Sustaining Change in Universities: Continuities in Case Studies and Concepts

My book, CreatingEntrepreneurial Universities, based onmid-1990s research in five Europeanuniversities, set forth five ``pathways oftransformation'' by which public universitiesassume a highly proactive stance. On the basisof further research that tracks developments inthese institutions during the late 1990s, thispaper presents a conceptual transition fromtransformation to sustainability. How is changeinstitutionally sustained after muchtransformation has taken place? Enduringcomponents are found in a steady state ofchange that includes a bureaucracy of change.Further analysis suggests three dynamics ofsustained change: reenforcing interaction among transforming elements; perpetual momentumresulting from steady accummulation ofincremental changes; and ambitious volitionembedded in the university as collectivecommitment and institutional will. A longermanuscript under preparation will explore theutility of the old pathways and the newsustaining features in case studies ofentrepreneurial universities in other parts ofthe world.