John Aubrey Douglass

Since  establishing  itsfirst  campus  in  1868,the University  of  California (UC), California’s land-grant  university,developed into the nation’s first multi-campus systemin the United States,andistodaywidely recognized as the world’s premier network of public research universities. This short essay provides anhistorical brief on the role that shared  governance,  and  specifically  the  role  of  the  Academic  Senate, playedin  creating  an  academic  culture  of excellence and high achievementin pursuing itstripartite mission of teaching and learning, research and knowledge production, and public service. A key component in understanding the critical role of the Senate in UC’sevolution from  a  single  campus  in  Berkeley  to  now  a  ten-campus  system  is  the  university’sunusual  designation  as  a  public trust in the state constitution that, beginning in 1879,protected the university at critical times from external political pressuresand allowedthe university to develop aninternal academic cultureguided by the Academic Senate. By the 1920s, the emergence of California’s unique and innovative public system of higher education, with UC as the sole public provider  of  doctoral  degrees  and  state  funded  research,  also  helps  explain  the  ability  of  the  UC  system  to maintain itsmission  and formulate what  is  termed aOne  Universitymodel.  The  Academic  Senate  hascreatedcoherencyand shared valueswithin UC,and a culture and expectationfor faculty performance that is unique among universitiesaroundthe world. Thisessay also offersa brief reflection on the Academic Senate’spast influence, its current status,and prospective role. Theoverallintent is to provide context forthe current academic community and  higher  education  scholarsregarding  the past  and  future role  of  faculty  in  university  governance  and management, and what distinguishes UC in the pantheon of major research universities.

Since establishing its first campus in 1868, the University of California (UC), California’s land-grant university, developed into the nation’s first multi-campus systemin the United States, and is today widely recognized as the world’s premier network of public research universities. This short essay provides a historical brief on the role that shared governance, and specifically the role of the Academic Senate, played in creating an academic culture of excellence and high achievementin pursuing itstripartite mission of teaching and learning, research and knowledge production, and public service. A key component in understanding the critical role of the Senate in UC’s evolution from a single campus in Berkeley to now a ten-campus system is the university’s unusual designation as a public trust in the state constitution that, beginning in 1879, protected the university at critical times from external political pressures and allowed the university to develop an internal academic culture guided by the Academic Senate. By the 1920s, the emergence of California’s unique and innovative public system of higher education, with UC as the sole public provider of doctoral degrees and state funded research, also helps explain the ability of the UC system to maintain its mission and formulate what is termed a "One University" model. The Academic Senate has created coherency and shared values within UC, and a culture and expectation for faculty performance that is unique among universities around the world. This essay also offers a brief reflection on the Academic Senate’s past influence, its current status, and prospective role. The overall intent is to provide context forthe current academic community and higher education scholars regarding the past and future role of faculty in university governance and management, and what distinguishes UC in the pantheon of major research universities.

In  assessing  the  current  and  future  role  of  universities  in  the  nation-states in which they are chartered and funded, it is useful to ask, When are universities societal leaders as societal and constructive change agents,  and  when  are  they  followers,  reinforcing  the  existing  political  order?  As  discussed  in  the  book,  Neo-Nationalism and Universities: Populists, Autocrats and the Future of Higher Education,  the national political history and contemporary context is the dominant factor for shaping the leadership or follower role of universities – what  I  call  a  political  determinist  interpretation.  We often think of contemporary universities, and their students and faculty, as catalysts for societal progress --    the Free Speech and Civil Rights movements, Vietnam War protests, the anti-Apartheid movement, Tiananmen Square, and more recently the pro-democracy demonstrations   in Hong Kong. Universities can be, and have been, the locus for not only educating enlightened future leaders, but also for opposing oppression and dictatorships. But universities have also proved over their history to be tools for serving the privileged, and reinforcing the social class divisions of a society; they also have been factories for errant theories that reinforce the worst of  nationalist  tendencies.  Universities  are  both  unique  environments  for  educating  and  mentoring  free  thinkers,  entrepreneurs,  and  citizens  with,  for  example,  a  devotion  to  social  change,  or  for  creating conformists --    or all of the above. How might we assess whether universities are followers or leaders in their  societies?  This  essay  considers  this  question,  offering  a  framework  for  evaluating  the  follower  or  leader  role,  and  with  particular  attention  to  the  emergence  or,  in  some  cases,  re-emergence of  neo-nationalist leaders and autocratic governments.