academic administration

I started writing this blog on May 13, 2013. In the “Welcome” post I noted, “On July 1, 2013 I will become Professor and Founding Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Before the move I will write about preparation for assuming that position, and after July 1, 2013 I will chronicle my first year in the creation of a new unit.” In the July 1, 2014 “One Year In” post I wrote,

Today was my one year anniversary as a new dean. It’s also my 100th post to this blog. I wish that I could say that this coincidence was part of a grand design…

My original plan was to just write the blog for the first year as a new dean, but I’ll keep going with occasional entries. Thanks for the comments on posts in the first year!

I didn’t have any additional entries until March 25, 2015, when I noted that I was moving to San José State U. On July 12, 2015 I resumed making regular blog entries.

Now, however, is probably a good time to end the blog. The “About Dispatches From a Dean” description notes, “A sociologist, this blog chronicles [Jacobs’] journeys in collegiate administration, where he applies his view of academic leadership as both a social science and an art.” I definitely did that in many of the 291 other entries, but in the last year or so the entries have mostly been links to online articles that I thought were interesting. Yesterday was the College of Social Sciences’ spring 2019 commencement, and today is the spring 2019 “Black Grad” commencement for Black students. In the spirit of commencement being the end of one stage of an ongoing journey as the launching point of the next adventure, I’ll end the 292nd blog post by stating that I’ve enjoyed writing this blog over the past 6 years, and I look forward to sharing my experiences in other avenues. Thank you for accompanying me!

Two years ago today (July 6, 2015) two new deans joined seven others at San José State U. As of July 1 this year Mary Schutten (Dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts) and I are now the senior academic deans as we start our third year here, and we are just one year behind the most senior dean (Ruth Huard of the College of International and Extended Education). Wow! In terms of total dean experience, I believe that I’m the most senior of the nine of us here at SJSU, as I’m starting my fifth year overall as a dean (third year here following two years at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside). Oh wait, the new dean of the College of Business (Dan Moshavi) was also previously a dean before joining SJSU, so he might have more total experience. Whatever the case, it’s weird to be a “senior” after just two years!

Today is July 1, 2016, and it marks the start of my fourth year as a dean. In a few days (July 6) I’ll be entering my second year as the Dean of the SJSU College of Social Sciences. So since I’m not really a new dean anymore I’ll have to change the title of this blog! In the meantime, I found one unpublished post from last July, just after I started at SJSU. It’s about mistakes new deans make; I’ll paste that into this post. Thanks to everyone who helped me avoid these problems!

Inside Higher Education recently published an essay on the “5 Mistakes of Rookie Deans.” Although focusing on the experiences of business school deans, Dean Eli Jones’ advice is widely applicable. He notes that the following mistakes land deans in hot water:

• Underestimating the knowledge, skills, and abilities it takes to do the job well.
• Overestimating the power and influence one has in the role.
• Lacking sufficient knowledge about managing oneself.
• Lacking sufficient knowledge of how to generate and allocate resources across the enterprise.
• Underappreciating the art and science of relationship building.

A comment from “stinkcat” adds two more mistakes: “Before you make significant decisions take time to understand the culture of the place. Also, in the minds of faculty you work for them, they don’t work for you. Forget that at your peril.” I would add one more that’s informed by my social science background: do not forget the importance of social structure in enabling success. If one wants to build a truly collaborative environment, for example, s/he needs to create mechanisms that bring folks together and make sure that action items get accomplished. For example, here at the SJSU College of Social Sciences the department chairs will have two regularly scheduled collective meetings per month, one with the dean group [dean, associate dean, “decanal fellow” (last year’s interim dean who is assisting me with the transition), and the college’s budget manager] where we address issues that are usually externally imposed, and one without the dean group present where the chairs can share best practices and also generate new ideas without worrying about the initial reaction of the dean before polishing them to take to the next chairs/dean group meeting.

Dean Jones notes that deans are asked to “chart a course for our organizations in the midst of continuous change, to train and motivate our employees, and to develop innovative solutions for a constantly evolving marketplace.” Mistakes are bound to happen, but we deans can minimize them by keeping the above guidelines in mind.

One of my former colleagues in the University of Wisconsin system has posted an interesting article to the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ (AAC&U) LEAP Challenge Blog. Check out his “Learning Through Friendship” reflection. LEAP, by the way, stands for Liberal Education and America’s Promise, an AAC&U national public advocacy and campus action initiative. I should think more about how I can use LEAP in strategic planning for the college.

