Sticky Cases in Higher Education Leadership

“Everyone knows the adage 'If you give someone a fish, you feed them for a day. If you teach them to fish, you feed them for a lifetime.' Most leadership books give you the fish in the form of 'how to’s' for managing various challenges. Sticky Cases teaches you to fish by presenting complex, real-world case studies and leaving it to you to determine how best to navigate those challenges. Current and aspiring higher education leaders will benefit from wrestling with these thorny problems, developing skills that will enable them to fish for themselves no matter how choppy the waters of higher education become.”

Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D., Higher Education Leadership and Policy Consultant

“This comprehensive case study book is a must-have resource for higher education professionals, featuring 40 chapters that delve into relevant topics such as Collaboration, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Faculty-Administrator Relationships, and more. The cases are authored by 36 experts, each bringing a unique perspective that enriches the overall content and makes it a valuable resource for classroom use. Each chapter follows a consistent format – areas for reflection, the context, and conflict/challenge; this provides for ease of implementation in the classroom. The discussion questions at the end of each case are thoughtfully crafted to provoke deep reflection and stimulate engaging conversations about the issues presented. This book is not only well-written but also a valuable tool for anyone looking to understand the complexities of today’s educational environment.”

Dr. Peter J. Mcaliney, Director, Professional and Executive Education at Rutgers, and Director, Ragone Center for Excellence in Accounting, Rutgers University

“This wonderful book is a collection of lively and relevant cases suitable for a variety of leadership development programs. The dilemmas will be familiar to anyone in organizations where governance is a combination of applying legal rules, institutional policies, and humanitarian considerations. Thoughtful questions provide a basis for collaborative problem solving and encourage the reader to seek further knowledge. The authors have filled a gap in leadership preparation curriculum with a timely and useful publication.”

Rene Parmar, Ph.D., Dean, School of Education, SUNY New Paltz

“What a great book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sticky Cases in Higher Education. The authentic cases shed light on some of the truly contentious issues facing higher education institutions, such as the tension between historical recognition, first nation injustices, and contemporary values. It examines the rhetoric and the actual practice of equity, the realities of accessibility in virtual learning environments, and navigating hierarchical structures to ensure succession planning within university leadership. The cases and accompanying questions are sure to inspire thoughtful reflection and encourage key stakeholders to come together to find proactive solutions to some of the most pressing challenges we face in Higher Education.”

Professor Angela Carbone, Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Learning Teaching and Quality, STEM College, RMIT University, Australia

“In the last fifteen years, the United States has gone through a series of shocks: economic downturn, political turmoil, a racial reckoning, COVID, war in the Middle East. Higher education has not been immune to such unrest. In fact, far from it. And in the North and Midwest, where demographic decline has only sharpened our challenges, higher education leaders must be constantly watchful, thoughtful, and attentive. We need a guide in such turbulent times, one that helps us think through problems rather than offering ready-made, cookie cutter answers that do not meet the real needs of our institutions. Sticky Cases offers just that. This book provides readers with real world cases that require teams of diverse leaders to develop thoughtful responses that meet the demands of the day. For leaders looking for a book that offers an approach to solving real world challenges of today, Sticky Cases is mandatory reading.”

James Wolfinger, Dean, The School of Education, St. John’s University

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Part I - Collaboration

Chapter 1 - Ethical Leadership Conflict
Alan Sebel

Chapter 2 - Advancing Your Agenda
Marian Stotz-Loike

Chapter 3 - Bridging the Communication Gap
Sabra Brock

Chapter 4 - Same Page: Building Common Understandings in Program Design
Marcella Bullmaster-Day

Chapter 5 - Interprofessional Education Collaborative Pilot: Working Across Disciplines
Patricia Burke

Chapter 6 - Multidisciplinary Collaborative Leadership for the Infusion of the Collaborative Leadership Curricula
Abraham M. Jeger, Elizabeth J. Unni, and Barbara A. Capozzi

Chapter 7 - Research-Based Learning in the Financial Disciplines—Its Importance and Practical Implications
Anna Klippstein

Chapter 8 - Faculty Leadership in Professional Communities of Practice
Elina Lampert-Shepel, Marcella Bullmaster-Day, and Laurie Wellner

Chapter 9 - Organization or Chaos? Kicking Off an NGO
Shamira Malekar

Part II - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Chapter 10 - Getting Students to Focus on Feedback Rather Than Grades
Charity Dacey

Chapter 11 - Job Interviews Analysis Overstep?
Lenin Ortega

Chapter 12 - Addressing Evolving Historical Perspectives
Alan Sebel

Chapter 13 - Introducing Critical Race Theory
Alan Sebel

Chapter 14 - Rhetoric and Practice
Velma Cobb

Chapter 15 - The Team Leaders’ Dilemma
Ruth A. Best

Chapter 16 - “This Is Not a Game Any Longer!” Opportunities and Challenges of Advancing Applied Studies by Introducing Computer Simulations
Holger Luedeke

Chapter 17 - Inclusive Realities of a Virtual Campus: Navigating Accessibility Changes in Virtual Learning Environments
Ayushi Tandon

