Context, Cognition, and Culture: A Case Analysis of Collegiate Leadership and Cultural Change

Abstract

This article, presented as an interpretive case study, examines how members of an established college culture experienced change related to the entry of a new college president and how the new president changed as a result of his entry experience. The study analyzes the evolving relationship between the new president and campus participants in five phases: (a) the president entering and making sense of the new setting, (b) the president selectively adjusting the setting, (c) the president stirring the setting, (d) campus participants discovering and responding to changes the president makes in their shared setting, and (e) the president addressing these responses, including their effects on him.