美国大学不信任投票的特点、原因与处理机制——基于1989—2017年的数据分析

The Characteristics, Reasons and Resolving Mechanism of Faculty Vote of No Confidence: An Empirical Study Based on the Data from 1989 to 2017

美国大学不信任投票是指在极端情况下教师向行政人员或者董事会表达不再支持与信任的声明。基于对1989-2017年美国大学发生过的201起教师向校长不信任投票事件的数据进行文本分析,结果发现:不信任投票事件在近年来呈急剧上升趋势、以教师评议会为投票主体、地域分布较广泛、涵盖了不同类型和属性的大学,而违背共同治理原则、领导力缺失、道德失范、未给学校带来积极变化等是这一事件产生的主要原因。不信任投票之后由董事会决定校长的去留。由此可见,信任是大学内部治理中的重要资源;不信任投票是保障美国大学教师参与治理的隐性机制之一;不信任投票机制对不合格的大学校长形成了自下而上的问责。

No confidence vote is an expression that faculty no longer trust and support the administration or board of trustees in extreme cases in American university. This paper uses content analysis to examine 201 faculty votes of no confidence in American universities from 1989 to 2017. The sample formed demographically diversified groupings and covered different type and sectors from the general faculty to faculty senators. The findings show that no confidence vote cases have increased sharply in recent years. Furthermore, the reasons for the votes are mainly obeying shared governance rule, lacking of leadership, ethics, and failure to meet objectives. The board has the power to determine whether or not to fire the president. Therefore, we can conclude that confidence is an important resource in governance process, faculty vote of no confidence is a hidden mechanism to safeguard the faculty governance and holds the accountability to the unqualified president from the bottom to top.