University leadership in the digital age: challenges, opportunities, and critical actions

Abstract

In the context of universities with Western traditions in democratic countries, a former Canadian university president offers a critical perspective on university leadership today, outlining a tsunami of new challenges that have rendered the job both more daunting and more important than ever and suggesting strategies for meeting them. The digital age has brought not only a bewildering array of information and communication technologies to choose from, but new expectations for equality of opportunity, equity, diversity and inclusion that have a direct impact on leadership roles. The analysis pertains as much to conventional universities as to ODDE institutions as changing social norms and rapid technological innovations blur the distinctions between them. These developments have critical implications for the success or failure of university leaders, seriously challenging prevailing university models in the process.