Prompted by her graduate studies, the author’s intellectual journey featured the construction of six bridges between theory and practice in educational leadership and academic librarianship. It has been and continues to be a valuable journey to the author as library director in a small college. Con- structing each of these bridges required tests in practice of the speculative or JEAN MULHERN 78
theoretical knowledge attained through an academic program focused on leadership and change in higher education. The author learned to distin- guish between leading (really influencing) the process of change and reacting to change. To participate more effectively in change leadership in academe, she learned how to select, design, and implement educational research and information gathering to obtain appropriate truth-value. She learned to recognize in herself and in others how complex variations in cognitive viewpoints affect social and political relationships. She learned to examine personal and professional choices, relationships, and potential actions re- flectively and critically.
Throughout the process of working on her 2002 institutional report project, the author kept a reflective journal of her thoughts and behaviors.
She used the 1998 project as a prior benchmark for self-assessing personal learning. From that comparative analysis, enriched by knowledge gained from her formal course of study, she reached several conclusions relevant to professional library practice. These conclusions form an intellectual foun- dation for research and for practice. First, an aspiring library leader and change agent needs to know about organizations in higher education and how their unique characteristics impact leadership and change processes.
Second, to support change processes through ongoing assessment and eval- uation, one needs technical skills in the areas of research and critical eval- uation. Third, to be proactive in influencing the direction of change processes, leaders must draw on informed critical self-awareness and re- flection, flexibility, and creativity, especially in order to negotiate productive socio-political relationships. Finally, appropriate balance must be achieved in terms of ethics and the responsibilities of leadership/followership.
With such knowledge and skills identified and developed through her recent experience as a graduate student, the author has assumed greater leadership risks in practice. She approaches challenges with greater confi- dence, greater patience, and more realistic expectations based on her per- sonal and customized model of change leadership. Her studies have helped her develop greater social capital as well as intellectual capital (Weidman, Twale, & Stein, 2001).
This paper has demonstrated how library practice can be been affected positively by integrating important theoretical concepts of academic lead- ership and leadership for change. The identification of six learning out- comes/bridges between theory and practice was grounded in research reported byKezar (2001) andTsoukas and Chia (2002), and supported by many other sources (especially Carlson, 1997; Eisner, 1994; Fullan, 1999;
Hall & Hord, 2001;Hanson, 1996;Helgesen, 1995;Yukl, 2002). This paper
concludes with the author’s personal statement on the broad function of leadership in higher education, appropriate to leadership in academic li- braries. Implicit in the statement is her renewed passion for her profession.
This emerging personal definition of leadership bears the marks of theory and the scars of experience obtained during a productive intellectual journey that continues:
Essentially transformational in vision, leadership in loosely coupled educational insti- tutions is a social process that purposefully establishes and strengthens the web of socio-political relationships necessary to accomplish a common purpose. The goal of leadership is increased capacity within an institution to capitalize on change to better accomplish the common purpose. As a part of the leadership process, leaders help members of an organization define and focus on vision – a holistic sensemaking of the goals and purposes of the organization or of one of its departments or projects. Leaders use such tools as critical self-reflection, rational analysis, and open communication to help locate and privilege opportunities for change. While administrative leaders certainly have a responsibility for leadership, others within the organization are key players as well, being both committed leaders in their own right and courageous followers.
REFERENCES
Allen, W. R., & Jewell, J. O. (2002). A backward glance forward: Past, present, and future perspectives on historically black colleges and universities.The Review of Higher Edu- cation,25, 241–261.
Baldrige, B. (2001). Education criteria for performance excellence (brochure). Gaithersburg, MD: Baldrige National Quality Program.
Boorstin, D. (1983).The discoverers: A history of man’s search to know his world and himself.
New York: Random House.
Brubacher, J. S., & Rudy, W. (1997).Higher education in transition: A history of American colleges and universities(4th ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Calderhead, V. (2000). Reflections on information confusion in chemistry information learning:
The meaning of the shift from library instruction to information literacy. Research Strategies,16(4), 285–299.
Carlson, D. (1997).Making progress: Education and culture in new times. New York: Teachers College Press.
Chaleff, I. (1995).The courageous follower: Standing up to and for our leaders. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Dachler, H. P., & Hosking, D. (1995). The primacy of relations in socially constructing or- ganizational realities. In: D. Hosking, H. P. Dachler & K. J. Gergen (Eds),Management and organization: Relational alternatives to individualism(pp. 1–28). Aldershot, England:
Avebury.
