Last year’s congressional spectacle featuring the presidents of Harvard University, Penn State, and MIT flummoxed by Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) simple question about whether or not calls for genocide of Jews were tolerated on their campuses showed why America needs to reform academia.
An example from overseas may show us how to do it.
Oxford University, named by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as the world’s top university for the ninth year in a row, will elect a new chancellor this week. For the first time since Oxford named a chancellor 800 years ago, voting has been opened not only to university staff, but also its vast alumni network. Until 2024, votes for chancellor could only be cast by members of what is called the Convocation. You had to be present in Oxford to vote. Now, former members of the university and alumni who have graduated from Oxford can vote online. That has expanded Oxford’s electorate to some 250,000 voters across multiple time zones and generations. Students are not allowed to vote until they have earned a degree.
Controversy over a power grab by current Oxford academics resulted in the changes. This spring, Oxford proposed new rules for the post of chancellor that would allow a committee of university officials to determine which applicants could go forward to a vote and which could not. Previously, anyone with the support of fifty university members could apply. The new committee proposed to usurp onto itself the power to decide whose application would be allowed to go forward.
Alarm bells went off when the university announced that the committee would vet applicants with “due regard to the principles of equality and diversity.” The verbiage signified that the committee intended to apply DEI principles to “prevent another white male” from getting the job, according to the Times of London.
Neal O’Brien, a Tory MP who is the rough equivalent of England’s Elise Stefanik, rallied opposition to Oxford’s attempt to rig the chancellor election. He called it “wokeism gone mad” and succeeded in forcing the university to scrap the controversial committee. Instead, anyone was allowed to apply. O’Brien called it a “welcome victory for common sense.”
The first round of online voting took place in late October. A field of 38 applicants from around the world was winnowed to the top five. On Nov. 18, the second round of voting opened. The top applicants are Lady Elish Angiolini, Dominic Grieve, Lord William Hague, Lord Peter Mandelson, and Baroness Jan Royall. Don’t be fooled by the aristocratic titles. Two of the applicants are first-generation college students, two graduated from other universities but now head Oxford colleges, and most of the titles have been earned, not inherited.
But how will this voting system change Oxford, and what does it mean for American universities?
By opening the election to alumni, those with more experience outside the halls of academe, an ongoing stake in the University’s reputation, and a long-term view of political fads and ideologies can shape the leadership of the institution. While some of us may be more world-weary than starry-eyed new graduates, our perspective can help keep an academic community on track. Instead of appointing an academic selection committee to find a new university president, as Columbia University has done in the wake of beleaguered Nemat “Minouche” Safik’s resignation, why not allow Columbia staff and alumni to make the choice?
By democratizing the selection of university presidents, the current leadership would be strongly incentivized to take the views of all alumni into consideration, not just those who contribute hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Oxford’s chancellor has a 10-year tenure and, as the titular head of the university, oversees the committee, which selects the vice chancellor who runs day-to-day operations. American university presidents could be chosen for similar or shorter terms of office and allowed to run for reelection based on their records as academic leaders.
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While we’ll soon know who wins the election for chancellor of Oxford University, it will take time to see how the impact of alumni engagement is reflected in university policies.
I’m betting the outcome will show that Oxford’s model for choosing its leadership is one that should be applied to American universities.
John B. Roberts II is an author and former political strategist and executive producer of The McLaughlin Group. He graduated from Oxford University in 1978 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. His website is www.jbrobertsauthor.com.