The development and implementation of global partnerships in student affairs

2014-04-15This study applies Bolman and Deal’s (2003) leadership frames to a senior student affairs officer at Mexican Tech when establishing global partnerships with American Tech. The purpose of this study was to understand the role student affairs plays in globalization at Mexican Tech, the leadership strategies used by the senior student affairs officer at Mexican Tech, the leadership styles used when developing global partnerships and to analyze any differences that may have existed when working with his own staff versus the staff at the partnering institution. Interviews were conducted with ten participants including the subject of the study, four staff members from Mexican Tech, and five staff members from American Tech. Additionally, memorandums of understanding, reports and awards, institutional websites, and organization charts were analyzed.Findings from this study indicate the importance of a clear mission statement that is supported and implemented through practice by leadership and student affairs professionals. The findings further revealed knowledge acquisition and identification of best practices result in positive outcomes for student affairs professionals. Additionally, collaboration was a key successful leadership strategy due to the continuity, common goals, and persistent nature of the senior student affairs officer at Mexican Tech. Staff were empowered and challenged to maintain relationships and achieve long‐term goals, which led to globalization at Mexican Tech. Finally, operating in the Human Resource Frame (Bolman & Deal, 2003) could serve as a catalyst for developing global partnerships and positive outcomes due to the relational nature of this form of globalization