4. September 1998
"Die traditionelle Universität ist eine selbstbezogene Republik angeblich gleicher Amateure"
HRK-Präsident Prof. Klaus Landfried sprach in Heidelberg vor 200 europäischen Hochschulsprechern über neue Management-Strukturen an den Universitäten
"If you bury your head in the sand, your back and other sensitive parts of you will stand out..." Diese Worte stammen nicht aus einem Kommentar zur anwidernden Kongreß-Affäre um Clinton und Starr. Sie wurden nicht auf CNN gesprochen, sondern heute in einem "Allerheiligsten" der abendländischen Kultur: der Alten Aula der Universität Heidelberg. Just von jenem Redepult aus, das 1886 die 500jährige Tradition der ältesten Universität Deutschlands symbolisieren sollte und von dem aus, 60 Jahre später, Karl Jaspers die moralische Mitschuld der Universitäten am Nazi-Terror thematisierte.
Wen meinte Klaus Landfried, der Präsident der deutschen Hochschulrektoren? An anderer Stelle sagte er den 200 anwesenden Uni-Pressesprechern aus ganz Europa klarer, was er denkt: "Die traditionelle Universität ist in erster Linie eine selbstgenügsame, selbstbezogene, sich aus ihrem Innern ergänzende, sich selber beurteilende, allerdings fremdfinanzierte Republik vorgeblich elitärer und angeblich gleicher Amateure – meist männlichen Geschlechts –, die auf der Suche nach der Wahrheit sind, aber Management und, wie selbstverständlich, Manager geringschätzen."
Sicher, Selbstkritik tut not – gerade über die Kommunikationspolitik deutscher Universitäten. Aber die Frage muß weiter reichen: Warum sind der Politik und dem Steuerzahler die Universitäten in Deutschland so wenig wert?
Michael Schwarz
e-mail : michael.schwarz@rektorat.uni-heidelberg.de
Hier der volle Wortlaut der Rede:
New Management Structures at the University:
Their impact on universities' Public Relations
Keynote Lecture at EUPRIO' 98, Heidelberg 4 September 1998
You may have heard yesterday from my friend and colleague Josep Bricall that CRE – the Association of European Universities – has just held it's XI. General Assembly in Berlin under the main headline: the public role of universities. Though CRE and FU Berlin had done a lot to organize some media response, it was not impressive: some friendly and polite observations, if somewhat distant, by Berlin newspapers, a few interviews, very little on TV or radio in Germany, in spite of the presence of Federal President Herzog and Federal Minister Rüttgers at the opening ceremony. It was, after all, once and again a high quality meeting with only a small response in the general public.
And all this though many or most experts on economics and innovation management do agree since years that to some extent universities can be in fact labeled the "future workshops of society for new jobs", thus contributing to solve one of the most urgent problems of our time. And, of course, most politicians will pay lip service to this statement, especially before elections. But it remains true what Professor Nikolas Markatos, Prorektor of the Technical University of Athens has recently written in a CRE publication, which is devoted to the "Vision 20-10", a brochure which I recommend all of you for considerate study. Markatos writes: "The university's missions and needs are, unfortunately, poorly known among the public at large. Constant explanatory work is thus necessary, and universities must raise their voice more audibly in relevant public debates."
Yes, dear colleague, you are right. But how? That is exactly our and your job to find out, and I shall now elaborate for the next 15 minutes or so on the institutional, the mental and the so to speak artistic dimensions, under which success can best – and at the same time in a responsibly economic way – be achieved.
Let us first look at the external setting:
The first phenomenon we must consider at modern universities is: rapid change in the society directly surrounding the university, but also in further apart layers of the global society which affects even those who still are not aware of what happens. This is above all true for those bureaucrats who have married not only their desk and their files but also all the SOP's (= standard operating procedures) which live in paragraphs. To use a more drastic picture: if you bury your head in the sand, your back and other sensitive parts of you will still stand out...
The second phenomenon is a pure consequence of the first: universities are put at risk. More than ever, their legitimacy, the need for their service are questioned by many and attacked by competitors. As big institutions, serving around 30 % or 40 % of an age group, they are more vulnerable than ever, even when "only" neglected in practice – in spite of public lip-service – by many (not all) governments.
The third phenomenon relates to the great variance with which universities in Europe – and elsewhere – react to the challenge, as far as their governments allow them to:
- some by solemnly confessing to the traditional institution which is predominantly a self sufficient, self reliant, self recruiting, self appraising – but externally funded – republic of pretendedly elitist and pretendedly equal amateurs – most of them male anyway – who are professionals in the search for truth but despise management and, of course, managers;
- others react by imposing the ever changing modes and fashions of more or less successful business concepts on their reluctant academic flocks;
- - and others – the more prudent ones – by assessing the changes and challenges swiftly and without prejudice by using intra-institutional dialogues which allow to adapt flexibly and in time and above all by involving the bulk of their membership in the process,
so that this complex multiverse organisation, called university, can remain the creative institution that generates, restructures and transfers knowledge into human minds and physical data-bases alike. And you may easily guess which of these admittedly typed three ways of reaction has my personal sympathy.
