Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    Hands-On Career Preparation
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    Alternative Pathways
Sign In
News

What Many Colleges Need: a Driving Vision

By Peter Monaghan January 22, 2017
Mark William Roche
Mark William RocheU. of Halle-Wittenberg

After Mark William Roche gained tenure, he says, he pored over Henry Rosovsky’s 1990 book, The University: An Owner’s Manual (W.W. Norton), and exclaimed, “This is how a university works!”

He referred to the book often during his stints as an academic administrator — as a department chair at Ohio State University and the University of Notre Dame, and from 1997 to 2008 as dean of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Mark William Roche
Mark William RocheU. of Halle-Wittenberg

After Mark William Roche gained tenure, he says, he pored over Henry Rosovsky’s 1990 book, The University: An Owner’s Manual (W.W. Norton), and exclaimed, “This is how a university works!”

He referred to the book often during his stints as an academic administrator — as a department chair at Ohio State University and the University of Notre Dame, and from 1997 to 2008 as dean of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters.

Out this week is his own academic operator’s manual, Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture (University of Notre Dame Press). His message to college administrators: Work with your faculties and other constituencies to conceive and pursue a driving vision that distinguishes your institution from peers and competitors, and steer your course with distinction.

On the phone from Indiana, Mr. Roche allows that that’s easier for an institution like Notre Dame, where more than 80 percent of students are Catholic. But distinctive institutions don’t have to be religious, single sex, or historically black, he says; and they don’t have to have wed “intellectual vigor and nonconformity” like, say, Reed College, or have a signature honors program like the one at Swarthmore College. Rather, they can emulate some of the many strengths of American higher education, and they can reap benefits from its shortcomings, such as its indifferent record in serving underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups: “You can say, OK, where is there an objective gap, something important that needs to be addressed?”

Thanks to government neglect, a trivializing student culture, and faculty narrowness, Mr. Roche says, “we have a lot of very mediocre universities.” But his book is far from the jeremiad that has become common during recent decades; it is an optimistic paean to American higher education’s accomplishments and opportunities. Echoing the arguments he made in such books as Why Choose the Liberal Arts? (University of Notre Dame Press, 2010), he says that offering intellectual challenge amid a fostered sense of community, rather than mere jobs preparation, reaps such rewards as lifelong alumni loyalty.

Of course, he allows, inspiring faculty members to work together on an agreed vision may require more than appeals to academic idealism: Not all will share, or care about, a vision. Then, the able administrator may resort to such incentives as granting extra faculty lines to departments whose hiring practices advance the mission. (Economics departments thrill to such measures, he reports.)

In such efforts, administrators who have been faculty members often have insights that management specialists may not, Mr. Roche says. He himself is a professor of German language and literature and philosophy. He says, “I like the idea of faculty members going into administration, trying to make a difference, and then rotating back.”

A version of this article appeared in the January 27, 2017, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
The Workplace
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
About the Author
Peter Monaghan
Peter Monaghan is a correspondent for The Chronicle.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Marva Johnson is set to take the helm of Florida A&M University this summer.
Leadership & governance
‘Surprising': A DeSantis-Backed Lobbyist Is Tapped to Lead Florida A&M
Students and community members protest outside of Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
Campus Activism
One Year After the Encampments, Campuses Are Quieter and Quicker to Stop Protests
Hoover-NBERValue-0516 002 B
Diminishing Returns
Why the College Premium Is Shrinking for Low-Income Students
Harvard University
'Deeply Unsettling'
Harvard’s Battle With Trump Escalates as Research Money Is Suddenly Canceled

From The Review

Illustration showing a valedictorian speaker who's tassel is a vintage microphone
The Review | Opinion
A Graduation Speaker Gets Canceled
By Corey Robin
Illustration showing a stack of coins and a university building falling over
The Review | Opinion
Here’s What Congress’s Endowment-Tax Plan Might Cost Your College
By Phillip Levine
Photo-based illustration of a college building under an upside down baby crib
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Must Stop Infantilizing Everyone
By Gregory Conti

Upcoming Events

Ascendium_06-10-25_Plain.png
Views on College and Alternative Pathways
Coursera_06-17-25_Plain.png
AI and Microcredentials
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin