Navigating Power in Higher Education and the Dual Faces of Authority

by Dr. Benjamin M. Drury

People rise to positions of power within higher education, and something happens to them…each is faced with a decision with how they will use it.

Will they use their new power for public gain or personal gain. I have seen both kinds, and I am also beginning to witness an increase in the population of administrators entering the field for the latter.

A few months ago, I was at a new faculty orientation. Part of the programming involved…