Academic Gerrymandering? Expansion and Expressions of Academic Work

Abstract

As academic institutions creatively respond to exogenous forces requiring fundamental re-imagining of academic work, boundaries are being redrawn between traditional academic/professorial work and academic administration, resulting in blended job roles that constitute an incipient threat to academic values such as freedom and autonomy. After contrasting the nature of academic and nonacademic work, I draw on institutional theory to offer a model examining conditions under which blended academic and administrative roles engender four outcomes: positional dexterity, accommodating citizen, grab bag, and academic gerrymandering. I warn against institutional conditions that foster academic gerrymandering, or the “redistricting” of academic work for managerial benefit. I end the article with examples of other professions where administrative and “core” professional work have not been blended intentionally or well, and I suggest topics for future research.