" With meetings before and after the business day, evening events such as lectures or performances, semiofficial social occasions, athletic events, and weekend recruiting activities for prospective students, the deanship can easily dominate all waking hours, at least for the incautious or compulsive. "Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#534 Do I Want a Deanship?Folks: The posting below look at personal factors to consider in accepting a deanship. It is from Chapter 2, What it Takes to be a Dean in The Academic Deanship: Individual Careers and Institutional Roles, by David F. Bright, and Mary P. Richards. Published by JOSSEY-BASS, A Wiley Company. 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741 Copyright © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. <www.josseybass.com>. Regards, Rick Reis reis@stanford.,edu UP NEXT: Teaching Squares Tomorrow's Academia ------------------------------- 2,041 words ------------------------- Do I Want to be a Dean? In the end, the hardest question is that which stood at the head of this chapter but can only be asked at the end of this discovery process: Knowing what is needed and what I have to offer (and assuming that the two are compatible), do I want to make the trip? Following are some cautionary notes, not intended to discourage but to lend perspective to the impact this job will have on one's personal life. Will I Enjoy Working on Behalf of Others? Most faculty derive satisfaction from pursing their own intellectual agenda and achieving their own devising. In that sense, even though we all work for the institution and more narrowly for the college in which we are faculty, we actually work for ourselves. A dean, in contrast, works for others and must take satisfaction from their accomplishments. That is to say, the dean must be able to feel rewarded by the successes of those who have received the college's assistance, whether from funding, staffing, or other resources-or perhaps simply by the smooth administration of the college that allowed the faculty to concentrate on their work. Can I Live with the Impact on My Teaching and Scholarly Career? Working for the college rather than for oneself can require a new way of thinking for those who have been long-term faculty members. Even deans who remain active in research will do so at a reduced pace and inevitably will reflect, "I could have finished that book, or won that prize, or obtained that grant if I had had the time to work on my own project." If that realization will be a cause of ongoing distress, deaning is not a wise choice. Likewise when it comes to contact with students. At larger institutions, the dean's interaction with students is less than a faculty member's except for problem resolution and ceremonial occasions. Meanwhile, deans at small colleges may continue direct student contact, but not through the preferred medium of the classroom. Most deans do some teaching each year, but the crowded administrative calendar, combined with unpredictable intrusions, limits both the kind of course and its scheduling. Teaching after 10 A.M. can be especially problematic as the diurnal crises and preset meetings build up. Even if these activities do not actually conflict with class time, the distraction can diminish one's effectiveness as a teacher. Introductory courses, where students need consistency and nurturing, can be problematic for dean and students. Similarly, a dean who cannot give graduate students the sustained attention they need in their work should step back from that responsibility rather than jeopardize the students' progress. Surprisingly, it may be easier for a dean to continue a minimally satisfying level of scholarly activity than to teach. A laboratory team can function without constant close supervision; one can hook up with collaborators who can fill in as need be. For research or creative work that is portable, there can be some work time on trips, out of reach of the usual distractions. But deadlines for completing manuscripts or other projects can be harder for deans to meet because they have less control over their time than faculty members. Thus deans must be careful about accepting commitments, because a reputation for being slow or unreliable will mean fewer invitations to work on projects. Finally, the scope of scholarly work and expertise will inevitably narrow: while deans strive to stay in the forefront of their defined research area, they cannot keep up with the whole field the way they did as faculty members. Those considering pursuing a deanship therefore must also consider how they will manage those components of their career that they want to maintain. What Will Be the Impact on My Personal Life? With meetings before and after the business day, evening events such as lectures or performances, semiofficial social occasions, athletic events, and weekend recruiting activities for prospective students, the deanship can easily dominate all waking hours, at least for the incautious or compulsive. Attendance at some activities is optional or can be delegated to an associate, but the presence of the dean is often requested even if it not required. At certain times of the year, especially the six weeks preceding graduation, deans seem to eat nothing but chicken for days at a stretch and may wonder whether to leave the name tag on to be recognized at home. There is also the impact on spouses or partners. Unless they love attending these kinds of functions, it helps to offer them a choice if their participation is not essential. Spouses or partners would normally be expected to attend cocktails and dinner for the trustees at the president's home, but not a staff awards dinner. The dean must do some entertaining, though not necessarily at home. The hardest part is having so much of the calendar dictated by external forces and therefore having limited choices regarding personal, family, and social life outside the institution. The dean who plans to remain sane will set priorities for time away from the deanship and accept the intrusion that the job brings to the rest. Am I Ready for Constant Scrutiny? We laugh at the absurdities that appear in the tabloids and wonder how anyone could take such reports seriously, or why anyone would care, but an allegedly gentler version of the rumor industry operates on campus. The dean's behavior, appearance, and formal and casual remarks in public and private settings are the topic of reports both true and invested. To be sure, comment and judgment are to be expected when the dean is on the job and representing the college, but colleagues will scrutinize everything-a slight change in appearance after a poor night's sleep will bring inquiries about one's health. Private comments to individuals-requests for assistance or confidences to help them understand a problematic situation-circulate and transmogrify like a secret whispered around a dinner table. Individuals of both sexes will try to determine whether the dean favors male or female colleagues in the strong belief that neutrality is impossible. Some will go so far as to grill the dean's spouse or partner for confidential information. Inevitably, false impressions will circulate. In most cases, they are prompted by idle curiosity rather than malice, and a dean can learn to screen the absurd and idle from the intentional and cruel, but an occasional stone will still strike the glass house. Can I Accept a New Relationship with Colleagues? The dean is thrust into a new place in the world of the college, and this can strain or even distort individual relationships. Many colleagues, of course, accept the shift, often with mordant witticisms about selling out or fading out, whereas others assume that the individual has not merely taken a new position but become a different person. One faculty member who