Rakesh Khurana ’89, former dean of Harvard College and scholar of organizational behavior, will discuss why public trust in higher education has declined – and how universities and colleges can respond – when he delivers this year’s Milton R. Konvitz Memorial Lectureship in American Ideals.

“From Institutional Mission to Administrative Means: The Bureaucratization of Universities” will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17 in 105 Ives Hall. Remote attendance will be available. The public is invited, and registration is required. 

Khurana, the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at Harvard Business School, currently studies why higher education is facing public skepticism, and in his view, a decline in institutional legitimacy, asking what has changed and what responses would be effective. 

“At this moment, when universities are facing so much pressure and critique – some of it deserved, but some undeserved – it’s important to understand how we got here, so as we take actions, we end up strengthening the institution rather than permanently weakening it,” Khurana said.

In his lecture, Khurana will argue that bureaucracy can pull educational institutions away from mission-driven work and make them less responsive to public concerns. The lecture will examine how the growth of academic departments and efforts to serve a more diverse student population have each contributed to organizational complexity. He will contend that complexity has created bureaucratic systems that reward managers who handle organizational complexity over leaders who advance institutional core purposes, such as educating students and pursuing knowledge.

Read the full story on the ILR website. 
Tonya Engst is a writer for the ILR School.