Scaling Culture Change through Institutional Logics: A Look at the American Association of Universities (AAU) STEM Initiative

Kezar, Adrianna; Bernstein-Serra, Samantha

doi:10.1080/0161956x.2020.1800173

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This analysis uses Kezar's (2012) model of bottomup/top-down leadership which examines how "bottom-up leaders can and do use specific strategies in order to converge their efforts with top-down leaders" (p. 474). The success of any organizational change effort requires communication of interests and priorities between various stakeholders, and a shift of institutional purposes, frameworks, and logics to reflect the desired cultural change (Kezar 2012(Kezar , 2013Kezar and Bernstein-Serra 2020). Efforts towards diversity and social justice in particular require foregrounding the power of institutional leaders in mobilizing the necessary resources (Kezar 2001;Pasque and Carducci 2015) as well as the demonstration of a deep commitment to institutional transformation, rather than a merely cosmetic superficial change (Gonzales et al 2018).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

StateChurch: Bringing Religion to Public Higher Education

2021

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Religion undeniably impacts life in modern society in numerous ways. In the U.S., discussions about religion in public life often start at the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution as fundamental to the separation of church and state. Public higher education does not necessarily share established associations with any religion, but is not free from religious influence. Although Christian influences are undeniably present on public campuses, educators hesitate to discuss religion and spirituality due in part to a pedestrian understanding of the establishment clause and epistemologies that artificially equate secularism with intellectualism. This paper examines case studies conducted at five public U.S. institutions. Focus groups and interviews highlight what different public campuses are doing to address religious diversity, and how they are succeeding or failing to accommodate the needs of students. Findings indicate that executive leaders’ attitudes towards religious diversity on campus are essential for sustained interfaith efforts, but fell short without bottom-up buy-in. Faculty in particular served as key bottom-up leaders for interfaith motivation on campus with students often feeling most comfortable exploring different worldviews within the classroom. This study provides reasonable and responsible pathways toward helping locate religion within public education, and substantiating interfaith ideas as necessary for an informed and responsible global citizenry.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

StateChurch: Bringing Religion to Public Higher Education

2021

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“…institutionalization) [ 44 ]. Regarding successful undergraduate educational reform, a study of eight campuses identified strategies such as: shifting toward collective responsibility for curricula and teaching; hiring educational experts within STEM departments; reorganizing institutional structures; employing institutional data to provide evidence to support student learning; creating institutional business models to promote sustainability; managing high-quality teaching and research; and leveraging relationships with a higher education association to advance educational reforms and institutional change [ 45 ]. Finally, STEM intervention programs that struggle to gain financial or other forms of support from senior-level administrators are viewed as less valued by important university stakeholders and rarely institutionalized [ 46 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-case analysis of developing program sustainability and institutionalization in early stages of a multisite biomedical student diversity initiative

Cobian

Ramos

2021

BMC Med Educ

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Background Grant funding often drives innovative programming in efforts to enhance diversity in biomedical fields, yet strategies for sustainability of grant-funded biomedical intervention are not well understood. Additionally, as funding agencies shift toward supporting institutional change to biomedical training, less is known about the extent to which sustainability strategies can support long-term institutionalization of the original goals of the grant-funded initiative. The purpose of this study is twofold: to identify strategies used by grant-funded programs for promoting sustainability, and to examine the interrelations between the concepts of sustainability and institutionalization during early stages of grant-funded biomedical career training efforts. Methods We employed a multiple case study design and cross-case analysis using interviews of program administrators and participants from 10 undergraduate institutions that received Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) awards funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Results BUILD sites engaged in the following strategies to develop program sustainability: 1) scaling and adapting to expand programmatic impact, 2) identifying additional funding and cost-cutting measures, 3) developing and maintaining infrastructure and structural operations, 4) leveraging relationships and with intra-and inter-institutional partners, and 5) and addressing hiring, policies, and reward systems at the institution. Senior administrative support supported program sustainability and early institutionalization, although we also identified situations where participants felt that they were on track for sustainable changes without administrative support or institutional change. Of the strategies identified, those that involve organizational and infrastructural changes contribute to early stages of institutionalization. Conclusions This study contributes to literature on organizational change by providing evidence of distinctions and interrelations between program sustainability efforts and institutionalization of change efforts in that some sustainability strategies can overlap with strategies to move toward institutionalization. The findings indicate the importance of program administrators developing early sustainability plans that also lead to institutionalization, as well as an opportunity for funding agencies to develop technical assistance on sustainability, organizational change, and institutionalization as a resource to support program administrators’ efforts toward making lasting, structural change on their campuses.

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“…presupposes that understanding departmental stakeholders' assumptions, beliefs and behaviors underlies the conceptual and practical foundation for adapting and sustaining effective teaching and learning practices. Locating student support strategies in the discipline of computing, rather than more vague STEM disciplines in general, strengthens the specificity of sustained organizational practices to support Hispanic and URM students in computing (Chapman, 2019;Kezar & Bernstein-Serra, 2020;Mack et al, 2019). Based on the literature on higher education organizational change in undergraduate STEM reform efforts, we focused our analysis on understanding four mechanisms that influence equitable outcomes-a) allocating financial priorities toward equity, b) setting inclusive incentive and reward structures, c) implementing equity-oriented policies and programs, and d) supporting diverse human resources Allocating financial priorities toward equity.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scholars of STEM organizational change found that multiple and sometimes competing forces influence how faculty respond to and implement proposed initiatives. In their empirical work studying multi-University of Texas at El Pasoal STEM reform initiatives, Kezar, Gehrke, and Elrod (2015) and Kezar and Bernstein-Serra (2020) emphasize the importance of the multiple and conflicting perspectives faculty bring to bear on their everyday work. presupposes that understanding departmental stakeholders' assumptions, beliefs and behaviors underlies the conceptual and practical foundation for adapting and sustaining effective teaching and learning practices.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the importance of the department as a locus for undergraduate STEM improvement (AAAS, 2019), scant research has examined organizational change at the department level (Kezar, 2018;Kezar & Bernstein-Serra, 2020). We posit that the department can create a student support structure for equitable student outcomes and theorize that this student support structure can be enhanced when the departmental practices align with the departmental values, as well as broader University of Texas at El Pasoal values and practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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