Part III - Faculty-Administrator Relationships

Chapter 18 - Administrative Integrity vs. An Organization’s Policy
Thomas Troisi

Chapter 19 - Planning the Unplannable
Gena Bardwell, Carrie DiMatteo, and Sabra Brock

Chapter 20 - Procedural Disfunction
Alan Sebel

Chapter 21 - Trouble Due to Pilot Error
Timothy Bellavia

Chapter 22 - A Question of Priorities
Nilda Soto Ruiz

Part IV - Implementing and Adapting to Change

Chapter 23 - Collaborator or Dictator?
Alan Sebel

Chapter 24 - College Life Beyond the Crisis
Shoshanah Findling

Chapter 25 - Creating a Virtual Community of Practice
Gitta Jaroslawicz-Neufeld

Chapter 26 - Leading from the Middle: Perspective of a Newly Hired Leader
Olga DeJesus-Diaz

Chapter 27 - When Admissions Protocols Become Murky: Unintended Consequences
Sarah J. Klugman

Part V - Introducing New Technologies

Chapter 28 - Faculty Discretion vs. Departmental Oversight
Yair Maman

Chapter 29 - Open Educational Resources (OER ): Is It Worth It?
Sara Tabaei

Chapter 30 - Transforming Teacher Training: Dr. Smith’s Journey Implementing an AI-Based Teaching Simulation Platform
Jasmin Cowin

Chapter 31 - Video Dilemma: FERPA , Title IX, and Faculty Oversight
Shmuel Fink

Chapter 32 - AI Assistant at the Meeting: A Clash of Privacy and Participation
Laurie Bobley

Part VI - Overcoming Performance Issues

Chapter 33 - New Leader, Hidden Problems
Sabra Brock

Chapter 34 - The Professor’s Academic Dilemma
Kenneth S. Bigel

Chapter 35 - Unveiling the Underperformer: Addressing New Employee Performance Challenges
Laurie Bobley

Chapter 36 - What Higher Education Can Learn About Employee Burnout from the Hospitality Industry
Gena Bardwell

Part VII - Professional Growth

Chapter 37 - Faculty Development from the Top Down or Bottom Up?
Carrie DiMatteo

Chapter 38 - Preparing for the Workplace
Sabra Brock

Chapter 39 - Rejected, Not Defeated
Laurie Bobley, Sabra Brock, and Alan Sebel

Chapter 40 - The Socratic Method in Mathematics Lectures
Marius Fahrner and Birgit Wolf

About the Contributors

Index

Laurie Bobley

Laurie Bobley, Ed.D., is the Chair of Alternative Programs and University Partnerships in the Graduate School of Education at Touro University New York. She has over 14 years of experience in higher education and has taught courses in science education, educational technology, and special education. Dr. Bobley completed her doctoral studies at Drexel University, where she examined mandatory professional development for higher education faculty. She is passionate about ensuring that all educators have the skills, competencies, and knowledge they need to impact student learning. Her research interests include teacher education, distance education, faculty development, and leadership. She serves on committees for several professional organizations and is a highly active volunteer in her own institution. Previously at Touro, she served as the Director of GSE Online Education and has taught Science and Technology methods courses in the Graduate School of Education. Prior to transitioning into higher education, Dr. Bobley was a middle and high school science teacher.

Alan Sebel

Alan Sebel is a Professor of Education at Touro University, New York. He has been a faculty member in the Graduate School of Education School Leadership Program since 2003. He teaches courses in leadership and management to students seeking to be future school leaders. He is also the clinical coordinator for the program overseeing the internships of the program’s students. He received his Ed.D. in Administration, Supervision and Educational Leadership from Fordham University in 1990. Dr. Sebel has published in scholarly journals and has presented on leadership and online learning at national and international journals. Together with Drs. Laurie Bobley and Sabra Brock, he co-developed and facilitates the Touro College Academy of Leadership and Management (TCALM). TCALM prepares Touro University faculty for leadership positions in higher education. Prior to joining the faculty of Touro, he served the public school system of New York City as a teacher, supervisor and completed his 34-year career with the NYC Department of Education as a Deputy Assistant Superintendent in the Chancellor’s Office of Monitoring and School Improvement.

Sabra Brock

Sabra Brock is Chair of the Business & Accounting Department at NYSCAS in Touro University, New York City. In her full Professor role, she teaches courses in Marketing and Management. She received a PhD in business education from NYU in 2007, focusing on transformational learning. Dr. Brock publishes widely in scholarly journals and with the Touro University Press. Her books include At the Intersection of Education, Marketing, and Transformation and Discourses on Business Education at the College Level (with Peter J. McAliney). She co-founded the open innovation platform IdeaSpies.com in 2015 with Australian Lynn Wood. They authored the chapter GETTING THE (POSITIVE) WORD OUT: THE IdeaSpies PLATFORM in the 2023 book The Ideas-Informed Society. Together with Drs. Laurie Bobley and Alan Sebel she founded the Touro College Academy of Leadership and Management (TCALM) as co-developer and facilitator. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Brock held global leadership positions at Citicorp, Colgate-Palmolive, DuPont, and Young & Rubicam.