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[assiniboia]

Are there any good books on university administration that you might recommend?  Obviously, general management texts would also be useful, but has anyone found some things specific to university structures?  I did a quick thread search, and I couldn't find this much discussed, but if this is a really common question, perhaps this could be an opportunity to update the collective bookshelf...

[sibyl]

The classic is Robert Birnbaum's How Colleges Work, which provides an excellent framework for understanding how decisions get made in HE and how that differs from decision-making in business or the military.  There are some books about leadership on the academic side (deans, provosts, VPAAs) that are also good general overviews of the needs, structures, limitations, and demands of HE administration; my favorite is Bright & Richards, The Academic Deanship.  Some, but not all, administrative specialities have specific professional guidebooks (advancement and registrar are two areas where I know these exist, though I don't know details), so if you are interested in particular areas of administration there might be some specific tools.