Understanding Academic Prominence and Influence Through the Concept of Academic Charisma: The Voices of Canadian and Chinese Professors

Academic ranks or professorial appointments are considered the primary form of formal recognition in the academic profession, and the criteria for appointment and promotion are used to make suggestions for career development (Teichleret al., 2013). However, academic ranks alone are insufficient to explain the fact that some academics are able to gain prominence over colleagues, lead the development of an academic field, or exert influence beyond that entailed in their formal positions. I believe the concept of academic charisma developed by Clark (2006), based on Weber’s (1947) idea of charismatic authority, can shed light on the explanation of variations in academic reputation and influence. In the context of academia, charismatic authority takes on a special form, conceptualized in this research as academic charisma. This study’s primary aim is to better understand why the prominence and level of influence exercised by professors vary beyond what can be accounted for by differences in formal academic recognition, such as academic ranks and research productivity. The study seeks to explore whether the concept of charismatic authority can work alongside the other forms of authority Weber identified—namely, traditional and bureaucratic authority—in explaining the observed variances of academic reputation and influence. The study will contribute to the existing literature in its area of research by examining and illustrating how the concept of academic charisma can be used to capture the working of academic prominence and influence in a variety of contexts. Using a qualitative research framework, drawing as well on elements of comparative research to reveal contextual influences, this research focused on the experience of 22 professors working in the engineering discipline at four universities: specifically, a World-Class University (WCU) in Canada, a non-World-Class University (non-WCU) in Canada, a WCU in China, and a non-WCU in China. The study shows that the concept of academic charisma can work alongside traditional and bureaucratic authority to explain the working of academic prominence and influence. Participants believed that social capital significantly contributes to academic prominence and influence. As social capital is closely connected to charismatic authority (Weber, 1947), it seems reasonable to contend that promoting social capital can effectively encourage academic charisma. Comparisons between WCU and non-WCU professors interviewed show that prestigious university status contributes to personal prominence and influence by amplifying the social capital of WCU professors. Similarly, comparisons between interviewed professors working in the higher education systems of Canada and China show that, although the routinization of academic charisma provides insights into contexts determined variations- professors interviewed in Canada rely primarily on traditional authority to routinize their prominence and influence, while professors interviewed in China rely primarily on bureaucratic authority. The concept of academic charisma serves useful analytical purposes: it helps us understand the divergent paths of academic career development, as well as the strategies used by professors in establishing and maintaining their prominence and influence. Moreover, the concept of academic charisma can extend to the interpretation of the shaping and reshaping of institutions and entire systems of higher education, since these processes are very often affected by the influence—and sometimes the direct personal intervention—of prominent professors.

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