De Rosa, C., Dempsey, L., & Wilson, A. (2004)The 2003 OCLC environmental scan: Pattern recognition, a report to the OCLC membership. Research report. OCLC Online Com- puter Library Center, Inc., Dublin, OH.
Dewey, J. (1938).Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.
JEAN MULHERN 80
Duberman, M. (1972).Black mountain: An exploration in community. New York: W. W. Norton.
Eisner, E. W. (1994).The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school pro- grams(3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Ewell, P. (1997). The role of states and accreditors in shaping assessment practice. In: L. F.
Goodchild, C. Lovell, E. R. Hines & J. I. Gill (Eds),Public policy and higher education (pp. 305–314). Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster.
Fine, M. (1994). Working the hyphens. In: N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds),Handbook of qualitative research(pp. 70–82). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Flake, F. H., & Williams, D. M. (1999). The way of the bootstrapper: Nine action steps for achieving your dreams. San Francisco, CA: Harper.
Freeman, K., & Thomas, G. E. (2002). Black colleges and college choice: Characteristics of students who choose HBCUs.The Review of Higher Education,25, 349–358.
Fullan, M. (1999).Change forces: The sequel. Philadelphia, PA: Falmer Press.
Gardner, J. N. (1995). Leaders and followers. In: J. T. Wren (Ed.),The leader’s companion:
Insights on leadership through the ages(pp. 185–188). New York: Free Press.
Giroux, H. A. (1997).Pedagogy and the politics of hope: Theory, culture, and schooling; a critical reader. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Goodchild, L. F., Lovell, C. D., Hines, E. R., & Gill, J. I. (Eds) (1997).Public policy and higher education. Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster.
Hall, G. E., & Hord, S. M. (2001). Implementing change: Patterns, principles, and potholes.
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Hanson, E. M. (1996).Educational administration and organizational behavior. Boston, MA:
Allyn and Bacon.
Havel, V. (1997).The art of the impossible: Politics as morality in practice. New York: Knopf.
Helgesen, S. (1995).The web of inclusion: A new architecture for building great organizations.
New York: Currency/Doubleday.
Henson, K. T. (2003). Foundation for learner-centered education: A knowledge base.Educa- tion,124, 5–16.
Huxham, C. (1993). Collaborative capability: An intraorganizational perspective on collabo- rative advantage.Public Money and Management,13, 21–28.
Iacocca, L. A., & Novak, W. (1984).Iacocca, an autobiography. New York: Bantam.
Jones, L. B. (1995).Jesus, CEO: Using ancient wisdom for visionary leadership. NY: Hyperion.
Kezar, A. J. (2001).Understanding and facilitating organizational change in the 21st century:
Recent research and conceptualizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kezar, A. J., & Eckel, P. (Eds) (2000).Moving beyond the gap between research and practice in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kotter, J. P. (1990).A force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York:
Free Press.
Kotter, J. P. (1995). What leaders really do. In: J. T. Wren (Ed.),The leader’s companion:
Insights on leadership through the ages(pp. 114–123). New York: Free Press.
Kowalski, T. J. (2001).Case studies on educational administration(3rd ed.). New York: Long- man.
Krathwohl, D. R. (1998).Methods of educational and social science research(2nd ed.). New York: Longman.
Lenning, O. T., & Ebbers, L. H. (1999).The powerful potential of learning communities: Im- proving education for the future. Washington, DC: The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
Levine, A., & Cureton, J. S. (1998).When hope and fear collide: A portrait of today’s college student. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mayeroff, M. (1971).On caring. New York: Harper Collins.
Mentkowski, M. (2000).Learning that lasts: Integrating learning, development, and performance in college and beyond. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Merry, U. (1995).Coping with uncertainty: Insights from the new sciences of chaos, self-organ- ization, and complexity. Westport, CN: Praeger.
Mezirow, J. (Ed.) (1990).Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mulhern, J. (1999b).Tom Sanville, Executive Director of the Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK): Making it up as ‘‘we’’ go.Unpublished project portfolio. Uni- versity of Dayton, Dayton, OH.
Mulhern, J. (2000a). Facing (and listening) to the music: Effective use of the third party com- ment process. In: S. E. Van Kollenburg (Ed.),A collection of papers of self-study and institutional improvement(pp. 384–387). Chicago, IL: North Central Association-CIHE.
