Implementing Changes to the Faculty Role: Stakeholders' Conflicting Mental Models Could Be an Impediment to Change

• In Event: 66.025 - The Faculty Role: Privilege, Colleagues, and Change

Abstract

The nature of the faculty role and composition of the faculty have changed dramatically over the last forty years. Today’s faculty model no longer meets the needs of students, faculty, and institutions; new faculty models are likely necessary. However, the issue of redefining faculty roles is extremely contentious. This paper examines open-ended data from a larger survey study of stakeholders’ beliefs and opinions about new faculty models. We find that different groups, such as faculty, deans, and provosts, have constructed very different mental models around the feasibility of implementing changes to the faculty role, which could serve as an impediment to the change process.

Authors

• Elizabeth Marshall Holcombe, University of Southern California

• Adrianna Kezar, University of Southern California