- Strong institutions are built through active leadership, shared responsibility, and a commitment to excellence in governance.
- Sustainable progress depends on experienced leaders who remain engaged, contribute their knowledge, and support sound decision making.
- True leadership is demonstrated not only by professional achievement but also by continued service, accountability, and commitment to the success of the institution.
When governance challenges emerge in universities, public attention often focuses on vice-chancellors, university councils, or government agencies. Rarely does attention turn to another influential group whose actions—or inactions—significantly shape the direction of institutions: full professors.
Traditionally, professors occupy the highest academic rank in universities. Beyond teaching, research, and publishing scholarly work, they are expected to serve as intellectual leaders and trusted advisors within university governance structures. One of the most important platforms through which they exercise this responsibility is the University Senate.
However, across many universities, an uncomfortable reality is becoming increasingly evident. A growing number of professors are routinely absent from University Senate meetings and related governance activities. Their names remain on attendance registers in the form of apologies and organizational charts, but their voices are missing from deliberations where critical academic decisions are made.
The result is a silent governance crisis that threatens the quality of decision-making and weakens the very institutions professors are expected to safeguard.
University Senate is Not a Ceremonial Body
The Senate is often described as the academic heart of a university. It is responsible for matters such as curriculum approval, academic standards, examination regulations, graduation requirements, quality assurance, research policies, academic planning, etc.
Contrary to popular perception, Senate meetings are not ceremonial gatherings where decisions are merely rubber-stamped. They are intended to be forums for rigorous debate, critical scrutiny, and informed decision-making.
Professors hold a special place in these deliberations because they bring years of experience, disciplinary expertise, institutional memory, and scholarly judgment. Their participation is intended to enrich discussions and ensure that decisions are guided by academic principles rather than administrative convenience.
When professors fail to attend Senate meetings consistently, the Senate loses some of its most valuable sources of wisdom and perspective.
Emerging Culture of Truancy
Unfortunately, absenteeism among some professors has become increasingly common. In many institutions, including those in Kenya, Senate meetings proceed with significant numbers of professors absent. Some attend only sporadically. Others appear only when agenda items directly affect their schools, departments, promotions, or personal interests.
Meanwhile, younger faculty members, in the form of HoDs and Deans/Directors, who are relatively inexperienced academically and administratively, often shoulder governance responsibilities that should be shared more broadly. While many junior academics perform admirably, they cannot be expected to replace the institutional experience accumulated by senior scholars over decades.
More concerning is the normalization of this absenteeism. When senior academics repeatedly miss meetings without consequence, a culture develops in which governance participation is viewed as optional rather than obligatory.
The message sent to younger faculty is troubling: attain professorial rank, then disengage from institutional service.
Why Are Professors Missing?
Several factors may explain this growing phenomenon. One reason is the increasing involvement of professors in external consultancies, advisory boards, research projects, and professional engagements. Many professors possess highly sought-after expertise and are frequently invited to participate in activities outside their universities. While such engagements enhance institutional visibility and generate extra income for the professors, they can also create competing priorities. Governance responsibilities may gradually receive less attention than external opportunities.
Additionally, most professors are edged out of leadership positions either by policy design within the system, despite their availability and willingness to serve, or because of age. A professor who served as a HoD but never became a dean, or who was a dean but never became a DVC, is usually forgotten.
Another factor is governance fatigue. Professors who have served for decades may become frustrated by repetitive discussions, bureaucratic procedures, or recurring institutional challenges. Some feel that Senate meetings are too long and consume valuable time without producing meaningful outcomes.
There is also the issue of administrative disillusionment. In some universities, Senate recommendations are occasionally ignored or diluted during implementation. Over time, professors may perceive their participation as having little practical impact.
Others may simply adopt what could be called a “retirement mentality.” Having achieved the pinnacle of academic success, they focus on personal research interests, writing projects, or private engagements while gradually withdrawing from institutional affairs.
Although these explanations may be understandable, they do not excuse the abandonment of governance responsibilities.
The Consequences for Universities
The effects of professorial truancy extend far beyond empty seats in meeting rooms.
First, academic decision-making suffers. Senate deliberations are most effective when they benefit from diverse expertise and robust debate. When experienced professors are absent, important proposals may receive insufficient scrutiny. Policies affecting academic programmes, examinations, student progression, and quality assurance may be approved without the benefit of critical perspectives that seasoned scholars could have provided.
Second, universities lose valuable institutional memory. Every institution accumulates lessons through experience. Senior professors often serve as living archives of those experiences. Their absence leaves younger members without historical context when evaluating proposals or resolving disputes.
Third, governance burdens become concentrated among a smaller group of committed individuals. Associate professors, senior lecturers, and administrators may find themselves carrying responsibilities that should be distributed more equitably across the academic leadership. This imbalance can lead to burnout and governance inefficiencies.
Most importantly, persistent absenteeism weakens the culture of collegiality upon which universities depend. Governance becomes the responsibility of a few rather than a shared institutional duty.
The Ethical Question
Beyond administrative concerns lies an ethical issue. Professorship is not merely a recognition of academic achievement. It is also a commitment to institutional stewardship.
Universities invest significant resources in supporting academics throughout their careers. Society accords professors prestige, influence, and authority because it expects them to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and the governance of academic institutions. When professors disengage from Senate responsibilities, they risk reducing the professorial role to a title rather than a service.
Academic leadership extends beyond publishing papers, supervising graduate students, and securing research grants. It includes participating in the collective governance structures that sustain universities. A professor who consistently avoids Senate responsibilities may still be a productive scholar, but questions inevitably arise about whether they are fulfilling the broader obligations associated with their rank.
Reclaiming the Professorial Responsibility
Universities cannot afford to ignore this issue. Attendance and participation in Senate activities should be monitored and taken seriously. Institutions routinely evaluate teaching performance, research output, and community service. Governance contributions deserve similar attention.
Equally important, universities must make Senate deliberations meaningful. Meetings should focus on strategic academic issues rather than excessive procedural matters. Professors are more likely to engage when they believe their contributions influence institutional direction.
Universities should also recognize governance service as an important component of academic leadership. Meaningful participation should be acknowledged during performance evaluations, leadership appointments, and institutional recognition programmes.
Most importantly, professors must rediscover their mentorship role. Active engagement in governance provides opportunities to guide younger academics, transmit institutional values, and strengthen future leadership.
Not University Professors by Title
The strength of a university depends not only on the number of professors it employs but also on how those professors exercise their leadership.
As an experienced academic in higher education and a proficient manager who has chaired Senate for years, I wish to humbly remind us that a professor’s responsibility does not end in the classroom, laboratory, or research publication. It extends into the Senate chamber, where decisions affecting generations of students and academics are made.
Universities need professors who are present, engaged, and willing to contribute their wisdom to institutional governance. Empty seats at Senate meetings may appear insignificant, but they often symbolize a deeper withdrawal from academic stewardship.
If universities are to navigate the complex challenges of the twenty-first century, professors must reclaim their role as active advisers, mentors, and guardians of academic standards. The future of university governance depends not merely on professors holding the title, but on their willingness to fulfil the responsibilities that come with it.
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The Author is a Professor of Chemistry, a former Vice-Chancellor, a Higher Education Expert, and a Quality Assurance Consultant and Trainer. Contact: okothmdo@uoeld.ac.ke
