Donald Kagan: A Citizen Scholar

Steve Balch remembers Donald Kagan, a scholar and academic leader, and one of higher education’s most noble citizens.

Catherine L. Squires, 1941-2021: Scientist, Academic Leader, Mentor

On August 3, 2021, Catherine L. Squires passed away after a series of strokes provoked by an undetected pancreatic cancer.…

English and International Students’ Adjustment in Indonesian Higher Education: A Teacher’s Perspective

International students at higher education in Indonesia encounter an extent of situations amid their adaptations in academic life. These experiences contribute to their satisfaction. As handful of studies within Indonesian context were conducted to identify the international students’ difficulties in adapting to academic life, teacher’s point of view toward the issue is barely available. This study centers at a teacher’s experience in dealing with the international students. Highlight is given to language barrier, not only encountered by the international students but also the teacher. A narrative inquiry was employed involving an academic leader who is also a teacher knowledgeable in internationalization agenda in higher education in Indonesia. Results of the study reveals that the academic adaptation of international students, with the focus of language barrier, was compounded by the absence of roadmap of internationalization policy in national and organizational levels, less-ideal classroom setting, and not effective interaction within classroom with the diversity of people involved. It is suggested that the policy on the proficiency of English language should be regulated to be mastered by students and teachers in international program. HIGHLIGHTS: The lack of policy regulating standard of English proficiency level as entry requirement for international students becomes one of the causes of the language barrier problem that might hurdle the academic adaptation of international students. The composition of domestic and international students in a class as well as the lack of English proficiency of both the teacher and the students has contributed to the difficulties in academic adjustment.

Factors Affecting the Affective Identity-Motivation to Lead (AI-MTL) of Lecturers: Case Study in X Unversity

This study aims to explore the effect of Leadership Self-Efficacy (LSE), Past Leadership Experience (PLE),Organizational Identification (OI), and Perceived Job Stress as an Academic Leader (PJSAL) on AffectiveIdentity-Motivation to Lead (AI-MTL) of lecturers at the X University simultaneously. This study also aims toexplore the role of LSE in mediating relationship between PLE and AI-MTL as well as between PJSAL and AI-MTL. A total of 125 X University lecturers participated in this study (male: 53, female: 72; age range between26-71 years old), with data collected through an online questionnaire. Data analysis then was performed using theHierarchical Multiple Regression and Mediation Analysis. The result shows that there is a simultaneous effect ofLSE, PLE, OI, and PJSAL, in predicting AI-MTL of lecturers at the X University, F(4, 120) = 63.520, p < .001.All variables can explain 67.9% of the AI-MTL variation, R2 = .679. Meanwhile, PJSAL does not provide anymeaningful contribution to the AI-MTL variation. In addition, this study also confirms the role of LSE inmediating the relationship between PLE and AI-MTL partially, c’ = 1.0508, p < .001, and fully mediating therelationship between PJSAL and AI-MTL, c’ = -.006, p > .05. These results emphasize the strong need to identifytalents by using those factors, especially when universities have difficulty in finding their prospective leaders.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Exposed Opportunities To Strengthen Our Health Research Systems

Professor Sir Mark Walport, FRS, FMed Sci, FRCP, physicianscientist, academic leader and visionary health research planner, was the recipient of the 2020 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research. He is a former Chief Executive, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and UK government’s Chief Scientific Advisor. He continues to be a champion of fundamental science in health research, engineering, technology and innovation, and is a major spokesperson on COVID-19 pandemic trends at the global level.

Women Academic Leaders and Self-Care During a Crisis

This chapter presents actual accounts of women academic leaders who led their students, teachers, and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The women's experiences, challenges, and self-care routines are presented in their own words in order to gain a true understanding of what it was like to be a woman academic leader during a crisis. The chapter begins with a review of research related to women academic leaders specifically describing the successes and challenges women face when in an academic leadership role. Next, the topic of self-care is discussed focusing on the need for self-care among educators and leaders during crises. Woven throughout the descriptions of past research are the stories from current women academic leaders to describe ways in which these leaders approached self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Academic leadership commences by self-leadership

Enhancing leaders and leadership are major elements when pursuing improvement of learning and teaching in the higher education sector. This study was conducted to investigate the self-leadership skills of the academic staff in the Lebanese higher education sector. It is stated that “an effective academic leader must be able to lead oneself effectively before he or she can lead others within and outside the classroom”. Through a survey, academic staff (instructors) were asked to rank selfleadership skills that they believe they possess and apply. This survey also presented questions that allowed the researcher to identify whether academics have a clear comprehension of this concept in Lebanese universities and what prevents them from attaining and applying them. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicated that the skills of self-leadership were not being applied effectively and the concept was not clearly comprehended by the Lebanese higher education institutions. Thus, it is recommended to train the academic staff to improve their knowledge, attitudes and skills regarding the concept of selfleadership and it presented potential strategies that facilitated sharing innovations to effectively apply such leadership and promote the importance of quality teaching experiences.