Diversifying Leadership in Elite Universities
Opening Leadership Opportunities in the Global Higher Education Sector
Discover the trajectories to leadership in the worlds’ most elite universities. Our research illuminates the basis on which institutional leaders are selected and informs policy and practice by developing a recruitment framework to support the diversification of university leadership.
Learn more about the research and findings from the project
Project Aim
To identify any implicit biases in the recruitment processes and how these impact on the appointment of leaders in elite universities;
Project Aim
To develop a recruitment framework for diversifying university leadership in elite universities.
Research Questions
RQ1: Who are our university leaders?
- Can appointment to institutional leadership be anticipated based on success factors evident in collective biographies?
- What is the trajectory to leadership in the ‘top 100’ universities?
- Is there a model or a mould? And if so, what are the implications for EDI in higher education leadership in elite universities?
RQ2: On what basis are they selected?
- What are the ‘unwritten assumptions’ on which appointment to leadership is predicated?
- Is there a dissonance between theories espoused (e.g., as evidenced in job specifications) and theories in use (i.e., the ‘success’ factors)?
RQ3: How can we increase diversity university leadership in elite institutions?
- What practices can be implemented during recruitment to reduce potential bias in the decision-making processes that underpin selection and appointment?
- How could the development of an empirically informed recruitment framework contribute to greater diversity in senior leadership in elite universities?
Project Overview
About the Project
Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Diversifying Leadership in Elite Universities, brings together a team of established higher education experts to analyse the trajectories to leadership in the worlds’ most elite universities. The project sets out to illuminate the basis on which institutional leaders are selected into, and from, the candidate pool and to develop a recruitment framework to support the diversification of university leaders in elite institutions internationally.
The analysis focuses on the 89 universities that appear in two or more of the three major world university rankings: the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
Work Packages
Three interconnected methodological work packages (WPs) include:
WP1: Prosopography
The project employs prosopography to analyse the career biographies of elite university leaders. This project, for the first time in the field of higher education, will strive to depict university leaders in elite universities in their relations to each other; describe the ties they form in their affiliations and networks, and lay out their careers and their characteristics in order to identify the sociodemographic and career characteristics that contribute to the trajectory of leadership.
WP2: Analysis of Candidate Packs
Documentary analysis of job and person specifications (candidate packs) to identify patterns and criteria used in recruitment. Comparative analysis will then be undertaken in relation to findings from WP1, thereby providing an insight into what extent the ‘success’ factors identified via collective biographies were evident in the job and person specifications.
WP3: Interviews
Interviews with institutional leaders, Executive Search Firms, and Chairs of Governing Bodies. Our aim is to examine university leaders’ understanding of their career trajectories including examining their conscious awareness of the success factors required to gain capital to increase one’s power and position in the field of higher education. Executive Search Firms (ESFs) and Chairs of Governing Bodies will reflect on the traits, characteristics and attributes deemed desirable to appoint leaders.
Meet the team behind the project
The Project Team
Leadership Futures is led by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, practitioners, and partners who bring together academic insight and real-world experience to shape evidence-based thinking on the future of leadership.
Professor Sarah Aiston
Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy
Principal Investigator – Teesside University
Professor Vikki Boliver
Professor of Sociology
Co-Investigator – Durham University
Professor Bruce John Macfarlane
Chair Professor of Educational Leadership
Co-Investigator – The Education University of Hong Kong
Professor Tanya Fitzgerald
Professor of Higher Education
Co-Investigator – The University of Western Australia
Dr Ayca Gunaydin Kaymakcioglu
Postdoctoral Research Associate –
Teesside University
Members of the Advisory Board
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David Bass
Director of EDI, Advance HE, UK
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Professor Joshua Mok Ka-ho
Provost and Vice President (Academic & Research), Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Professor Dawn Freshwater
Vice-Chancellor, University of Auckland, New Zealand
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Professor Laura Perna
Senior Vice Provost for Faculty, University of Pennsylvania, US
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Tessa Harrison
Director, Tessa Harrison Executive Coach Ltd, UK
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Professor Elizabeth Smyth
Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada
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Dr Shaid Mahmood
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)), Durham University, UK
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Professor William Tierney
University Professor Emeritus and Founding Director, Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California, US
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Professor Peter Mathieson
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Edinburgh, UK
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Patrick Younge
Chair of Council, Cardiff University, UK
Institutions
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Latest Updates
CGHE 2026: Navigating the equity crisis in global HE
This panel examines persistent inequalities in senior leadership across global higher education, where executive roles remain dominated by predominantly white, male leaders. Drawing on findings from the ESRC-funded project Diversifying Leadership in Elite Universities, the session explores the hidden “success factors” behind Vice-Chancellor/President appointments and the structural barriers that shape leadership pathways.
