Leadership, Boards, and Funding: A Case Study on the Sustainability of a University Research Center

Abstract

Research for many years has been a large focus of higher education. While much of the research within higher education can be attributed to faculty members and departments, research centers also account for some of this work as well as other benefits to universities. However, research centers are often plagued with the uncertainty of financial funding for which leaders and boards must overcome. Thus, the purpose of this case study is to examine how leaders of research centers, along with the board, guide their center during periods of loss of funding. Additionally, this study examines how the board of the center assists leadership and plays an integral part in securing new funding. This single, historical, interpretive case study focused on one research center that had experienced funding uncertainty during its 20 years of existence. To more fully understand the role of leadership and boards, this study used a conceptual framework of shared transformational leadership and resource dependency theory. Findings suggest that leadership utilized shared transformational leadership characteristics, meeting structures, anticipated the need for new funding, and consulted and collaborated with experts and outside stakeholders when guiding their research center. Furthermore, boards had a positive impact on the center’s financial standing through board membership, serving as external perspectives, and advocating within their connections. The board also assisted with securing new funding by serving as a think tank, utilizing their connections, and giving personal financial contributions. Ultimately, a center’s leadership had a critical role in the center’s funding and success. Additionally, while the board may not have played as critical a role, they still served a purpose in supporting, advocating, and connecting for the good of the center. The findings of this study contribute to the studies on research centers as well as brings new understanding to the role of leaders and boards in the funding and sustainability of a research center.