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Book nominated for research award

The book "Managing Universities", edited by professor Ivar Bleiklie, has been nominated for a research prize for significant research on international higher education.

Fabian Mardi - University of Melbourne
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Fabian Mardi, www.unsplash.com

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The book "Managing Universities: Policy and Organizational Change from a Western European Comparative Perspective" – edited by professor Ivar Bleiklie at the Department of Administration and Organization Theory, Jürgen Enders from the University of Bath, and Benedetto Lepori from the Università della Svizzera Italiana – has been nominated for a research prize for significant research on international higher education. The Council on International Higher Education under The Association for the Study of Higher Education, specifically, awards the prize at the ASHE-conference in Houston on November 9.

The book focuses on how modern universities have been organized and structured since the 1990s, and how political reforms have led this process. By comparing 26 universities in eight Western-European countries, the authors show that political authorities have had a significant effect onhow these institutions are led and organized. Even though the management at these universities may have a relatively high degree of freedom to make decisions on a number of issues, political goals and strategies affect higher education to a larger extent than before.

"Managing Universities" has been nominated based on its comparative and research focus, innovative theoretical perspectives, thorough empirical approach, and advanced use of quantitative methods. The nomination also highlights that it challenges assumptions of New Public Management reforms, and gives a comprehensive picture of both education policies in Western-Europe and the results of such policies at the organizational level.