As a scholar specializing in family dynamics, I often view life through the lens of family theories. Following my recent exploration of Hallmark holiday movies and their portrayal of family life, I find myself delving into a new topic. This time, I am applying family theories to an unexpected area: higher education mergers and institutional changes.
My interest in this subject is partly driven by personal experiences with mergers and observing the emotional impact these transitions have on individuals in higher education. It is also a reflection of the increasing prevalence of mergers, consolidations, and restructuring efforts in colleges and universities.
While discussions surrounding these changes often focus on strategic aspects such as budgets and organizational charts, the emotional aspect is frequently overlooked.
Why Family Theories for Understanding Universities?
At first glance, the application of family theories to universities may seem unconventional. Family theories are typically used to analyze close relationships like those between partners, parents and children, and siblings. However, at their core, these theories are about understanding systems.
Family systems theory, for example, emphasizes that individuals are interconnected within networks of relationships, roles, and expectations. Changes within the system impact the entire structure. Similarly, colleges and universities function as relational systems where departments, faculty roles, and leadership dynamics play crucial roles.
When a merger occurs in higher education, it disrupts these systems, leading to varied responses from individuals and departments.
Stress and Adaptation in Higher Education
Family theories offer a valuable framework for understanding stress and adaptation in higher education, aspects often overlooked in organizational management. Questions such as why some faculty members resist change while others embrace it, why departments may become more cohesive or fragmented, and why mergers can feel like personal losses rather than strategic realignments, can be better understood through systems theory.
By utilizing frameworks like family systems theory, the Double ABC-X model of stress and adaptation, and ambiguity and loss theory, patterns of response to change become clearer. What may appear as resistance could be a reaction to uncertainty, conflicts may signify shifts in roles and identities, and dysfunction may indicate a system attempting to reorganize under pressure.
A Fresh Perspective for a Changing Landscape
By viewing colleges and universities as systems under stress, we can gain insights into how individuals, departments, and leadership navigate disruptions, losses, and reorganizations during mergers. The upcoming series in this blog will explore different lenses such as the role of family systems theory in understanding the personal nature of mergers, the impact of stress on adaptation, and how ambiguous loss manifests in shifting roles and identities.
Why It Matters
The higher education sector is undergoing significant transformations with mergers and restructuring efforts becoming increasingly common. Approaching these changes solely as technical challenges risks overlooking the human dynamics that determine their success. By considering universities as systems akin to families, we can develop a more holistic understanding that encompasses relationships, meaning, and adaptation.
Ultimately, mergers not only combine institutions but also reshape the systems in which individuals live and work. Stay tuned for the next installment exploring why college mergers feel personal and how family systems theory sheds light on disruption, identity, and change.