PERCEPTIONS OF UNIVERSITY MISSION STATEMENT BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATORS: RELATING TO FACULTY ENGAGEMENT

Little is known about how senior administrators at a university (i.e., vicepresidents and deans) perceive their institution's mission, vision, and values. In the present study, we focused on perceptions of institutional mission statement and activities proposed to support that mission among senior leaders (18 vice-presidents, 17 deans) from a private midwestern, Roman Catholic university. Senior administrators completed reliable and valid inventories on mission identity and mission-related activities, social desirability responding, and faculty engagement related to the mission. Controlling for social desirability, results indicated that both women and men vice-presidents and deans reported similar, relatively high perceptions related to the mission and mission-driven activities of their university. These senior leaders believed there were activities that the faculty could engage that were mission-driven but not reflective of the university's identity.