Every academic in Ireland should read this piece by Ferdinand Von Prondzynski on his blog today:
"It is time for universities to stop being victims. This cannot be done without a proper sense of strategy and an ability to launch it pro-actively. Government policies are often so damaging because governments simply don’t understand higher education; and why should they, when so many academics no longer do, either? Politicians must be engaged in proper and constructive discussion, which must include assurances of how universities can and will help them meet their wider objectives. Universities must stop being divided, both amongst themselves and internally; it is easy to face down institutions that clearly cannot speak with one voice. University leaders must be better at community building within their institutions, and injecting into them a sense of autonomy and confidence. University heads are not industry CEOs, but they are leaders, and they need to exercise leadership in the best sense of the term. As a class, they need to be better prepared and trained for this."
via The deep, deep anguish of higher education « University Blog.