Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education

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Higher Education around the world is at a cross-road as a wide range of change forces bear down upon it. These include a complex, interlocked and rapidly unfolding set of sustainability challenges underpinned by social, cultural, economic and environmental developments. This scenario calls for Higher Education to take a leadership role in producing the future leaders equipped to manage them effectively.

The study which is the focus of this report recognises that universities and colleges giving consistent and productive focus to the four pillars of social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability in their teaching, research, engagement activities and operations will not just happen but must be led, and deftly. It is this issue of effective approaches to ‘Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education’ that the study addresses.

The study, funded by the Australian Government’s Office of Learning & Teaching, has identified 10 key recommendations to inform leadership action, support and development. These recommendations have emerged from the experience and insights of the 188 participants in the study and an additional 500 leaders of sustainability in higher education in Australasia, North America, the UK and European mainland who reviewed the findings and identified their key implications for action.

The study has a focus on Education for Sustainability (EfS), recognising that sustainability needs to be embedded in learning programmes – the core business of higher education. Universities and colleges frame the thinking and decisions that influence quality of life across the globe and it is through education that it has its greatest impact.

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