"Office and administrative support staff can be found throughout almost every work environment within higher education institutions. While inherently tied to the success of higher education programs, faculty, and students, the contributions of this small but important group of employees is often overlooked by higher education institutions and researchers alike. This study explored the work and roles of 24 office and administrative support staff working within a public research university and how these staff believed their work related to the operations, missions, and personnel of their institution. This dissertation serves to broaden the understanding of the work of Office and Administrative Support (OAS) staff within public research universities and determine how they believe their work relates to institutional missions. OAS staff provide operational support to colleges and universities via everyday interactions with faculty, management, and students. This study shows how these employees hold unique institutional expertise and occupy positions that are important for institutional success, though their value is often overlooked, underutilized, or misunderstood. Using an instrumental case study approach, guided by the theoretical framework of Argyris and Schon's Theory of Action, this study illustrates how misperceptions and lack of definition around support staff work obscure employee contributions. The study findings also show how support staff may hold more sway over institutional success than expected and provides implications for theory, practice, policy, and future research."--Page ii.
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