Leading the 21st-Century College and University: Managing Multiple Missions and Conflicts of Interest in Higher Education

Leading the 21st-century higher education institution calls for recognition of the changed nature of higher education and the multiple purposes such institutions serve. This article briefly outlines issues related to the multiple purposes of organizations (extending beyond the traditional generation and dissemination of knowledge) and the role of mission creep as colleges and universities aspire to more complex (and more prestigious) purposes. In this article, the author discusses the role of institutions as income generation devices that give rise to inevitable conflicts of interest and the role and type of leadership applicable to this type of institution.