LEGISLATOR SUPPORT FOR NEW PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INITIATIVES : A CASE STUDY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Amanda Ruth Hodges (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: This study addresses the need for leaders in public higher education to possess a general knowledge of how new initiatives in public higher education gain support from state legislators to advance and implement their initiatives. This study's research question is: What is the process by which public higher education institutions receive legislative support for new initiatives? This question was explored through a qualitative, historical case study investigating the evolution of the School of Dental Medicine (SoDM) at East Carolina University (ECU) as an example of a new initiative in public higher education (four-year level institutions) that was successful during the Great Recession and a period with limited resources in the University of North Carolina System. Through a combination of semi-structured interviews and archival documents, information was coded in an effort to analyze the evolution of the events leading to the successful creation and funding of the SoDM at ECU through the lens of Kingdon's (2003) Multiple Streams Model and Primeval Soup Concept. Analysis of the findings extracted from primary and secondary coding of informants' responses revealed data that guided recommendations of strategies/approaches for public higher education leaders to consider utilizing in order to advance new initiatives at their institutions of public higher education that rely on support from state legislative approvals and appropriations for establishment. While Kingdon has focused on the federal level of decision making, in areas such as healthcare and transportation, this study applied his concepts to the state level of decision making in the arena of public higher education. This study went beyond establishing which streams were most influential on the overall process of political decision making in public higher education by exploring deeper into the realms of where events of change occurred and the themes of influences that were most active with respect to advancing and challenging the initiative throughout its evolution. Strategies/approaches to advancing new initiatives of public higher education, based on this study's results, are included in the discussion of this study's results.

Additional Information

Publication

Dissertation

Language: English

Date: 2023

Subjects

Community;Decision making process;Higher education;Leadership;Partnerships;Politics

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