Mulhern, J. (2000b).From talented tenth to guiding hundredth: Tracing the evolution of W.E.B.
Du Bois’ race leadership concept in his writings related to Wilberforce University[research paper]. Unpublished Manuscript. University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.
Mulhern, J. (2002b).Chaos theory: Is this butterfly causing a flap in organization theory?Un- published paper. University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.
Mulhern, J. (2002c). Current issues in higher education quality assurance – An overview for academic library administrators. In: E. D. Garten & D. E. Williams (Eds),Advances in library administration and organization(Vol. 19, pp. 137–164). Amsterdam: JAI/Elsevier.
Mulhern, J. (2002d).Self-fulfilling prophecy or the Pygmalion effect: An overview for school librarians.Unpublished paper. Syracuse University, Sysracuse, NY.
Newman, I., & Benz, C. R. (1998).Qualitative–quantitative research methodology: Exploring the interactive continuum. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NCA-CIHE). (1997).Handbook of accreditation(2nd ed.). Chicago: NCA- CIHE.
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Higher Learning Commission. (NCA- HLC). (2000).Levels of implementation – patterns of characteristics: Addendum to the handbook of accreditation(2nd ed., pp. 8–13). Chicago: NCA-HLC.
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Higher Learning Commission (NCA-HLC). (2003a). Commission statement on assessment of student learning (Adopted February 21, 2003). Chicago: NCA-HLC. Retrieved July 7, 2004, from www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org/resources/positionstatements/assessment/
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Higher Learning Commission (NCA- HLC). (2003b).Handbook of accreditation(3rd ed.). Chicago: NCA-HLC.
North Central Association of College and Schools, Higher Learning Commission (NCA-HLC). (2004).Assessment resources.Retrieved February 21, 2004, fromwww.
ncahigherlearningcommission.org/resources/assessment/index.html
Plato (1975). The trial and death of Socrates. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett (G. M. A. Grube, Trans).
Rost, J. C. (1995). Leaders and followers are the people in this relationship. In: J. T. Wren (Ed.), The leader’s companion: Insights on leadership through the ages(pp. 189–192). New York:
The Free Press.
JEAN MULHERN 82
Sarton, M. (1961).The small room. New York: W. W. Norton.
Schruijer, S. G. L., & Vansina, L. (2002). Leader, leadership and leading; from individual characteristics to relating in context.Journal of Organizational Behavior,23, 869–874.
Senge, P. (1990).Fifth discipline. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (1994). Organizations or communities? Changing the metaphor changes the theory.Educational Administration Quarterly,30, 214–226.
Smeyers, P. (1999). ‘‘Care’’ and wider ethical issues.Journal of Philosophy of Education,33, 233–251.
Smiley, J. (1996).Moo. New York: Ballentine Books.
Tolstoy, L. (1993). The death of Ivan Ilych. In: G. Gibian (Ed.),The portable nineteenth-century Russian reader(pp. 440–489). New York: Penguin.
Tsoukas, H., & Chia, R. (2002). On organizational becoming: Rethinking organizational change.Organization Science,13, 567–582.
University of Dayton (2004).Mission statement for the Ph.D. program in educational leadership.
School of education and allied professions. Retrieved July 7, 2004, from www.
soeap.udayton.edu/doctoral/index.htm
Vangen, S., & Huxham, C. (2003). Nurturing collaborative relations: Building trust in inter- organizational collaboration.Working paper. Glasgow, UK.
Weidman, J. C., Twale, D. J., & Stein, E. L. (2001).Socialization of graduate and professional students in higher education: A perilous passage?San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wheatley, M. J., & Kellner-Rogers, M. (1996).A simpler way. San Francisco, CA: Berrett- Koehler.
Wildavsky, A. (1997). Between planning and politics: Intellect vs. interaction as analysis. In:
L. F. Goodchild, C. D. Lovell, E. R. Hines & J. I. Gill (Eds),Public policy and higher education(pp. 26–45). Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster Custom Publishing.
Willower, D. J., & Forsyth, P. B. (1999). A brief history of scholarship on educational ad- ministration. In: J. Murphy & K. L. Seashore (Eds),Handbook of research on educational administration(2nd ed., pp. 1–24). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Yukl, G. (2002).Leadership in organizations(5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
This page intentionally left blank
84