The Academic Deanship: Leading from the Middle

Catalog description

This module will explore the role of an academic dean with a specific focus on how deans lead change and manage crises. Deans play a critically important role at universities by leading the work of schools and colleges. They report to the provost but must lead faculty members whose expertise and engagement is needed to address crises or make meaningful and substantive change. Part of the challenge of many academic leadership roles relates to the need to negotiate between the needs and demands of the larger university and the needs and demands of faculty, staff, and students within a particular school. Deans, by definition, sit at the intersection of this tension, which becomes intensified during times of change or crisis. In this module, we will discuss what it means to “lead from the middle” and how deans balance sometimes competing demands from above and below as they lead their schools. Given these tumultuous times in higher education, we will also delve into how deans manage crises, particularly crisis in the midst of uncertainty.