Global University President Leadership: Insights from Tsinghua Interviews

This book unlocks mysteries surrounding university presidents. Presidents have a large and growing influence on world and academic affairs. Yet until now, little has been revealed about how they enact their roles, how they capture motivation and academic energy, and their views on higher education.

This book sheds light on these critical topics, revealing insights from in-depth interviews with presidents of nineteen globally focused universities from thirteen countries. The book presents the interview transcripts and surrounds these with interpretative commentary. Underpinned by leadership theory and framed by analysis, the book provides glimpses into how top leaders think, how presidents manoeuvre through their careers, how leaders form and run productive teams, and opportunities for research and innovation. Common themes and challenges are identified. The presidents reflect on university landscapes, strategic outlooks, the formation of executive teams, online teaching, funding, industry engagement, sustainability, grand challenges, and interdisciplinarity.

This book is for professionals and scholars who are interested in education, universities, public policy, science and humanities, and global affairs.

Hamish Coates is a Tenured Professor at Tsinghua University’s Institute of Education, Director of the Higher Education Research Division, and Deputy Director of the Tsinghua University Global Research Centre for the Assessment of College and Student Development. He was Professor of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne, Founding Director of Higher Education Research at the Australian Council for Educational Research, and Program Director at the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Leadership and Management. He concentrates on improving the quality and productivity of higher education.

Zheping Xie has a PhD in political science and has post-doctoral experience in education. She is an Associate Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, and Deputy Director of Policy Research Office at Tsinghua University. She serves as an Academic Board Member for Undergraduate Education Committee of Tsinghua University, Board Member of the Aalborg Centre for Problem Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability, Jury of UNESCO International Literacy Prize, and Advisory Board Member of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO. She was a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2014. Between 2014 and 2020 she served on the jury for UNESCO’s Prize for Girls and Women’s Education. She has published over 20 papers, six books, and several book chapters on education and international cooperation. Her current research focuses on education and global governance.

Wen Wen is currently an Associate Professor in higher education at Tsinghua University’s Institute of Education and vice director of the university’s Centre for Asian Studies. She participated as a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard University and a Visiting Scholar in the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College in 2019-2020. Dr Wen’s research interests include sociology of education, comparative and international higher education, and education policy. Her latest research examines how university organization and higher education development are shaped by political, social, and economic dynamics in the globalized era. She has authored and co-authored over 100 publications in the aforementioned research area. Her articles have appeared in the top journals of higher education. She is currently on the editorial boards for Studies in Higher Education and has served on many others.