Archive: Jul 2016

SJSU Professor Kate Davis is currently attending a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for College and University Faculty on Mapping, Texts, and Travel. In the archives she recently encountered a 1959 booklet, the Go Guide for Motor Tourists, which provided information about safe places for African Americans to visit while traveling by car. I had not heard of this publication, and a quick web search did not turn up any information. The booklet was probably a competitor to the more well-known Negro Motorist Green Book. I learned about this publication a few years ago, and asked my aunt and mother-in-law about it. Both are in their 70s and remember traveling in the Jim Crow South, but don’t remember this book. Maybe it was only used by men, who would be the drivers. My paternal grandfather drove through many states of the Jim Crow South, and thus would have been a perfect person to ask, but he passed away years ago, unfortunately. A PBS story referenced a documentary that briefly discussed traveling while Black in that era; I’ll have to check it out!

This week my associate dean is attending the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) seminar for new deans, in which experienced deans share processes and tips to help new deans get off to strong starts. Each year a few slots are reserved for associate deans who are thinking about eventually moving over one position. I attended the seminar as a new dean in 2013, and in 2014 sent my then associate dean, who went on to become a dean last year! Hopefully my associate dean this year doesn’t get snatched up for another few years…

In a new twist for mentoring new deans, I was contacted yesterday by a new dean who is starting an advisory circle. I’ll be available to answer questions via email, and we might check in via Skype from time to time. If ever in the same city for conferences we’ll try to meet up. I am impressed by her initiative in putting together this mentoring opportunity. I wish that I had thought of this as a new dean!

SJSU Communication Studies Professor Matthew Spangler is Co-Directing a National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute, The Immigrant Experience in California through Literature and Theatre. The institute is being held here on the SJSU campus July 17-31, 2016. This morning I attended a lecture on U.S. immigration by Donna Gabaccia, a former colleague at the University of Minnesota. On Saturday I hope to join a walking tour of immigrant San Francisco that will be led by SJSU History Professor (and Department Chair) Glen Gendzel. I’m thrilled that SJSU is able to host discussions and activities with high school teachers from around the U.S. on a topic of immense global importance.

On July 1, 2013 I became a dean for the first time, and I used this blog to chronicle my experiences as a newbie to full-time administration. I stopped posting entries at the end of my first year, but then started posting again at the end of the first week of my second dean appointment. Now the second year of the second dean appointment is underway, and it’s the start of my fourth year overall as a dean. I want to continue posting brief notes about experiences and observations as a social scientist who’s also a college administrator, so it’s time for a blog name change! “Dispatches From a New Dean” is now “Dispatches From a Dean.” Thanks to the folks at The Society Pages for keeping me on board!

I’m not usually a podcast listener, but today stumbled upon one I should check out occasionally: NPR’s “Invisibilia,” which is “about the invisible forces that control human behavior – ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions.”  The “Flip the Script” episode features discussion of how a Danish town helped young Muslims turn away from ISIS. Interesting!

Recently a friend and I had a conversation on the messaging service WhatsApp about mobile phone charging cables:

I’ll have to visit There’s Research on That! to see if my hunch is correct about mobile phone charging cables causing problems in folks’ ability to fully use their phones and stay connected with friends and family…

The spring of 2000 was the second semester of my first year as a new assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s General College. At the end of that semester one of my students — Andy “A-Ron” Winger — asked me to check out his rap music album, which I very much enjoyed. Over the years I’ve listened to all of his albums, solo as well as with others (including one made with a student from one of my classes in my very first semester in the fall of 1999!). A-Ron has recently released his latest album, Covered in Dust. It contains many social justice themes that are very relevant in a week that saw massive calls for police reform. Check it out!

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.