I shall now again return for a moment to the three phenomena just outlined, in order to add some additional information, then turn to the task of public relations or even more precise: of public image policy, and what can be done to facilitate their conduct.
The rapid change mentioned before relates mainly to the revolution in information technology, especially in telecommunication which has strong effects on teaching and on research publication. Universities will have to deal with an increasing diverse need for specially applicable knowledge – which in turn needs swift and permanent modernisation – to be applied though by personalities who are bound by ethical values, are guided by an educated historical consciousness and act as socially responsible citizens. But: so far the institutions of society have not yet fully adapted to the fact that information has become the main factor in the "production"-processes of the knowledge society.
In situations of change the search is for stability, points of orientation, and guidance. Who else could offer all this than projects and, above all, people who demonstrate "good practice" which can be followed as – if you allow a comparison with slower old times – one followed once upon a time Aristotle and reinterpreted him.The university is at risk because of competitors, since they seem to provide all the teaching, the knowledge in a well organized, streamlined and cheaper way than our old battleships. Of course we know: that training-centers for staff in big enterprises are necessary, but to label them university without deep digging research, without full time staff in multiple disciplines does not make them to universities. These new knowledge-"factories", which provide courses and grades worldwide would be strangled could they not resort to these thousands of professors at real universities. But some managers shortsighted as a shortsighted concept of shareholder value makes them talk about the "markets" of higher education and research as if they were professionals in the field. A good football-coach need not be an expert in postindustrial management, a good industrial manager need not be an expert in university management, and good rector may not be an expert in public relations though she or he may learn well the basic lessons: Public relations, aiming at creating or improving an attractive public image of an university or the HE-system at large, needs for it's success not only "information on the identity, policies, activities and performance of the university, but a communications effort directed towards real contributions, to significant action on behalf of the public. Similarly, the public image (of a university) is not only the image one wishes to project on the external community, but the one perceived by that community, however indistinctly. For this reason, the activities themselves of the institution or its members can have an impact on public awareness... For example, involvement in local affairs, public conferences and discussions on important issues, in technologically slunted initiatives (like technology transfer), or in relevant research addressing major local problems may amount to a conspicuous contribution to the social and artistic life of a region. The real reputation of the quality inherent in all such activities as perceived by students, staff and partners of the university is no doubt the most lasting contribution to the institutions public relations." (Pierre Tabatoni/Andris Barblan: Principles and practice of strategic management in universities, vol 1, CRE Guide No. 2, Geneva 1998, p. 50)
In shorter words the lesson reads: be aware that all activities of your institution do have an effect on it's public image, good or bad. And try to involve as many members of your university as can be mobilized. But be careful, I must add, that they get some training for the task. PR officers offering seminars in science reporting and comprehensible writing are creating a mental franchise system which may later become an informal net-work of alumni creating connections in the large landscape of media.
I would wish that also colleagues in the office of rector – for which most of us are not much trained during our academic career – would undergo some training or seminar in the basics of PR-techniques as well as in the management of rather large organizations.
In Germany we are just about to have our first experiments with new forms of organization and decision making in universities. Neither the top-down concept of the military or civil bureaucracies nor the illusionary bottom-up concept of a good, presupposed will of academic individuals organized along corporate group lines will ever make an adaequate impact. What is needed are contracts over goals and means to achieve them, limited in scope and time, negotiated in a free dialogue on the different levels of the HE-system by persons that can be held responsible for their action and who involve in the dialogue as many members of all groups as practically feasible.
Internal communication thus becomes an instrument and two way channel of strategic importance. PR-officers may be part of the university's administration, but they need permanent access to and accessibility by the university leadership. To be effective a critical size of the team in PR is essential. One (wo-)man-shows may be entertaining, but they lack the power of persistent communications. Three to four heads can be sufficient as long as the necessary technical equipment is at disposal, the means for phone, fax, e-mail and travel provided, and the support by the decision making bodies of the university is obvious. Outsourcing of special activities will be necessary and easy, if well planned and overseen when executed. All PR-officers will never forget that they compete with lots of institutions for public attention. Some may even consider to test new vehicles to communicate their message, for instance wrapping hard information in soft stories, movies, computer games which would allow to hit not only the recipients or dialogue-partners brain, but also their heart. And to win the latter is any way one of the secrets in order to cope with the challenge of change.
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Updated: 05.10.98 at 17:39:14