accepted a year's assignment as acting dean of his college had been collaborating on a book with a colleague, and they ate lunch together every week to discuss the project. When the temporary administrative stint was announced, the colleague said, "I will see you in a year." The almost-dean assured her that he would have time to continue the project, but she said, "That is not the point. I do not eat with Them, and you have become a Them. Call me next year." She stuck to her aversion to administrators but cheerfully resumed lunch and project the next summer when his administrative contagion had passed. It is very difficult to "be yourself" and be dean. Suddenly people want to socialize with "The Dean" and dimly imagine that, once away from the office and with drinks in hand, they will glean crucial details about the person and his or her decisions. Others view any occasion as a chance to bend the dean's ear on pet peeves or personal ambitions. Frustrating though it can be, one needs to maintain a king of distance from others because, in their minds at least, they are no longer equals. This can be especially difficult with long-standing colleagues and may best be handled by addressing the subject directly with them. In particular, it is awkward and problematic to have close personal relationships with people you must evaluate. However clear the distinction between personal identity and professional performance may be in the dean's mind, it will not matter when the time comes to deny a promotion. To help avoid this problem, some deans choose friends outside the institution; others focus on their families. To maintain friendships with colleagues, however, it is important to set limits and be careful about observing them. Am I Ready to Change Locations? For many reasons it makes sense to embark on a deanship at a new institution. Deans appointed internally tend to carry a certain amount of baggage from the past, including perceived biases and ready-made enemies. There can also be a perception that the dean was anointed rather than chosen honestly from a search, even if that search included external candidates. Conversely, changing institutions means encountering a new system and all its people. This will lengthen the learning curve and perhaps diminish what can be achieved in the first weeks or months. That may feel like a disadvantage to both the dean and the college, or it may seem like a breath of fresh air to both parties. In order to find a good match of talents and interests, the aspiring dean must be open to a range of possibilities, in geography as well as institutional type. Families, especially spouses or partners with careers of their own, must be full partners in the decision to relocate and that concurrence must come before there is an offer on the table. In one particularly frustrating sequence of events, a very large college ran a lengthy and exhausting search for a dean, and the provost called the winning candidate to make an offer. The candidate accepted at once over the phone, and the considerate but incautious provost immediately called the other finalists to tell them that the search had been concluded. An hour later the successful candidate called back; his wife simply could not bring herself to leave their current location and with must regret he withdrew from consideration. The moral: even having discussed a prospective move in advance, one should never accept a position without conferring about the specific offer with family and others who will be directly affected by the change. Because faculty members in many fields have enjoyed considerably less mobility over the past three decades than previously was the case, many aspiring deans will have worked at only one institution. The exhilarating prospect of a new role and the alarming thought of leaving the town and the campus where perhaps two decades have been spent (which is about the average single-campus career of those who finally uproot only for a change to administration) can be wrenching. Selling and buying a home, finding new physicians, and reestablishing life in a new community take time and energy. The change is usually invigorating rather than depressing, but not if the upheaval catches the family by surprise. Can I Handle the Stresses of the Deanship? Some amount of stress is simply built into being a dean. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of faculty, students, and staff depend on the dean's leadership for the college to thrive. Because very few situations are unambiguous, a dean may be tempted to revisit or even brood over decisions long after the issue has been handled. There are times when only the inside of your automobile should be privy to your real thoughts and what you would do it you had the power. And no amount of prudent preparation can help a person to foresee all the effects that an action will have. Omniscience is not a part of the dean's skill kit, even it others expect it! As with all middle managers, the stress comes from both directions. A change in campus leadership could easily mean the end of a dean's tenure in office. The same result can come of arguing against plans that the dean believes to be misguided or even wrong, but failing to defend the college's best interests will lost the confidence of the faculty. All is made harder if attended by misleading statements that cannot be publicly corrected. The dean must plunge ahead with plans and decisions and rise above the swirl of problems. Success in such conditions will be all the more gratifying. Am I Ready for a New Social Life? Most academics can gear causal socializing to personal preferences and time available for relaxation. Such a social calendar is feeble preparation for the rigors of a dean's life, as already suggested. At an institution that emphasizes athletics, the football or basketball season may be the focus of constant activity, both for cultivation of supporters and recruitment of students. At smaller colleges, deans are expected to attend alumni functions and report on academic developments. Mingling with trustees, donors, government officials, and community leaders at a variety of events introduces a level of formality far from the casual mores (in dress as well as habits) of faculty life. For those who like more formal occasions, hobnobbing, and meeting new people, this part of the dean's job will be especially enjoyable. Am I Interested in Community Service? Deans regularly receive interviews to serve on boards of community organizations. For the dean newly arrived in a community, this is a good way to meet community leaders and become a community citizen. Such organization often want to hear the perspective of higher education, and a dean in turn may be able to identify links that offer opportunities on both sides. Some institutions, especially private ones, expect deans to maintain a high level of visibility in the community. Thus a dean whose college includes fine arts may look for service with local arts groups. In any case, the dean needs to find an extra store of time and energy for community activities-it will certainly help the college ad may prove very enjoyable. This litany of qualifications, considerations, and self-scrutiny puts into context the question of whether to pursue deaning. Is it a journey for which I am suited, one I can endure and enjoy? What must I carry in my bags? We have said nothing yet about the journey itself. That is the theme of the next chapter: picking a destination and testing the waters. Suggestions for Further Reading Austin, Michael J., Frederick L. Ahearn, and Richard A. English
(eds.) The Professional School Dean: Meeting the Leadership Challenges.
New Directions for Higher Education, no. 98. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
1997. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
