Influence of Transformational Leadership on the Sustainability of Universities: Focus on Universities in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the perceptions of academics of two universities (university of Calabar and University of cross river state) on the influence of transformational leadership on the sustainability of universities in terms of the continuous fulfilment of university mandates’ of quality teaching, research, and community service. Four research questions were raised to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a 510 study sample from the population of academic staff in the two universities. The instrument used for data collection was a validated questionnaire titled "Transformational leadership and university sustainability questionnaire (TLUSQ"). The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha. The reliability coefficient value yielded 0.87. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. Results from the analysis revealed the various ways transformational university leadership can positively enhance the sustainability of universities in terms of quality teaching, research, and community service. Further results also revealed the perception of academic staff on alternative funding strategies that could be adopted by transformational university leadership to enhance sustainability efforts in universities. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that University administrators should endeavour to adopt a transformational leadership approach so that they can effectively deliver on their mandates. It was also recommended that University administrators should explore alternative sources of generating funds to augment government allocations so as to adequately fund sustainability initiatives in their institutions.