University leaders have one of the most challenging jobs in the world because they have one of the most important jobs in the world

If we accept that universities are society’s conscience, and society’s critic -- indeed that they are in their purest sense, truth-seekers -- then I think we must also accept that being a university leader is one of the hardest jobs in the world. It carries a huge weight of responsibility.

The every-day nuts-and-bolts of running a large, complex, multi-million dollar organisation (or a multi-billion dollar organisation in many cases) is tough enough. On top of the not insignificant core functions of organising teaching and research across multiple and overlapping disciplines, in a competitive global market for talent, there’s the estate to look after, there’s the huge responsibility of being a major employer embedded in a community, with great responsibilities to nurture and support an extraordinary group of people under real pressure.

There’s also the responsibility to multiple, highly engaged and often interventionist stakeholders that range from the over-bearing national governments to the over-bearing helicopter parents of your students.

And it is hard to think of a tougher set of leadership tests in global higher education than the slings and arrows faced by universities through 2020 and 2021.

The coronavirus pandemic of course thrust university leaders into crisis mode – not just in terms of the basic functioning of their institutions during international lock-downs, but also in more fundamental, even existential ways.

The global health crisis and the economic and social crises it has spawned raise questions about the very future of our universities: questions about their financial sustainability; their teaching delivery models, their pedagogy, the value of the degrees they confer, their ability to deliver the skills a digital-first post-pandemic economy will need.

The deep social divisions the pandemic has glaringly exposed, combined with activism epitomised by the global Black Lives Matter movement, has thrown a much-needed spotlight on universities’ inclusivity, their role in properly reflecting the communities they serve, and their responsibility to promote social mobility and indeed social cohesion.

Add into this extraordinary mix the climate crisis and profound questions are raised about universities’ responsibilities to wider society: their role in promoting a sustainable future for humanity. Their responsibility through their teaching, research, their innovation and their transfer of knowledge, to help solve some of humanities most alarming threats and to make the world a better place.

And on top of all these profound challenges, and unrelenting existential questions, universities are the focus of some deeply alarming ideological attacks. There are obvious forces who clearly do not value critical thinking, a respect for the scientific process, the corralling of facts and evidence, the questioning of received wisdom, the challenging of authority, and the truth seeking that form the very essence of great universities.

And, as if all that was not enough, universities have been thrust into the heart of a major geopolitical war. They have become unwilling pawns in nationalist and protectionist manoeuvres that directly contradict their commitment to the free global movement of talent and of ideas and the free exchange of knowledge.

So, I think university leaders – presidents, vice chancellors, rectors, and their senior colleagues -- have it very tough indeed.

I think perhaps that university leaders have one of the most challenging jobs in the world because they have one of the most important jobs in the world – at the helm of some of the most important institutions in the world.

Universities don’t just guide many tens of millions of people to become engaged citizens and future leaders. Universities don’t just drive national and global economies through the development of skills and ideas and innovation. Universities don’t just corral research that makes the world a better place in a seemingly infinite variety of ways and that holds the key to confronting the world’s biggest threats. Universities don’t just help society understand itself, or help humanity understand what it is to be human.

At their very best, and I say this with no exaggeration, universities can play a major role in promoting world peace, through fostering intercultural understanding, and uniting us all under common values and goals.

So, it must surely be a huge privilege to lead such extraordinary powerful, wonderful, glorious institutions. But it is also a huge responsibility.

Some leaders have risen to the challenge magnificently – the coronavirus pandemic has proven that clearly, offering so many stunning examples of outstanding leadership. Many others have fallen short or are falling short.

So I am delighted that we are able to bring together university leaders globally each year at the THE Leadership and Management Summit .

THE (Times Higher Education ) is of course able to share its data, its analyses, its intelligence to support leaders in their great endeavour. But I think one of our most powerful and effective roles, where we can have the most supportive impact in facilitating leaders' vital work, is in bringing them together, across borders, for real, engaged dialogue, peer-to-peer, at events like the Leadership and Management Summit to share ideas and to share inspiration -- not just for the benefit of current university leaders, but also for the future generation.

University leaders have a huge responsibility and their job is often a lonely and thankless task, or sometimes even worse than thankless. So why are people drawn to take on such challenges, even when the going gets so very, very tough?

Michael Ignatief, rector of the beleaguered Central European University, recently ejected from Hungary, explained it perfectly at the 2020 THE World Academic Summit.

“I don’t think you can do these jobs unless you love universities," he said. "Unless you really believe in what they do and are impatient with their failures to live up to their ideals. Unless you really believe in knowledge and that moment of incredible excitement when you see a light go on in a student’s eyes – that’s what you live for.

“When you forget the mission you can get discouraged, but when you go back into a classroom you are reminded why this is so exciting, and why universities are the most central institutions to modern societies.”

I hope you can join us at the 2021 Leadership and Management Summit .

?