美国高校为什么能遴选出“最适合的”校长?——基于历史演进与现实机制的分析

Why Would the U.S. Universities and Colleges Find the Most Proper Presidents?——An Analysis in the Dimensions of Historical Development and Practical Operation

在美国的高等教育治理体系中,校长遴选是关乎学校命运的关键事件。美国高等教育的成功与高校的校长遴选质量具有直接关系。美国大学校长遴选自殖民地时期以来经历了从教派需求主导到现实需求主导、从无序到有序、从粗放到完善的过程,遴选过程越来越规范、民主、公开,参与者越来越多元,专业性越来越强。当前校长遴选机制的实践运作包括组建遴选委员会、确定遴选标准、搜寻候选人、甄别候选人、最终任命等环节,遴选过程具有自治、民主、专业、开放、复杂、规范等特征,更利于遴选出最能满足大学发展需求的校长。

In the higher education governance system of the U.S.,the selection of the president is a critical event concerning the fate of colleges and universities. There are closed relationships between the success of the U.S. higher education and the quality of the presidential search. Since the colonial period,the selection of university presidents has changed through the process from sectarian demands to realistic demands,from disorder to order,from rough to mature. And the selection process was more and more normative,democratic and open. The participants were increasingly diversified and the specialty was better than before. The practical implementation of the current selection includes the organizing of the search committee,determination of the selection criteria,searching and screening of candidates,and the final appointment. The selection process possesses the characteristics of autonomy,democracy,specialty,openness,complexity and norms,so it’s helpful to find the presidents who would fully meet the needs of the development of universities.