University of Alaska Presidential Search: Your Reading Assignment Before Johnsen Visits

The single candidate for president of the University of Alaska, Jim Johnsen, will visit Anchorage July 8, 2015.  There will be forums for different constituents all day long.  That includes members of the general public as well (that one is at 4:30 - 6:30 in the new Corporate Sponsored Sports Center.)  Here's the schedule for all three campus visits.

The vibes I'm getting suggest that, contrary to many people's original assumption that this was a done deal, it apparently isn't. (More on that in another post.)  The regents, it seems, do need to hear from the public before they make their final decision.  So people who are in town - community folks as well as university folks - should meet the candidate, make their conclusions, and send feedback to the regents.

I did read Johnsen's resume when it was posted in early June.  I suggest you do too. 

The resume lists three "selected publications."   When I couldn't find them online, I contacted the reference librarian at the Consortium Library.  She couldn't find them either.  She did contact Johnsen and he quickly sent them to me.

Now I see that the Regents' website lists them as well.  Actually, he only listed three as 'publications.' 'Interest Based Bargaining' and 'Reengaging' are listed under Selected Research and Professional Presentations.  You can (and should) read them yourselves and determine if they fit your definition of a 'publication.'

Selected Publications

Jim Johnsen

• The Essential Elements of a Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement in Higher Education
• Innovation in Faculty Collective Bargaining
• The Restructuring of the University of Alaska System

Selected Research and Professional Presentations (the resume lists more than these two.)

• Interest Based Bargaining with a Faculty Union (pt1)
• Interest Based Bargaining with a Faculty Union (pt2)
• Reengaging the University 1998-2002

Nearly all the papers I've read so far are directly taken from his work experience.  There's very little breadth,  but given that he was working full time in Alaska while he was getting his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania's Higher Education Management program, it's probably not surprising. 

Additionally, you might find his doctoral dissertation interesting as well.  Leadership in Context: A Case Study Of Presidential Effectiveness In A State University System  looks at Johnsen's boss for a number of years  - Mark Hamilton - as the effective leader in the title.  I'm not sure whether you need a UAA library card to get this particular link.  I think anyone with any Alaskan library card should be able to get to it through their librarian if not directly online.  It's in ProQuest dissertations.

There's a lot to read, especially over the July 4th weekend.   I'd suggest people in the university find three or four other folks they can share the work with - people both in and outside the university.