In the burgeoning literature on infusing undergraduate research and creative activities into the curriculum of research-intensive institutions, few studies have examined the perspectives of the faculty mentors who provide the individualized opportunities for students. Based on focus group data from 50 faculty mentors, we document faculty…

For the study we report here we used the theoretical framework of organizational justice to examine academic administrator's perceptions of resource distribution decisions. We asked deans, school directors, and department chairs in one midwestern state about their perceptions of the fairness and likelihood of use of various distribution…

The rank of professor or "full" professor represents the highest status possible for faculty members, and it is generally gained by attaining professional expertise and a national or international reputation. Beyond this, however, little is known about these individuals or the promotion process at this level. In this qualitative study of…

In this article we analyze a project that used facilitation techniques, which are known from training in industry, to improve the study environment at a public research university in Denmark. In 2009, the project was initiated in one graduate program; and it has subsequently been modified and institutionalized. The project did not change the…

Since the publication of The Boyer Commission Report (1998), inquiry-guided learning, has acquired a certain cachet and is often suggested as a universal answer for various teaching and learning ills, particularly in research universities. However, while the report focused on inquiry-guided learning, it defined the term only generally or chiefly…

Higher education in America has experienced periodic "inflection points" that have served to significantly alter the higher education landscape and dramatically change the focus and actions of the American research university community. We are on the leading edge of a new inflection point that could be--despite prevailing economic challenges--an…

Using data collected through case studies of 21 research universities in the United States, I reviewed the efforts institutions are undertaking to meet the growing demand for interdisciplinary knowledge. I adopted the framework of transformative change, where change occurs over time and brings important shifts in the way an institution views…

Research has shown that first-generation, low-income college students experience both isolation and marginalization, especially during their first-year of college, which impacts their long-term persistence in higher education. In this article, I argue that learning community pedagogy designed with attention to multicultural curricula is one…

This article addresses academic integrity initiatives at a large research university. The article explains the rationale for the creation of the honor system office and its evolution to date. Data collected from academic violation cases during the program's first two years are included.

Key voices influencing higher education are increasingly aware of engagement in effecting change. Public research universities have missions compatible with engagement, but efforts to institutionalize it may conflict with their underlying values. Using boundary expansion as the analytical framework, this study compared the institutionalization of…

Conflict in the university setting is an inherent component of academic life. Leaders spend more than 40% of their time managing conflict. Department heads are in a unique position--they encounter conflict from individuals they manage and from others to whom they report such as a senior administrator in the position of dean. There are very few…

Engaging undergraduate students in research activities has been advocated as an innovative strategy to improve American higher education (Boyer Commission, "Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America's research universities." The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stony Brook, NY, 1998). This study compared the…

This article reports on the impact of organized research centers on professional effort, productivity, and perceptions of work satisfaction for life sciences faculty members at research intensive universities' medical schools in the U.S. Results indicate that senior center-affiliated faculty members taught less but worked more total hours than…

Multicultural education has transformed higher education both in terms of research and in terms of student experiences. Given the complexity of our institutions, the overall effects of these transformations are mixed. Building on the successes and strengths of multicultural education as it is currently incorporated in institutions and programs…

The qualitative study on which this article is based examined key individuals' perceptions, both within a research university community and beyond in its external governing board, of how to improve benchmarking as an accountability method in higher education. Differing understanding of benchmarking revealed practical implications for using it as…