Yesterday I had lunch in the Student Center for the first time. I went to Panda Express, and my fortune cookie message read: “the riches of others makes you more valuable.” In a way, that’s a nice shorthand for describing the job of a Dean, as one of our major tasks is to make sure that the departments in our care are well supported and thriving. Money is probably the first thing that comes to mind when one hears the word “support,” and that is a necessary item, but another important aspect is the ability of department chairs to innovate, to try new things without unnecessary interference from above. I’ve started monthly one-on-one meeting with the chairs, and stress that the purpose of those meetings is not for me to give direction (or, worse, micromanage their decisions), it’s for me to become informed about issues and to help solve problems. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate department successes, and discuss ways in which we can maintain positive momentum. Monthly meetings with 12 department chairs will take a lot of time, but they are well worth the effort. In the end, successful departments lead to a successful college!

San José State U’s brand is “Powering Silicon Valley,” which emphasizes the STEM fields — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. One of my tasks as Dean of the College of Social Sciences will be to advocate the importance of the social sciences. At my first meeting with department chairs we started to discuss some strategies in which the social sciences complement STEM, and other strategies that focus on questioning STEM’s place at the center of the equation. A page on the “Latin Correspondent” website captures many of the central ideas; perhaps I should ask the chairs to read it before our next meeting? Any additional ideas and/or resources I should share?

“A Woman Of Few Words” is Paula Krebs’ blog entry about how “one of the nice things about being a dean at this time of year is being asked to ‘say a few words.'” I agree with her advice about being concise and developing the proper focus:

“The trick, of course, is to find the Few Words that touch on the occasion and keep the focus where it should be. I’ve learned to try to pick one or two things to say about the students or faculty who are being commemorated, but they have to be things that come from me. It’s no good when I try to praise folks or fields I know nothing about. It rings false and ruins the mood, like a eulogy from a minister who can’t even pronounce the deceased’s name.”

That advice served me well when making banquet season speeches. I don’t have any speechifyin’ currently scheduled for the summer, but if something gets added I’ll be ready!

The blogger “Female Science Professor” has posted an interesting article about her path to leadership positions. She notes, “although the ‘path’ concept might be relevant to the future (as an image of some potential future directions to take), it doesn’t work so well as a metaphor for the past because ‘path’ implies that I was on a particular trajectory, with a particular destination. More accurate descriptions for me would be that I parachuted into my current position (after a bit of a push), or that I wandered around bushwhacking in a dense and somewhat unfriendly forest before accidentally stumbling into the administrative sector.” My initial adventure into administration was also unplanned — the dean suggested that I become the interim chairperson of a department when I sought to transfer to his college — but my path to become a dean quickly came into focus in my first year as chairperson, as I discovered that I loved administrative challenges. I can still say that 11 months into my first year as a dean, and hope that it continues!

I am co-editing an anthology, the Minority Dean Survival Guide. Below is the general description; please send me a note for more information if you would like to participate or know someone who should receive the call for submissions!

The Minority Dean Survival Guide is a multidisciplinary volume that takes a no holds barred approach to academic life from the perspective of a senior administrator.  Although the roles of president and provost are critical for running a university, no university thrives without a competent set of college deans who indeed are responsible for leading academic enterprises, some of which are the size of small to mid-size universities, but each of which are vital no matter what the size. Similar to becoming a professor, being a first-time dean comes with little to no training.  Most deans enter into these roles subsequent to being department head, associate dean, or a program director.  Neither of these roles adequately prepares new deans for what they will experience as dean.  In this book the contributors candidly uncover the privileges, perils, and politics of being a minority dean in a simple, easy to read, and compelling writing style.  This approach provides an interesting pastiche, since there are clearly dimensions of the job that are common among all deans.  There are also particular elements of being a minority dean that distinguish these persons from all other deans across the academy. That is what readers will discover in this volume, as they are invited to engage the experiences of current and former minority deans, each of whom, due to the politics that will be discussed in the introduction, will use a pseudonym.  This collection brings together cross-disciplinary deans from a range of institutions that vary by size, region, demographics, and focus.  Each will provide their own advice and personal narratives, and will discuss their leadership styles, successes, failures, and recommended rules for survival.

There are two name plates on the door to my office suite. One reads, “Walter R. Jacobs, Dean.” The other: “Vivian Williams, Dean’s Assistant.” When I started the job last July it never occurred to me to NOT list Vivian on the door, but as I visit other Deans’ offices (at UW-Parkside and elsewhere) I’m learning that this is not always the case. For me, the Dean’s Assistant is an integral part of the Office of the Dean team, as Vivian met weekly with the Associate Dean and me. Her experiences and input were highly valued, and her contributions went far beyond her official office manager duties. I will miss that, as Vivian has left UW-Parkside to start her own business. A part-time person will be joining us next week while we search for a full-time replacement. Hopefully the full-time person will be able to start on July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, and the weekly meeting tradition will resume. (I also meet individually with the Associate Dean at least once a week, and have lots of individual interactions with the Dean’s Assistant during the week.) I hope that I can find another Dean’s Assistant with Vivian’s incredible skills!