Beyond ‘Aware and Paralysed’: Governance, Research and Leadership at the Nexus of Academic Development and Corporate Universities

Abstract

The corporatisation of the higher education institution poses challenges for relational humanconnected academic development. The academic developer is caught between corporate structures and narratives which conditions inaction and an inevitable professionalisation of their portfolio. This article argues that without supporting faculty agency the role is still not fully realised. It highlights how the corporate university conditions staff and students and reasserts student/staff partnership as a conduit to reposition the institution and its governance for democratic society. Through a novel synthesis of research literature, and theoretical positioning, new ways for academic developers to 'see' their work and reassert ownership and hope are suggested.