Governance and leadership in times of transition: The case of a newly established university in Iraq

• In Event: Bridging divides: Building educational leadership and faculty & staff capacity for learner-centered higher education in a post-conflict society

Proposal

Established in 2021, American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB) is envisioned to both “preserve the heritage and culture of Iraq” and, at the same time, prepare its graduates to meet the demands of a “dynamic and diverse world”.i The twin aims of preservation on the one hand and agility and adaptation on the other, illustrate the tensions within university governance and decision making.

Newly established educational entities in evolving policy and cultural contexts face a key challenge of creating new governance and leadership structures. This challenge is intensified when administrators and leaders come from diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences. Political undertones and cultural admiration of high achieving national systems from other countries are often used to frame new policy (Carney & Klerides, 2020) which can result in shaky foundations. Cultural differences can influence university ‘coordination’ as a function of perceived state, market, and academic oligarchy (Clark, 1983), resulting in contrasts in decision making (Millet, 1962).

The leadership literature often turns to transformational leadership to frame and examine change processes (Leithwood & Duke, 1999). This literature focuses on the structural and cultural aspects of change (Tye, 2000; Sarason, 1971). However, establishing a new university implies change, transition, and the need for agile leaders; . “Change must involve the unmaking of policy and procedures to remake them anew. Transitions have roots in the past, with a need to move forward to a future state of affairs. Thus, a key to transition is bridging from the old, a process of ‘unmaking,’ or dismantling, while looking toward the new, a process of ‘remaking’ and rebuilding” (Goldring & Crowson et al, 2003, p 474). Transition leadership implies changing roles of senior leadership from institutional maturity to that of start-up, and then back to sustaining systems of governance and leadership (Scott, 2020).

In regions working towards peace and unity, such as Iraq, leadership transitions commonly occur alongside the strong need to establish consistency and a unified institutional culture. The question arises: How can new and maturing universities create stability, maintain culture, and build institutional capacity to ensure long-term effectiveness?

This issue highlights the need for a governance model that accommodates change while fostering stability through a collaborative leadership approach. Using the conceptual framework from McNaughtan, Enright, and Harris (2024) on shared governance, we examine the tensions inherent in such environments: participation, process, approach, and orientation. These tensions are amplified in universities where organizational maturity and cultural diversity vary greatly.

Key Questions:
1. Understanding shared governance: How do different cultures perceive and practice governance?
2. Cultural variance in decision-making and policy: How does cultural diversity impact shared governance structures?
3. Organizational maturity: How do start-up universities manage governance compared to more established institutions?

We use a participatory case study to illustrate how these tensions have been applied to decision-making and other administrative practices during periods of personnel and organizational change. These insights can inform how culturally diverse, start-up universities navigate leadership and governance in transitional environments.

Authors

• Catherine Gavin Loss, Vanderbilt University

• Ellen Goldring, Peabody College (Vanderbilt University)

• Allison Webster-Giddings, GreyMatters, LLC

• Emily House, Peabody College (Vanderbilt University)

• Stephen Perkins Robinson, American University of Iraq-Baghdad