Educational Alternatives ISSN 1314-7277, Volume 14, 2016 Journal of International Scientific Publications www.scientific-publications.net Page 522 FACULTY MEMBERS' VIEWS ON ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP Münevver Çetin 1 , Ayşe Durmaz 2 1 Marmara University, Turkey 2 Kırklareli University, Turkey Abstract The study reports and documents an analysis of responses of twenty faculty members in a tertiary institution in Turkey. An interview schedule was prepared to obtain responses from the faculty members on various aspects of academic leadership. The interview questions were prepared in the context of Ramsden's conceptual framework of leadership in higher education. The faculty members’ views of academic leadership and their academic leaders were analyzed and the results of the study demonstrate that the faculty see their academic leaders as providing support, resources and an enabling environment that facilitates the academic work of others. Key words: academic leadership, academic leader 1. INTRODUCTION Academic leadership refers to leadership in an academic setting or institution. Academic leadership is generally characterized as a type of leadership including the roles such as mission, management, generating idea, conducting teamwork, motivating teamwork and creating teams (Law & Glover, 2000). However academic management, teaching, science and research and student counseling are the specific activities that academic leadership basically focuses on (Harman, 2002). Academic leadership is understood to incorporate the core academic functions of teaching/learning, and research and scholarship together with a broader focus on academic values and identity (Joyce and Boyle, 2013). In a higher education institution, some leadership behaviors are expected from academic administrators working in each administrative unit from the highest point to the lowest point (Çelik, 2011). Information production, transfer, and delivery, bringing benefits to society through research and development activities, providing lifelong education, being a pioneer and follower of rapid changes in technology and information require higher education institutions’ managers to show new leadership behaviors (Yeşilyurt, 2007). A strong academic leadership is needed to ensure quality and effectiveness in higher education institutions and for universities to build a culture focusing on value and culture. An academic leader tries to carry university in integration with its own history, culture and structure into the global world (Çelik, 2011). On the other hand, universities have a different structure from other public or private organizations. And unlike private organizations which are accountable to shareholders, they are accountable to stakeholders like students, employees, funding agencies and nongovernmental organizations. Because of these reasons, academic leadership becomes necessary. 2. DISCUSSION OF ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP Leaders play a large role in the organization’s vision, direction, employee morale, integrity, level of communication, values, trust, respect, and overall effectiveness and success (Pate& Angell, 2013). The leadership of an institution is responsible for making decisions that affect the lives and responsibilities of the faculty, staff, and students of the college (Pate& Angell, 2013). The concept of Academic Leadership has been given by Ramsden (1998) and he suggests that leadership in higher education have features as; leadership in teaching i.e. introducing new ideas of teaching, adding excitement teaching, leadership in research i.e. leader must set his own research examples and provide guidance for the staff, strategy vision and networking i.e. leader should make clear goals and express those to everyone, collaborative and motivational leadership i.e. leader should inspire people to give their full and try to achieve difficult objectives also there should be openness and an environment of trust and