Seasons of a Dean's Life

"Discusses building and sustaining leadership through four chronological states, or seasons, of being a dean; topics include problems with "plateauing" in autumn-eight years and beyond in a dean's career."

- The Chronicle of Higher Education

1. THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEANS AS LEADERS
Introduction
The Deanship: Passages in the Profession
Trends in the Dean Position and Requirements
The Development of Academic Deans
Rites of Passage: The Seasons of a Dean’s Career
Book Objectives
Research Design
Sample and Procedures

2. SPRINGTIME OF A DEAN’S CAREER
Getting Started: The First Three Years
Preparing for the Deanship
The Search Process
Perspectives on the Deanship

3. SUMMERTIME OF A DEAN’S CAREER
Hitting Your Stride: Years Four to Seven
Journey Into the Deanship
Satisfactions and Dissatisfactions
Dealing With Difficult Issues

4. FALL OF A DEAN’S CAREER
Keeping the Fire Alive: Eight Years and Beyond
Dean Loop: Zoom or Doom?
Extending the Dean’s Fall Season
How Deans Plateau
How Deans Managed the Plateau Effect
Seasoned Fall Deans’ Advice to New Deans
Entering the Winter Season

5. WINTER OF A DEAN’S CAREER
The Ending of an Era: Reflections on the Deanship
Divergent Voices
Life After the Deanship

6. DEAN DEVELOPMENT: Personal, Institutional, and Professional Implications
Seasons of a Dean’s Life: Personal Development Strategies
Advice for New Deans
The Call for Developing Deans for All Seasons
Conclusion

INDEX

Walter H. Gmelch

Walter H. Gmelch is the Dean of the School of Education at the University of San Francisco. Formerly he served as Dean of the College of Education at Iowa State University and Interim Dean of the College of Education, Professor, and Chair of the Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology Department at Washington State University. Currently, Walt Gmelch also serves as Director of the National Center for the Study of Academic Leadership.

As educator, management consultant, university administrator, and former business executive, Gmelch has conducted research and written extensively on the topics of leadership, team development, conflict, and stress and time management. He has published numerous articles, books, and scholarly papers in national and international journals. Gmelch is author or co-author of eleven books. Today, he is one of the leading researchers in the study of academic leaders in higher education, serving as editor of two journals and on the editorial board of a half dozen other journals including The Department Chair, Innovative Higher Education, Academic Leadership, and the Center for Academic Leadership Newsletter. He has directed two national studies of 1,600 university department chairs in the United States, one study of 1,580 Australian department heads, another investigation of 1,000 community college chairs, and recently has completed an international study of 2,000 academic deans in Australia and America.

Gmelch has received numerous honors including a Kellogg National Fellowship, the University Council for Educational Administration Distinguished Professor Award, the Faculty Excellence Award for Research, and the Education Press Award of America. In addition, he served in the Danforth Leadership Program; has been an advisor to the Salzburg Seminar on Higher Education; and has been an Australian Research Fellow.

Dee Hopkins

Dee Hopkins is Dean of the College of Human Resources and Education at West Virginia University and has been an administrator for over fifteen years at four institutions. Her research focus is leadership. Her chapter, “To Dean or not to Dean: Personal and Professional Considerations,” appears in Dean’s Balancing Acts: Education Leaders and the Challenges They Face (2002). She also co-edited It’s All about People: Case Studies in Higher Education Leadership (2007) and Collaborative Leadership in Action: Partnering for Success in Schools (2010).

Sandra Damico

Sandra Damico is Dean of the College of Education at the University of Iowa and has been an administrator for over sixteen years at two institutions. Her research focuses on organizational effectiveness and leadership. She has published widely on these topics and co-edited It’s All about People: Case Studies in Higher Education Leadership (2007). She holds leadership positions in a number of professional associations and is the Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the Regional Education Laboratory – Midwest.