbolism of an institutional ambassador with the leadership responsibilities of a private-sector executive. When considering the cultural context of the university and the culture of the surrounding community, the demands of the presidential position become far more complex. The Commission of Higher Education Accreditation currently lists 42 colleges and universities with institutional-level accreditation located beyond the borders of the United States, and two more listed as candidates for future accreditation consideration. Presidents of the 44 internationally located universities bearing U.S. accreditation must negotiate the potential for tension between the many cultures at play, namely the culture of the host nation and the culture perpetuated by accreditation from one of the six granting agencies. To understand how these university executives manage this balance, it is helpful to look at their leadership through the lenses of Transformational Leadership and Global Mindset. This study will use an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design to explore the degree to which presidents of U.S.-accredited universities located in foreign countries demonstrate Transformational Leadership and a Global Mindset. An initial quantitative survey instrument will gather data from each of the 44 presidents, focusing on their leadership approach and behaviors. An analysis of the data will also determine if the degrees of these two competencies are statistically related. The results of this first phase of research will then inform a follow-up qualitative collective case study consisting of semi-structured individual and focus group interviews to investigate the ways in which key stakeholders of two different universities perceive the leadership style of their president. In addition to providing insight into the leadership of this subset of university presidents, this study will shed light on the ways in which presidents negotiate cultural differences. 

Post Contact

Heather Gibb
heatherg@sandiego.edu
(619) 260-4637