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New deans come into the office of Chief Academic Officer in varied ways. Some aspire to the work, others are called, some are pressed into service, and some poor souls are voted in during a missed Faculty meeting. While larger…
Continue readingAt this time of the year, semester’s end, while Faculty wistfully anticipate taking advantage of the three best things about teaching (June, July, and August), many deans are turning their attention to wrapping up the academic year. End-of-term activities take…
Continue readingJeanne P. McLean’s seminal work on the role of the academic dean as an act of “leading from the center” is apt and resonates with those of us who have experienced the job. But in the whirlwind of the experience…
Continue readingI have a couple of friends who are really into “Talk Like a Pirate Day” (September 19 in case you’re wondering). One dresses up like a pirate for the day (in Johnny Depp “Pirates of the Caribbean” style) and plays the part…
Continue readingWillie Niegro was the shipping supervisor at the warehouse where I worked summers during high school. He’d been there over 20 years, overseeing the shipping of crates and pallets out the truck bays at the rear of the warehouse. He…
Continue readingDeans sometimes have a tough time saying “No.” Many just need to be liked too much and few want to be seen as the resident Scrooge who is miserly with resources. Yet, there is no end of requests that come…
Continue readingTimes of high anxiety tend to bring out reactivity. There’s no question we’re living in anxious times, and theological schools are not exempt from the stress or threats of the era. In anxous times leaders can expect to see an…
Continue readingDeans in theological schools face increasing demands to demonstrate educational effectiveness from accrediting agencies and constituents. For many theological schools, and for new deans, this can seem like an imposing challenge. Demonstrating educational effectiveness falls to the office of the…
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