Rough Times Spark Innovation Michael Lawson, HRM 601‐102, Prof. Schneider The University of the Highlands (UtH) is a comprehensive research university located in Krawen, Rhode Island. In 2005, the university was formed by executive order under Governor Neil McGree, merging the state’s three research university’s within the city of Krawen, the Rhode Island Institute of Technology (RIIT), Queen Scarlet University (QSU), and the Krawen University of Medicine and Dentistry (KUMD). At the time of the merger, limited funding and support was given to the newly formed university, causing the process to break down and the much needed relief to the state’s growing financial problems to never materialize. During the past five years, a power struggle between the three reigning presidents at the time of the merger has continually erupted, causing very public turf wars within the new university. This led to numerous outcries for the newly elected governor, Robert Roberti, to step in and appoint new leadership for the University of the Highlands and assist in finalizing the merger.
As a result to the turmoil surrounding the university merger, UtH has struggled in its first years
to recruit the high quality students that were a constant at the three previous universities. Faculty and Staff have also felt the effects, being in a state of employment limbo with no clear hierarchy and job security, causing many to leave. Previous campus initiatives and improvement projects have been halted in a means to reconfigure the university under one mission. However, the extended timeline has jeopardized many important and needed projects.
At the beginning of 2010, Governor Robert Roberti appointed Alten Chirk as the new President
of the University of the Highlands, causing much protest within the media. Chirk had been the President of the Rhode Island Institute of Technology, positioning RIIT to take the lead in the merger by improving academics and moving the RIIT athletic teams to Division I competition. Many in the past five years have
been unimpressed by the Chirk’s laissez faire approach to the merger, calling for him to take more action and mediate the power struggle between him, Owen Williams (KUMD) and J. Stevens (QSU). Even though the media, students, faculty, and staff had called for Chirk to do more, many times his hands were tied, unable to take the reins of the university due to political red tape and legal issues. His appointment by the Governor paved the way for action.
During his first week in his new position, Chirk knew that if he was going to turn the university
into the world class learning community he knew it was, action was needed immediately. During the past five years many had viewed Chirk with distrust and unequipped for the job because of his publicly hands off approach, however this was far from the truth. Chirk was not an outspoken leader, rather he was quiet, yet charismatic. He listened more than talked. However as the people around him knew, he had the great ability of listening to the people in a group and bringing about compromise, the main reason Roberti appointed him to the position. This was in great contrast to his counterparts, Owen Williams and J. Stevens. Williams was an egotistical and feisty man, who was brought to KUMD to quell the university’s rising financial and political problems before the merger. Williams was known for his explosive rants and his “my way or the highway attitude” that ostracized many who worked with him. J. Stevens was not much different, a Krawen native that was no stranger to controversy. Stevens, with his outspoken views on education reform and town‐gown relations, had become the home‐town favorite for the UtH presidency. During the first week of Chirk’s presidency, he met with both Williams and Stevens to see if a long‐sought after compromise and plan could be formulated among the three leaders. In listening to the two other leaders opinions Chirk realized that his position as president was not going to be a traditional one, and knew that all three of them would have to be part of the university’s climb to greatness. Too
much animosity and too many rifts had been made between the leaders for one to not be included in the university’s future. For the first time in five years the three leaders sat quietly and respectfully in the same room. Both Williams and Stevens believed with Chirk’s appointment their opinions would not be heard and had started looking for other positions at other universities. Surprisingly, Chirk offered both leaders the opportunity to stay with the university. Chirk had thought long and hard about the decision he was about to make and knew that it was the right move. Chirk proposed a Presidential Committee to be formed to lead the university, a new system in which no other university was organized under. The system comprised of three positions operating as a committee that would make executive decisions on a majority rule basis. One position included being the Provost (Stevens), the second position included heading Student Affairs and Research (Chirk), and the last position included Alumni, Campus Planning, and Fundraising (Williams). Chirk only made three stipulations; that he would have final say if there was a deadlock between the three, that they would all take a 25% paycut, and that this arrangement would only last a maximum of 4 years, at which time a single person would take control in a more traditional university style presidency. The three agreed to the terms and decided to have their first joint press conference to announce the long awaited plan for UtH. The plan was met with mixed reviews, some of which were optimistic, however others were skeptical the arrangement would work. After 3 years, and a lot of long nights and hard work the university was on the road to recovery. Chirk, Williams, and Stevens did not always see eye to eye, however they finally learned how to work together. The arrangement was not without problems, but all were resolved by Chirk, understanding his greater role in the university’s life. The University of the Highlands was finally firmly established as one of the state’s strongest research universities.
Questions: Why didn’t this type of university organizational system arise before Chirk took office? Was Chirk a traditional leader? What type of innovation was produced to solve the problem? What types of leadership styles were presented? How can power struggles stand in the way of progress? Did the Governor have the right to merge the school without supporting his decision? What were the benefits and detriments to this power‐sharing arrangement? Why might it be that more organizations don’t do this? What other organizations have tried a power‐sharing CEO arrangement? How did it work for them? How did Chirk’s stipulations help the arrangement to work?