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Alicia Morrison is the athletic director of Northeast Private College (NPC), a small, tuition-driven, suburban National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III (DIII) institution in the northeast region of the United States. Like many small colleges throughout the country, NPC is facing a dire financial crisis if it cannot stem declining enrollment trends. Since athletic scholarships are not allowed at the DIII level, student-athletes at NPC pay tuition in the same way as the general student body. Similar to many small, DIII colleges, student-athlete tuition dollars are relied upon as a primary fiscal solvency strategy for the institution as a whole. As part of a collaborative effort between Alicia, NPC’s President, and its Board of Directors, Alicia will be tasked with developing a strategic plan for growing the size of the athletic department. This case study enables students to gain a better understanding of the DIII athletics environment. Students will use scholarly articles and a real-world financial and enrollment database to help Alicia with her strategic plan. The pressure is high, as, in many ways, the future of NPC relies upon Alicia effectively developing—and implementing—a viable strategic plan for the growth of the athletic department.

Faculty morale plays an important role in academic life. Morale influences faculty behavior, productivity, and quality of teaching; ultimately affects student learning and program quality; and is predictive of faculty turnover. It is an often overlooked but worthy challenge for academic leaders. This article examines faculty morale, its meaning, and factors that influence it and explores strategies for promoting it in a university department. Faculty morale is a cognitive, emotional, and motivational approach toward the work of the department and may be reflected by a sense of common purpose, group cohesion, and a sense of personal value in the organization. Research shows that faculty morale is affected by various aspects of work life including workload, supportive resources, and recognition. However, evidence also suggests that 2 of the strongest variables influencing morale are relationships with colleagues and perceptions of the abilities and actions of the department leader. Strategies are suggested for promoting faculty morale that are derived from the research, a survey of department chairs, and experience.

The growth of sport management programs housed in (or with formal curriculum-based ties to) a school of business indicates more academic institutions are reconsidering sport management as a business-oriented field. Thus, research is necessary regarding benchmarking information on the state of these academic programs. The purpose of this study is to explore trends on administration, housing, accreditation, faculty performance indicators and research requirements, as well as salaries for faculty and alumni of such programs. Data were submitted by 74 department chairs and program directors employed in U.S. business schools featuring sport management programs. Results indicate that the majority of sport business programs are part of an interdisciplinary department; COSMA accreditation is largely viewed as redundant; and, depending on business schools’ accreditation, variability exists concerning faculty performance measures and research impact, as well as faculty and alumni salaries. These findings suggest considerable progress of sport management programs within business schools.

In higher education in the United States, women are often underrepresented in leadership positions. When women try administration, they face a higher rate of attrition than their male counterparts. Given the lack of women in leadership positions and the failure of the academy to retain women administrators, a group of women administrators and faculty with many collective years of experience in higher education assembled to write this paper. Our writing group consisted of 2 Chairs, 2 Deans, 1 Associate Dean, 2 pre-tenure faculty members, and a Provost, representing four different institutions. The authors of this paper suggest that applying the proposed model of transformational leadership within the field of Kinesiology may have a two-fold benefit. It may increase the number of women in administrative positions and it may extend how long women choose to serve in an administrative capacity. Components of the model include developing personal and professional characteristics that motivate faculty to perform beyond expectations, and understanding gender-related and kinesiology-specific challenges of administration. In addition, recommendations are made for pursuing careers in administration, and for pursuing future research projects. We hope that through this paper, we have started an important and open discussion about women in leadership roles, and ultimately, encouraged some prospective leaders to consider a career in higher education administration.