| Public institutions of higher education are critical parts of our Public Administration. A large percentage of most state budgets is devoted to these institutions, and many are increasingly funded to achieve a variety of non-educational purposes, such as training a labor force for the global economy. Therefore, higher education institutions face not only the typical problems of public agencies in general, but also carry a heavy burden of other goals. This research focuses on Larry Terry's "administrator as conservator" model and Daniel Rowley, Herman Lujan, and Michael Dolence's "entrepreneurial public servant" model in a theory building mode to understand college and university presidents' leadership role in public institutions. The study analyzes 10 college and university presidents from 2- and 4-year public institutions within Ohio. Data collection for this study involved focused interviews, transcribed interview audiotapes, and a software package for qualitative data analysis that linked key phrases and functions of each model with the responses of each president. Through an exploration of commonalities and individual circumstances, this study illustrates that the majority of the presidential responses closely related to the administrator as conservator model in relation to the functions they perform to conserve mission, conserve values, conserve support, and to preserve institutional integrity. By examining 10 college and university presidents from 2- and 4-year public institutions within Ohio, the interviewees may represent the broader population of college and university presidents in public institutions, but that was not ascertainable. By testing the applicability of concepts and theories, a theoretical foundation was created for further studies. |
