About the Book
In his book, "Fitting Form to Function", Rudolph Weingartner examines the organisation and functions of a university administration and offers explicit advice on the best way to unite them to achieve effective and efficient governance. Organisational factors such as reporting structures, types of committees, and how the administration and faculty collaborate to make decisions all play key roles in how well an institution meets its objectives. Weingartner takes a department-by-department look at the university, providing helpful, succinct advice to help fit 'form to function' in each one. The author clarifies his discussion through the use of 27 maxims. These helpful general principles, drawn from current practice and the author's own experience as a university administrator, summarise the material and make the main points of the book accessible to even the most time-pressed administrator. "Fitting Form to Function" begins with an examination of the nature of academic institutions and the functioning of their decision-making processes. The book is then divided into eight chapters.
The first half of the book describes the functions of, and recommends administrative arrangements for, particular offices and departments. The author pays special attention to the offices of the president, academic dean and provost, as well as the functions of departmental chairpersons. The remaining chapters relate the faculty to the administration by looking at the faculty senate, principles of committee formation, faculty involvement in planning and budgeting, organisation of academic departments, hiring and tenure decisions, and complaint and grievance procedures.
About the Author :
RUDOLPH H. WEINGARTNER is professor emeritus of philosophy, University of Pittsburgh. He is also former dean of arts and sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and former provost, University of Pittsburgh.
Review :
.,."Rudy Weingartner has developed a set of 27 Maxims which provide useful guides for institutional organization, decision-making, and governance....Administrators and faculty members alike will find this book useful and informative."-Alice F. Emerson Senior Fellow, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
?...Rudy Weingartner has developed a set of 27 Maxims which provide useful guides for institutional organization, decision-making, and governance....Administrators and faculty members alike will find this book useful and informative.?-Alice F. Emerson Senior Fellow, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
?A college president, provost or dean - yes, even a department head - will find much here to assist in marshaling the centripetal forces that are needed to make a university a viable, productive and progressive home for learning and discovery.?-Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Computor Services and Psych.
?Anyone interested in, or concenred about, the structure and administration of contemporary universities would do well to read Rudolph Weingartner's newest book, built around a series of maxims about how universities do or do not work effectively. There is much wisdom here, both for newcomers and experienced academic administrators. It is pithy and powerful.?-Robert M. Berdahl President, University of Texas at Austin
?As a higher education professional, I found this book to be tremendously valuable. Weingartner's dispassionate yet lightly humorous look at the structure of a university makes this book a great resource to consult whenever day-to-day operations become confusing....This would be a fabulous addition, as a balance to the more theoretical texts available, to the reading list for a higher education administration class.?-NACADA Journal
?Fitting Form to Function reveals all the wisdom Weingartner has amassed in his long and successful double career as a philosopher-administrator. The book is unique in its combination of the common sense of experience and the rigor of philosophical analysis. Weingartner's maxims catch and summarize his approach beautifully. Above all, at a time when many doubt the possibility of creative and enjoyable administrative careers, Fitting Form to Function gives one reason to believe that the idea of thoughtful and practical educational leadership is not a contradiction in terms. This is a superbly readable and usable little book.?-Stanley N. Katz, President of the American Council of Learned Societies
?Page by page, Rudy Weingartner's analysis of the organization of academic institutions rings true. His nuts-and-bolts advice on how effective 'function' follows good 'form' will be useful to current and aspiring administrators at all levels. A unique feature of this volume are its 27 Maxims; they distill the wisdom of Weingartner's distinguished career as an academic administrator. I expect to cite them in my daily work with deans, department chairs and faculty.?-Gershon Vincow Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Syracuse University
?Rudolph H. Weingartner offers a new, analytical view of the structure of colleges and universities - explained with the help of 27 "maxims" in his latest book....The book is organized according to function....Weingartner does not advocate the traditional departmental structure as the ideal but as the most practical organizational solution available.?-Academic Leader
?The author uses 27 maxims as guidelines for improved effectiveness.?-Higher Education Abstracts
?This book examines the organization and functions of the major departments and offices within a college and university and offers explicit advice on the best way to integrate the two to achieve efficient governance.?-Resources in Education
..."Rudy Weingartner has developed a set of 27 Maxims which provide useful guides for institutional organization, decision-making, and governance....Administrators and faculty members alike will find this book useful and informative."-Alice F. Emerson Senior Fellow, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
"A college president, provost or dean - yes, even a department head - will find much here to assist in marshaling the centripetal forces that are needed to make a university a viable, productive and progressive home for learning and discovery."-Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Computor Services and Psych.
"Anyone interested in, or concenred about, the structure and administration of contemporary universities would do well to read Rudolph Weingartner's newest book, built around a series of maxims about how universities do or do not work effectively. There is much wisdom here, both for newcomers and experienced academic administrators. It is pithy and powerful."-Robert M. Berdahl President, University of Texas at Austin
"As a higher education professional, I found this book to be tremendously valuable. Weingartner's dispassionate yet lightly humorous look at the structure of a university makes this book a great resource to consult whenever day-to-day operations become confusing....This would be a fabulous addition, as a balance to the more theoretical texts available, to the reading list for a higher education administration class."-NACADA Journal
"Page by page, Rudy Weingartner's analysis of the organization of academic institutions rings true. His nuts-and-bolts advice on how effective 'function' follows good 'form' will be useful to current and aspiring administrators at all levels. A unique feature of this volume are its 27 Maxims; they distill the wisdom of Weingartner's distinguished career as an academic administrator. I expect to cite them in my daily work with deans, department chairs and faculty."-Gershon Vincow Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Syracuse University
"Rudolph H. Weingartner offers a new, analytical view of the structure of colleges and universities - explained with the help of 27 "maxims" in his latest book....The book is organized according to function....Weingartner does not advocate the traditional departmental structure as the ideal but as the most practical organizational solution available."-Academic Leader
"The author uses 27 maxims as guidelines for improved effectiveness."-Higher Education Abstracts
"This book examines the organization and functions of the major departments and offices within a college and university and offers explicit advice on the best way to integrate the two to achieve efficient governance."-Resources in Education
"Fitting Form to Function reveals all the wisdom Weingartner has amassed in his long and successful double career as a philosopher-administrator. The book is unique in its combination of the common sense of experience and the rigor of philosophical analysis. Weingartner's maxims catch and summarize his approach beautifully. Above all, at a time when many doubt the possibility of creative and enjoyable administrative careers, Fitting Form to Function gives one reason to believe that the idea of thoughtful and practical educational leadership is not a contradiction in terms. This is a superbly readable and usable little book."-Stanley N. Katz, President of the American Council of Learned Societies
