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The American Economic Review (AER) celebrates it 100th anniversary during 2011. During this century of contributions to economic thought, the elite group of most frequent contributing authors and academic institutions revealed in this study represent major participants in the unparalleled role that the AER has played in the world of scholarly published research. These contributing authors and academic institutions are most deserving of our admiration., 'Old age takes away from us what we have inherited and gives us what we have earned.' --Gerald Brenan The American Economic Association was inaugurated in 1885 by a group [...]

Byline: James Fredericks Volkwein (1), Ying Zhou (1) Keywords: job satisfaction; college administrators; work climate Abstract: This study proposes a model of administrative job satisfaction and tests the model using a database of almost 1,200 managers at 120 public and private universities. The robust model explains 54% of the variance in overall administrative job satisfaction. The results indicate that few state, campus, and personal characteristics exert direct effects on one's overall job satisfaction. Rather, these exogenous organizational and personal variables exert small but statistically significant effects on the administrative work climates. These immediate work climates, in turn, have more powerful impacts on the various components of job satisfaction. Author Affiliation: (1) Center for the Study of Higher Education, The Pennsylvania State University, 400 Rackley Building, University Park, PA, 16802-3203, USA Article History: Registration Date: 03/10/2004

Byline: Ronald H. Heck (1), Linda K. Johnsrud (2), Vicki J. Rosser (3) Abstract: Holding higher education personnel accountable for measurable outcomes is a relatively new phenomenon. Assessing the performance of administrators may well provide needed and appropriate information about the functioning of the university, but it may represent high stakes assessment for individuals that is, measures of administrative effectiveness may be tied to promotion, salary augmentation, contract renewal, or dismissal. Little previous research exists, however, on the assessment of administrators' performance in higher education (Gmelch et al., in press Seldin, 1988). We develop an evaluation model for assessing and monitoring the effectiveness of academic deans and directors, using generalizability theory (i.e., an approach that focuses on identifying multiple sources of error in performance assessment) as a basis for developing more accurate assessment procedures. We illustrate this approach using faculty and staff assessments of their deans' leadership effectiveness. We also provide guidelines for improving the quality of assessments by adjusting various aspects of the evaluation model. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Educational Administration, University of Hawai'i at MAnoa, College of Education, Wist Hall 220, 1776 University Avenue, Honolulu, HI, 96822 (2) University of Hawai'i at MAnoa, USA (3) University of Missouri--Columbia, USA Article History: Registration Date: 16/10/2004

Byline: Mimi Wolverton (1), Walter H. Gmelch (1), Marvin L. Wolverton (1), James C. Sarros (1) Abstract: Virtually every managerial book written lists and expounds upon the tasks, duties, roles and responsibilities of administrators. This paper reports a portion of the findings of the third phase of a study of Australian and U.S. academic department chairs in colleges and universities. In it, we seek to clarify how chairs in the two countries define the tasks that exemplify their role as chair. The driving question behind this inquiry is: Do academic department chairs, independent of country, define their tasks in the same way? And, if so, how might universities in both countries benefit from this knowledge? Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Educational Leadership &amp Counseling Psychology, Washington State University, Box 642136, Pullman, WA, 99164-2136, USA. E-Mail Article History: Registration Date: 29/09/2004

Byline: Jan Thomas (1), Lesley Willcoxson (1) Abstract: Much of the literature relating to organisational change within academic departments focusses upon the role of the academic leader in creating an appropriate environment and process for change. Often scant attention is paid to the role of other individuals in impeding or facilitating change. This paper provides a case study of teaching development and change based in considerations of organisational culture as conceptualised by Schein (1985). It details the strategies used by a small group of junior academics to challenge the existing organisational culture and, through a focus on teaching improvement, achieve personal reward, organisational growth and the creation of a new but complemtary organisational culture. From the case study is drawn a list of key factors of relevance to academics or staff developers interested in initiating or supporting a grass-roots movement for change. Author Affiliation: (1) School of Veterinary Studies and Teaching and Learning Centre, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia, 6150 E-mail: Email Article History: Registration Date: 03/10/2004

Abstract: To what extent do differences in regulatory climate among states influence the satisfaction levels of campus managers? This study first measures the financial, personnel, and academic dimensions of state regulation, and examines the extent to which university and state characteristics have an effect on the regulatory climate and administrative flexibility granted to campuses. Second, the research analyzes the dimensions of managerial satisfaction and tests the hypothesis that the state's regulatory climate exercises an influence on the satisfaction levels of managers who are in functional areas impacted by state control. An array of organizational, individual, and work climate variables is used as controls. Atmospheres of administrative teamwork and interpersonal stress appear to exert the strongest positive and negative influences on administrative satisfaction. Article History: Registration Date: 06/10/2004

A study was conducted to determine if economists make better university administrators than individuals from other disciplines. Results show that it remains difficult to judge the effectiveness of administrators due to their varying goals. Economists are also disproportionately represented among college and university presidents. However, economists do have an edge over their counterparts from other disciplines in terms of their knowledge of basic economic principles.

This research examined the effect of organizational and resource dependence factors on college an university administrators' interpretations of an objectively verifiable environmental change: the decline in the number of 18-22 year olds in the United States. Results indicated that these characteristics significantly affected the interpretation of changing demographics but explained relatively little variance in administrators' certainty about how to respond to a changed environment. The research suggests that examining the interpretation of specific environmental changes may be a useful way of gaining insight into the factors that influence the environmental interpretation process. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)