Mission as Metaphor: Reconceptualizing How Leaders Utilize Institutional Mission

• In Event: Conceptualizing University Identity: Mission, Branding, and the Quest for Quality

Abstract

Institutional missions can serve many purposes within universities. This paper examines the ways in which institutional mission is used to suggest a function that goes beyond a statement of direction or priorities, as mission is often conceptualized. A discourse analysis was conducted that focused on institutional mission and the metaphors revealed. Preliminary results suggest mission is a socially constructed phenomenon with a variety of different functions revealed through metaphor that engage different audiences both in and outside the institution. Metaphors of mission include mission as symbolic unity, a boundary object, a decision making tool, and a cage. Understanding the complexities of institutional mission suggests a need to reconsider it and the ways in which leaders engage with their institutional missions.

Authors

• Leslie R. Zenk, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Karen Seashore Louis, University of Minnesota