Ask them about their journeys, what mistakes they have made, what questions they wish they had asked, and what they wish they had known. In the end, the rewards of building programs that help students truly succeed, inspiring both students and faculty, establishing relationships with the external community that help you build the profile of your school, and engaging in ways that create positive societal impact are why we do it. If your answers to the above questions are yes, consider exploring this path for your future.
We need great deans. So You Want to Be a Dean? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions Article. Friday, January 17, Caryn Beck-Dudley. Stephanie Bryant. While being a business school dean is a greatly rewarding experience, it requires very different skills and responsibilities from those of a professor.
Leadership is not about a title or a designation. Article Tags. Insights You Might Like. From Teaching to Learning. The value of self-directed learning in a remote world.
Rethinking Research for SMEs. Good deans provide options and resources, but see the opportunity for the students to learn something from the experience. This aphorism we recently heard sums it up: "When I talk to managers, I get the feeling that they are important.
When I talk to leaders, I get the feeling that I am important. Most deans come from the academic ranks where they may not have had large numbers of subordinates reporting to them. This means it would be possible for a new dean to be blissfully unaware of how important recognition is in the work world, particularly recognition from the top. Not so with good deans. Simply taking the time to know the entire faculty, including adjunct, and the staff by name and greeting everyone as such in the hallway can be tremendously uplifting.
Every employee has bad days, including the dean, but the good ones realize that their attitude has the greatest effect on the school. The best are able to project optimism and a genuine care for those around them, and realize just a little bit of attention can go a very long way. Data-driven decisions reign supreme at the top. Indeed, the deans we know seem to quote Moneyball more than baseball GMs. And they are always asking for more data. We have noticed an interesting trend in this area.
Admissions dean hires in the past were often made in a beauty pageant manner. Who had the most charisma? Who came across the best in the interview process? These were factors that heavily influenced the overall selection.
The more rapidly the market changes, the more data can predict future change. Good deans see the value in predicting change before the competition and trust data more than instinct to do so. At the dean level there is a similar frequently pitched refrain. Yet, when you compare closely, the majority of these innovative programs sound just like the next. The lead presenter, George Kembel from The Stanford Design School, gave a thought provoking presentation on how to redesign an incubator that could be used on a wide scale for impoverished nations.
Law schools are great at tweaking programs and then coloring them as innovative. Unfortunately the schools next door are often doing the same thing. To be a first mover requires something entirely different, and just as in the example of embracing change, it requires the expenditure of political capital and the ability to rally people around the innovation.
But doing so matters deeply today. Good deans are looking at real innovation and not worried about simply keeping up with the other schools. As a department head at Washington University in St. Louis, I was given a budget with substantial resources and a clear mandate, then empowered and entrusted to translate the former into the latter. During my second week I had lunch with the dean who told me not to worry about antagonistic alums, faculty, or anyone who would resist the bevy of new programs and outreach we were about to unleash.
With my hire came a covenant of trust: I would be given the mandate and resources and would be left alone to get the job done.
But going through the process helped me improve my presentation for the next one. It may not maximize the chances of getting a particular job, but I think it maximizes the chances of succeeding in a job once you're there.
This strategy requires some self-awareness, so most people can't really do it. But if you can, I recommend it highly. On the bright side, a good dean of students can quickly become a respected figure on campus, and can make a positive difference in the lives of students, faculty, and staff.
It's a great job if you have the background and temperament for it. Finally, my generic interview tip for any professional position: don't wear something for the first time. If your shoes hurt or squeak, or the label from your shirt cuts into your neck, you'll be needlessly distracted and off your game.
Besides, anything that looks too new will betray you. Dress in a way that gives you confidence, and that you won't have to worry about. Wise and worldly readers -- what would you look for in a dean of students? Any useful presentation tips?
Expand comments Hide comments. We have retired comments and introduced Letters to the Editor. Share your thoughts ». About Contact Subscribe. An occasional correspondent writes: I've applied for a dean of students position for which I know I'm unusually well-qualified and temperamentally suited.
By Dean Dad. December 20, Good luck! Have a question? Ask the Administrator at deandad at gmail dot com. Read more by Dean Dad. Inside Higher Ed Careers Hiring? Post A Job Today! Trending Stories When suspending a professor isn't enough Rutgers Camden professors want to know why dean was fired Brazil cuts federal science spending by 90 percent The significant learning benefits of getting rid of grades essay How to write an effective diversity statement essay.
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