University Job Titles | Motohiro Tsuchiya, Vice-President / Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance
2023.02.07
At an international conference for a university partnership, I greeted the person sitting next to me. He told me he was the Vice-Chancellor of a university in Asia. Since my own title is Vice President, I assumed he was my counterpart, but it turned out he was actually the president of his university.
As I began to interact with universities around the world in my role in charge of international collaboration, one thing I still find difficult to understand is the job titles for university positions. Below is my understanding of the matter, though I may be mistaken (and would appreciate any corrections).
At present at Keio University, the President uses the title of President, the lead Vice-President is the Provost, and the other Vice-Presidents use the title of Vice President. The word "vice" apparently means wickedness or immorality, but when used as a prefix for a position, it comes from the Latin for "in place of" and corresponds to the Japanese prefix "fuku-" (vice- or deputy-).
At Waseda University, it seems that the President is the President, one of the three vice presidents is the Provost, the other two are Senior Executive Vice Presidents, the Vice-Presidents are Executive Vice Presidents, and the trustees are Vice Presidents.
Provost means a chief priest in Christianity, but in a university setting, it apparently refers to a dean or a president (chancellor). In most cases, however, it signifies the head of the academic division. I remember visiting a U.S. university back when I was an assistant professor who knew nothing, and being led into a room with the words, "Well, the Provost is waiting for you." I wondered, "What's a Provost? Is that higher than a President?"
At the University of Oxford in the UK, the head is called the Chancellor. In British politics, Chancellor refers to the finance minister, and in German politics, it means the prime minister. The university's Chancellor seems to be a lifetime honorary position, and the equivalent of a Japanese university president is apparently the Vice-Chancellor. The mistake I mentioned at the beginning happened because I was unfamiliar with this British-style title.
At Stanford University in the U.S., a "cabinet" of 45 members is appointed, and in addition to the President, one can see positions such as Provost, Vice Provost, Vice President, and Dean.
University governance and globalization are often discussed, but I am keenly aware that I do not understand the systems themselves. I try to cram before visiting foreign universities or before guests from foreign universities arrive, but I can never quite keep up. It's difficult to talk to people when you don't know who your counterpart is.
For university globalization, it is important to establish the formalities, but I suppose we must also understand the substance behind them. Older European universities must have developed complex systems and titles through their historical relationship with the church. We don't need to imitate them, but we do need to understand them. Every day is a learning experience.