Changing the Role and Responsibilities of Middle Managers: A Case Study of the Implications of 'Project 5-100' at a Russian University

In 2013, Russia launched Project 5-100 to place five Russian universities among the top 100 university rankings by 2020. As one of the important changes within universities Project 5-100 sought an enhancement of the management system. This paper provides insights into the changing roles and responsibilities of middle managers in Russian university under Project 5-100. The theoretical approach of new managerialism was applied, using documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews and survey as data-gathering tools. The findings demonstrate that significant changes toward more a managerial character influenced the responsibilities of the heads of academic units (HAU). It reveals disagreement between managers and academics on many questions evaluating the changes. The author concludes that managers also may contribute to the implementation of Project 5-100, but agreement between different levels of staff needs to be achieved for further successful development.