Universities cannot be ¡°world class¡± without academic freedom and ¡°an unrestrictive style of governance¡±, the president of a leading US university has told a conference in China.

Giving the keynote speech at the Seventh International Conference on World-Class Universities, organised by the Centre for World Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Virginia president Teresa A. Sullivan said that relaxed governance controls were ¡°the most important¡± factor for global excellence in higher education.

In a keynote speech entitled "Thinking locally, acting globally: higher education in a global century", Professor Sullivan set out to define what a world-class university was. ¡°Everyone seems to agree that research power is important,¡± she said, but truly world class universities ¡°must be committed to discovering new knowledge through research and they must also be committed to disseminating new knowledge through effective teaching¡±.

She said a top global university should be a ¡°multiversity¡±, including public service and cultural enrichment in its mission as well as teaching, research and scholarship. It must ¡°break down traditional academic boundaries to allow for cross-disciplinary collaboration¡± to address 21st-century problems and it must also be connected globally, ¡°because no university that aspires to be among the world¡¯s best can be isolated in the 21st century¡±.

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She added: ¡°I want to mention one final defining quality, and this one might be the most important. To be truly world class, a university must practise an unrestrictive style of governance. The university¡¯s governance structures must relax controls sufficiently to allow faculty creativity to flourish. A university is a community of scholars and entrepreneurs above all, and a community of this kind cannot thrive in a tightly restricted environment.

¡°University governing bodies that govern with a closed fist constrain innovation and entrepreneurship; governing bodies that are open-handed create an environment in which innovation and entrepreneurship can flourish. Only in such a setting can a university become world class. A world-class university should be a meritocracy in every respect ¨C in organisation and leadership, and in teaching, research and service.

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¡°Academic freedom is an essential quality for a world-class university.¡±

Professor Sullivan cited the 2011 World Bank book?The Road to Academic Excellence: The making of world-class research universities. ¡°The study found that even fledgling universities have the potential to grow into top-quality research institutions within two or three decades if ¨C and only if ¨C several conditions are present: top academic talent; adequate financial resources; and above all, a governance structure that protects faculty autonomy and academic freedom.¡±

phil.baty@timeshighereducation.com