While granting autonomy to universities, the government shall also think about how to distribute this power, which, in my opinion, shall be ascribed to the academic entities and their representatives. Of course, it is unrealistic to let professors make all decisions in the university as the reform cannot run to an extreme.
——WANG Xiaofan
Recently, Professor WANG Xiaofan of Duke University paid a visit to Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Peking University and other research centers in his week-long visit in China. Receiving an interview from Science Times, he said, “A consensus had reached between the central government and the universities about the increasing demand for stronger college autonomy. To be specific, professor-rule and non-administration have become the two most frequently heard terms for university reform”. He pointed out that China had hit the key problem in advocating autonomy, but only with appropriate positioning, philosophy of school and scientific management system can college autonomy display its full strength.
University: Professor-rule
“Professor shall extensively control academic activities as they are the one who understands high learning most and are the most qualified to decide courses and way of lecturing. More apparent is that professors have the clearest mind about who are most qualified to be professors. Most importantly, they must be the notary to see if their academic freedom is violated or not.”
——Derek Bok, former President of Harvard University
WANG Xiaofan said that professor-rule is decided by university’s mission and its intrinsic characteristics. University is the place to deliver, analyze and discover high learning, which requires not only professional professors to create and deliver knowledge, but also talented scholars and experts who well master high learning to take charge of management. Started in European universities in Middle Ages, professor-rule remains vital in its centuries’ development and is still an ideal management approach for modern universities.
China: Professor-rule
“We should advocate Mr. Cai Yuanpei’s inclusive attitude, and try our best for real academic freedom.”
——MEI Yiqi, former President of Tsinghua University
CAI Yuanpei was a famous educator who was the first to promote free academic activities and professor-rule in China. MEI Yiqi, known as “life president of Tsinghua University” was a confirmed follower of CAI, who made great effort in orientating China’s education to modernization. In 1931, he was appointed to be the president of Tsinghua University, and in his inaugural speech, he said that there were two purposes for establishing a university, one was doing academic research and another was cultivating talented people. He believed that universities should focus their energy in cultivating all-round persons instead of specialists for all professions and trades in the society, which responsibility shall be taken by the Ministry of Education. He also emphasized the importance of academic freedom in higher education.
After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, China once followed the Soviet Union in its university construction. For instance, large-scale school -department adjustments were carried out to establish the so-called “specialized” schools, and centralized administrative pattern was brought into university management system. The negative impact resulted from such adjustment are still hindering the course of establishing world-top university. In January this year, Richard C. Levin, President of Yale University pointed out that one major problem in China’s higher education was that China’s universities were in the charge of both the president and the secretary of party committee, and the latter also chairs the College Board. “This kind of decision-making system may interfere with the president to realize his teaching purpose as the vice president, heads of department and other superior management staff are appointed by the College Board, the chair of which is the secretary of party committee not the president. China’s Ministry of Education is trying to solve this controversy about university governance.”
Professor-rule: an Integration of Democracy and Centralization
“In this visit, I heard about one professor-rule suggestion that all school affairs shall be decided by professors, which I think is unrealistic. To practice non-administration in universities can not follow a sweeping approach, which would only get the school into mess. In America, professor-rule is indirectly practiced that professors voice out their opinions and suggestions through committee of professors so as to supervise and participate in school affairs. The College Board would employ the president, who then appoints the dean of studies, and he would appoint deans of colleges, who will finally decide the department heads, which is an integration of democracy and centralization.”
——WANG Xiaofan
Besides of the problem the President of Yale University has mentioned, WANG thought another problem was that the administrative power was over-distributed to management apartments. For example, the department of personnel and the accounting department enjoy great power, which hinders the authority of the president or that of the deans of college. He said, “This is a manifestation of the official-oriented standard. Administrative authority is over-centralized upon the management departments, whose original obligation is to serve and assist academic activities. The government shall think about how to distribute university autonomy, which, in my opinion, shall be ascribed to the academic entities and their representatives instead of the management departments”. At present, university funds are usually used on hardware, not on recruiting and attracting the excellent professors, which he thought should be changed in university reform. But WANG was also against the sweeping approach and everything being decided by professors.
“The Professor Team is the most important.”
At the end, Professor WANG pointed out that the professor team is the most important for a university. The employment and management of professors play a vital role in university construction. And the philosophy of professor-rule shall manifest itself in professors’ employment and such affairs. The president and deans of colleges shall be granted high authority to achieve university autonomy and academic freedom. At the same time, the professors are expected to fully convey their opinions and suggestions and fulfill their duty of supervision.
(This news is abstracted from Science Times)
