Date of Award
Spring 2014
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational Policy and Leadership
First Advisor
Pink, William
Second Advisor
Jessup-Anger, Jody
Third Advisor
Carter, Evonne
Abstract
This is a qualitative study about the importance of institutional culture at a particular technical college in Wisconsin. It examines the administrators' understanding of their institution's culture, the importance they attach to the culture, and how they perceive they both manage and influence their institution's culture. Bergquist and Pawlak's (2008) work, Engaging the Six Cultures of the Academy, is used as the analytic framework. Key factors that emerged were the importance and role of the college's mission, the importance of the college's responsiveness to the community, and the necessity of administrators being purposeful in their involvement in the culture of the college. This study found that both the role of the mission and the administrator's role in influencing the culture were significant. The implications of the findings are explored for those in administrative positions who should understand the importance of managing and influencing their culture at a technical college.