2011 Author in Residence Syllabus
Imagine a good, old-fashioned book club, combined with the academic staple of a scholar in residence. Now add the cutting-edge technology of a blog with regular blog postings and comments, and you've got HigherEdJobs' feature, the Author in Residence.
The Book and the Authors
By evaluating traditions at universities and the need to sometimes break tradition, The Innovative University offers insight on how universities can be inventive in their thinking and functioning. The authors, Clayton M. Christensen and Henry J. Eyring, examine two specific universities, Harvard and Brigham Young University - Idaho, as well as others who have been excelling at providing high quality education and making sound decisions to benefit their higher education communities while planning responsibly for the future.
Praise for The Innovative University
"This superbly documented book is a must read for anyone who cares about America's universities and colleges and the invaluable role they play in our
contemporary society. Henry Eyring and Clayton Christensen remind us of higher education's history and thoughtfully examine the critical strands of its
DNA that require 're-engineering' to insure survival and good health for our richly diverse system. Perhaps the best feature of this volume is that it
goes beyond analysis to offer what is possible through models that are scalable, transferable, and responsive to the needs of learning, discovery, and engagement."
-- Molly Corbett Broad, president, American Council on Education
"With changing demographics, new information technologies, and competition from for-profit enterprises challenging the hegemony of traditional colleges
and universities, the discourse of crisis in American higher education abounds. In place of conventional nostrums that lead merely to incremental change,
Henry Eyring and Clayton Christensen offer disruptive strategies that preserve what remains viable in the organizational genetic code while advancing
differentiated models for institutional innovation. Yet further evidence that efforts to beat Berkeley and Harvard at their own game are futile."
-- Michael M. Crow, president, Arizona State University
"There is little doubt that American higher education is at a crossroads. Accessibility and affordability issues abound. Learning outcomes are increasingly
unclear. Technology surfaces as a disruptive influence. Financial support is declining precipitously. Christensen and Eyring step into this challenging
setting with a comprehensive look at two ends of the higher education universe. The answers their contrasts provide to those of us looking for ways to move
forward are both compelling and challenging. A must read for all who care about the future of colleges and universities."
-- Leonard A. Schlesinger, President, Babson College
The Syllabus
Author in Residence Henry J. Eyring will discuss the following themes that appear in his and co-author Christensen's book, The Innovative University:
- How innovation in higher education will change what faculty members do and the skills they'll need
- How disruption will affect the higher education job market
- The pros and cons of tenure
- Whether adjunct instructors can hope to make a living wage
- How online instruction can enhance learning even as it reduces the cost and inconvenience of face-to-face learning
