Appointing Pro Vice Chancellors in Pre-1992 Universities: The Myth of Managerialism? Conference Presentation

Executive management teams in pre-1992 universities are changing, both in terms of what they do and how they are appointed. The traditional internal secondment model for PVC appointments is increasingly giving way to one of open external competition, often utilising the services of executive search agencies. But who or what is driving this change: government policy, the global higher education marketplace, the whim of the Vice Chancellor, or something else? And what have been the outcomes – intended or otherwise?

This paper will present some early answers to these questions. It will also begin to subject to critical examination the hackneyed rhetoric of managerialism in HE with its underlying assumptions that managerialism is both all-pervasive and has resulted in the inexorable rise of management at the expense of academic power.