The Professional School Dean

by Austin, Michael J.; Ahearn, Frederick L.; English, Richard A.

• ISBN13: 9780787998493
• ISBN10: 0787998494
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-07-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub

Summary

Although the role of college and university presidents has received considerable attention over the past several decades, very little attention has been given to the role of deans. This is particularly apparent with respect to deans of professional schools. This volume begins to fill the void by focusing on the demanding leadership roles assumed by deans of social work, law, engineering, nursing, and divinity. Although the case illustrations draw primarily on the experiences of deans of social work, the contributors to this volume confirm that their deanship experiences are similar to those found in other professional schools. This is the 98th issue of New Directions for Higher Education.

Author Biography

MICHAEL J. AUSTIN is a professor in the School of Social Work in the University of California at Berkeley, and dean emeritus of the School of Social Work at the Univerity of Pennsylvania. FREDERICK L. AHEARN is a professor and dean emeritus at the National School of Social Services, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. RICHARD A. ENGLISH is the dean of the School of Social Work at Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

EDITORS' NOTES	1	(8)
Michael J. Austin
Frederick L. Ahearn
Richard A. English
1. A Day in the Life of a Dean This composite day in the life of a dean captures the intensity and exhilaration of handling issues confronting a dean of a professional school seeking to use expertise and good judgment in addressing many different areas of responsibility.	9	(12)
Frederick L. Ahearn
2. The Deanship as a Cross-Cultural Experience Understanding and communicating between the professional practice community and the academic research and education community require special cross-cultural skills for professional school deans.	21	(10)
Richard A. English
3. Guiding Organizational Change Case studies of organizational change and transformation provide a foundation for exploring the different leadership approaches used by professional school deans to promote and nurture change processes.	31	(26)
Michael J. Austin
Frederick L. Ahearn
Richard A. English
4. The Peer Support Group Needed to Guide Organizational Change Processes In order to foster a high level of self-reflective administrative practice, professional school deans can make extensive use of a peer support group, as described in this case study.	57	(10)
Michael J. Austin
5. The Role of the Dean in Strengthening Faculty and Student Scholarship Balancing the pressures to educate skilled practitioners with the profession's and society's need for new knowledge is one of the key juggling acts of a professional school dean. dean.	67	(8)
Rino J. Patti
6. Getting Chalk: Distant Reflections on Deaning Deaning is serious business; however, it is a mistake for deans to take themselves too seriously, especially in the eyes of faculty and students.	75	(8)
Stuart A. Kirk
7. Serving as Dean: A Public University Perspective The complexities of serving as a professional school dean in a large public research university provide unique challenges, especially in relationship to issues of gender and race.	83	(6)
Paula Allen-Meares
8. Looking Back: Perspectives of a Former Dean, Provost, and President The professional school dean who has also served as a university provost and president acquires a unique view of the deanship with respect to leadership and teamwork.	89	(6)
Thomas Ehrlich
9. The Leadership Role of a Dean Although there are numerous demands on a professional school dean, it is also important to focus on the role of advocacy and the joys of deaning.	95	(6)
Claire M. Fagin
10. What Does a Dean Do? Identifying the elements of deanship practice and effectively communicating with different audiences are essential ingredients in the art of successful deaning.	101	(8)
Clarence G. Newsome
11. The Dean as Advocate For Change Successful professional school deans closely monitor the changing needs of professional practice in order to advocate for change inside and outside the academy.	109	(6)
John J. McCoy
CONCLUSION	115	(4)
INDEX	119