Date Approved

4-24-2025

Graduate Degree Type

Project

Degree Name

Education-Higher Education (M.Ed.)

Degree Program

College of Education

First Advisor

Dr. Paul Bylsma

Second Advisor

Dr. Laila McLoud

Academic Year

2024/2025

Abstract

This project addresses the faculty retention crisis in regional public universities (RPUs) by examining how neoliberal governance, characterized by performance metrics, market-driven funding, and corporate leadership, has restructured academic work and eroded shared governance. The purpose was to explore faculty burnout, disengagement, and leadership gaps, and to develop resources that support more ethical and collaborative institutional cultures. Using Labor Process Theory, Critical Social Theory, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior as guiding frameworks, this literature-based project analyzed the structural and ideological conditions driving faculty attrition and institutional instability. Research included an extensive review of peer-reviewed literature on neoliberalism in higher education, faculty burnout, and leadership models. Based on this analysis, two pamphlets were created, one for faculty and one for administrators that offer strategies to rebuild trust, promote shared governance, and enhance faculty-administration collaboration. The primary outcome of this project is the development of two practical, theory-informed informational pamphlets designed to be used in leadership development or institutional training. These resources center ethical leadership practices, shared governance principles, and culturally responsive strategies for improving morale and retention. This project contributes to the field of higher education leadership by offering actionable tools that reframe faculty as institutional partners rather than expendable labor. It advances a new narrative of collaborative governance, aiming to restore institutional mission alignment and position RPUs as engines of social mobility and faculty well-being.

Download

Share

COinS