By: Jonny L. DuPree, Ph.D., Cohort 1
Kubala (1999) reports that college administrators are being challenged to place their institutions in the forefront to not only serve their local districts, but to carry out national mandates. They are faced with day-to-day pressures that tax their knowledge, patience, and skill as they strived to fulfill the missions of the colleges they lead. Much like an elected official, Selman (1990) proclaims that every college administrator is not only a personal decision-maker, but is also a social decision-maker.
In the age of accountability, many of the colleges and universities in Mississippi are struggling to find ways to promote unity, increase student achievement, and encourage collaboration among its faculty, staff, and student body. Much like elected officials, college administrators can be released when major university issues and concerns are misjudged, mishandled, or taken for granted. Campbell (2004) noted that the modern college administrator is in a permanent campaign because he/she must face his/her constituents more frequently than an elected official. For college administrators, election-day is everyday, and when college administrators improve, so do their institutions.
However, as modern college administrators continue to impact the livers of their students and faculty members, there is no current research that links college administrators’ use of the political process and the impact it may have on their institutions as a means of systematic improvement. Therefore the purpose of this study is to investigate the political attitudes and behaviors of college/university administrators in the state of Mississippi. These behaviors will be used to offer recommendations and suggestions to help college/university administrators in Mississippi advance their missions/visions, and thus lead to overall improvement for their institutions.
The research method that will be used is a quantitative research design. The quantitative data will be collected through a survey entitled Political Leadership Survey. Frequency and percent distributions will be generated from the responses gathered from the surveys. All of the responses will be quantified using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows 12.0. The respondents will be randomly selected to participate in this study. The population will consist of College/University Presidents, College/University Vice Presidents, College/University Provosts, and College/University Deans in the state of Mississippi.
