The last judgement: exploring intellectual leadership in higher education through academic obituaries
The last judgement: exploring intellectual leadership in higher education through academic obituaries
The literature on leadership in higher education is focused mainly on senior academic leaders with managerial roles. It largely excludes informal and distributed forms of intellectual leadership offered by full professors among others. This article explores the concept of intellectual leadership using academic obituaries. A total of 63 obituaries were collected from Times Higher Education published between 2008 and 2010. These identify the importance of personal characteristics and academic achievements in the formation of reputation. Four elements of intellectual leadership are suggested, linked to academic obituaries: a passion for transformation, possessing a balance of personal virtues, a commitment to service, and overcoming adversity. Despite the limitations of obituaries, it is argued that they provide a valuable and under-utilised ‘last judgement’ on intellectual leadership.
intellectual leadership, transformative leadership, obituaries, virtues, professors
294-306
Macfarlane, Bruce
3e2b9eb0-1772-4642-bb51-ab49cc5b748c
Chan, Roy Y.
d812dee1-cf13-42f2-b64c-19ae300a12f6
2014
Macfarlane, Bruce
3e2b9eb0-1772-4642-bb51-ab49cc5b748c
Chan, Roy Y.
d812dee1-cf13-42f2-b64c-19ae300a12f6
Macfarlane, Bruce and Chan, Roy Y.
(2014)
The last judgement: exploring intellectual leadership in higher education through academic obituaries.
Studies in Higher Education, 39 (2), .
(doi:10.1080/03075079.2012.684679).
Abstract
The literature on leadership in higher education is focused mainly on senior academic leaders with managerial roles. It largely excludes informal and distributed forms of intellectual leadership offered by full professors among others. This article explores the concept of intellectual leadership using academic obituaries. A total of 63 obituaries were collected from Times Higher Education published between 2008 and 2010. These identify the importance of personal characteristics and academic achievements in the formation of reputation. Four elements of intellectual leadership are suggested, linked to academic obituaries: a passion for transformation, possessing a balance of personal virtues, a commitment to service, and overcoming adversity. Despite the limitations of obituaries, it is argued that they provide a valuable and under-utilised ‘last judgement’ on intellectual leadership.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 26 April 2012
Published date: 2014
Keywords:
intellectual leadership, transformative leadership, obituaries, virtues, professors
Organisations:
Southampton Education School
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Local EPrints ID: 373072
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/373072
ISSN: 0307-5079
PURE UUID: f55774c4-6697-4f28-ac80-39ef553cb881
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Date deposited: 06 Jan 2015 14:51
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 18:47
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Author:
Bruce Macfarlane
Author:
Roy Y. Chan
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