Abstract

This article starts by presenting five scenarios, each represents a significant type of grassroots change that is occurring at colleges and universities across the country. Those who are instigating these changes have little formal authority. The authors recently conducted a study to document and better understand these kinds of changes and the leadership that initiates and sustains them. They interviewed hundreds of faculty and staff at liberal arts colleges, community colleges, universities, technical colleges, and regional public institutions, asking them about past and current initiatives they have undertaken. Their goal was to help other potential leaders understand how to overcome obstacles, navigate power structures on campus, and maintain resilience in the process of instituting long-term change. Their interviews suggest that faculty, student, and staff leaders are central to creating the changes that higher education needs to make in order to respond to society and serve the public good. Yet these leaders struggle when they do not have external support, which they perceive as having decreased in recent years or being less accessible than it once was. Higher education innovators need external support and resources that are low-cost, accessible, and can support small initiatives that can lead to true innovation on campus.

Citation

Kezar, A. & Lester, J. (2009). Promoting Grassroots Change in Higher Education: The Promise of Virtual Networks. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 41(2), 44-51. Retrieved August 7, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/105380/.

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Keywords

• Computer Networks
• Conservation (Environment)
• Educational Change
• EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
• Gender Issues
• higher education
• Interviews
• school culture
• Service Learning
• Social Change
• social networks
• teacher attitudes