Disciples and practitioners of knowledge: a duoethnography on the academic-administrator divide in universities

Abstract We invite readers into our duoethnography to explore the divide between academics and professional administrators in universities. Guided by duoethnography, a qualitative, collaborative, and dialogic methodology, we drew on our differences, media, and literature to explore the academic-administrator divide. Bringing together a queer administrator, queered by a doctoral program, and a fellow administrator who has not pursued doctoral studies, we started our journey with the Netflix series The Chair . While the series was intended to provide a window into fictional academic life, it was our venture into literature that shaped new insights into the academic-administrator divide. By reframing academics as disciples of knowledge and administrators as practitioners of knowledge, we found new ways to bridge the academic-administrator divide. Using this paradigm to explore literature on peer review, collegiality, and the business school academic-practitioner gap offered us new ways to personally engage with the idea of disciples and practitioners. Throughout the paper, we invite you to participate in the duoethnography and consider whether our insights resonate with your personal experiences and perspectives.