Academic Department Survival: Lessons Learned and Future Implications

Higher education is attracting enormous attention. Interest comes from all sectors, including governors, legislators, publishers, editors, citizens of all political persuasions, students, parents, and, of course, university colleagues and administrators. While interest is high, the associated outcomes have generated significant concerns, with many concluding that all is not well (Redican & Bafi, 1997). In this paper, I will identify and briefly discuss several factors influencing higher education and the subsequent impact on kinesiology departments'. Academic kinesiology departments cannot ignore trends affecting the larger whole. To survive, we must be informed and cognizant of the larger picture and understand how it directly and indirectly affects other parts, specifically the academic department.