University governance at the crossroads: the Italian case

The financial crisis and the growth of global public debt require more attention than in the past in managing resources. Currently most of public organizations have financial and economic difficulties in response to the reduced government funding. Hence Italian universities are changing their governance forms which require new competences and good practices in management. The aim of the paper is to propose the model of governance that is emerging in Italy after the introduction of the law 240/2010, with particular reference to Public Universities’ choices about numerousness and composition of their boards of directors. After the description of the Italian case, a brief review of prior literature on University Governance and some citation to New Public Management are provided to introduce the relevant concepts (theoretical development). In addition, the survey provides a conceptual framework on governance models in order to discuss the aim of the paper in a broader context. Methodology and results are outlined later. The sample analyzed is composed of 56 Italian Public Universities that have modified their organizational structure through their statutes. Finally the paper’s conclusions are presented together with suggestions for further research.