On Being a Sociologist within a University's Administration

I suspect that there is considerable variation in the degree to which those serving within academic administration plan for and seek in a self-conscious fashion the positions they come to occupy. My own progression in administration may be fairly typical-department head, dean, provost. On paper, it may appear to be an orderly, well-conceived career pattern. In actuality, it was unplanned and unexpected. There was no rationally devised strategy to seek administrative responsibility, and my serving in such positions has been at least partially the consequence of organizational changes over which I had no control. I am not sure that an account and analysis of my experience will be of significance to others, but perhaps it will provide some insight into administrative careers. I have some concern about this exercise, for what follows is essentially an abbreviated case history, and I am suspicious of such data and the biases that they invariably contain. I will focus primarily on my sevenand-one-half-year term as Provost of the University of Oregon

Political science · Sociology · Academic Freedom and Politics · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Law · Management and Organizational Studies

• To the Dark Side and Back

  Open Access•Cecil L Willis•The American Sociologist•2010

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