A Toolkit for Deans

(Paperback)

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Description

This book provides foundational thoughts on situations where deans find themselves when managing up, managing their peers and themselves, or managing down. The case studies and scenarios are useful for thinking about problems or issues beforehand and for considering how other deans handled these situations, even if the specifics or eventual resolutions are different. While there will be differences in who is involved, the actions they can take, the cost of those actions, the outcomes that can be achieved, how actions are linked to outcomes, and what information is available, each case or scenario provides situational insights. The case studies and scenarios represent a range of experiences from many deans and cover a variety of both public and private institutions of different sizes and locations.

Reviews

A Toolkit for Deans is a comprehensive, insightful array of approaches, case studies, discussion scenarios, and self-reflection guidelines. These can be used to motivate and empower deans and their management team to tackle and solve the diverse set of problems they encounter on a daily basis in todays higher education arena. The book focuses on mentoring deans at all stages of their career on being creative, flexible, humorous, and opportunistic in responding to their leadership and management demands from peers, faculty, direct reports, supervisors, parents and students. Whether you are a new assistant dean, a long-term supervisor of many departments or a dean considering moving to a provost or college president position, this book will provide the essential step-by-step road map for proactive management, leadership, and self-assessment needed for navigating todays rapidly changing academic environment. -- Carmen R. Cid, Ph.D., interim president, Quinebaug Valley Community College, Connecticut
The position of dean is one of the most challenging in the entire university. Mosto and Dorland have written a very helpful and interesting book using case studies to present us with common and uncommon situations that lead to administrative stress. While it is impossible to present every possible situation, the authors try to represent as many university varieties (various sizes, research status, liberal arts emphasis, etc.) as possible in their examples of issues with each of the various groups with whom we interact. The questions for reflection are helpful and train us in a technique that is most helpful in preparation for problem solving. I recommend this book for both new and experienced deans. -- Michael A. Gealt, Ph.D., dean of science and engineering, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
This stronghold of wisdom for both new and experienced Deans builds expertise through case studies that are challenging and often humorous and based on real-life situations. Learn how to 'manage up,' to distinguish between managing and leading, to prioritize, to deal with conflict, and to be realistic about the demands of the Dean's position. As a new Dean myself, I read the book in one sitting and plan to keep it permanently on my reference shelf. -- Cindy Vitto, Ph.D., dean of humanities and social sciences, Rowan University, New Jersey

Author Bio

Dr. Patricia Mosto has a M.S. in Environmental Sciences from Drexel University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Biology. She has been a faculty member since 1989, was the Chair of the Biological Sciences Department at Rowan University, where she was also an Interim Associate Provost for Academic Affairs for 3 years, and the Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for 2 years.

After receiving her M.S. in Chemical Engineering from SDSM&T, Dr. Dianne Dorland began her career working for Union Carbide in West Virginia. She received her PhD from West Virginia University in 1985 and over the past 42 years she has combined industry and academic experience as a process engineer, professor and engineering dean.