Resource Handbook for Academic Deans: The Essential Guide for College and University Leaders

This essential guide addresses the expanding, multifaceted role of college and university academic leaders. The new edition of the Resource Handbook for Academic Deans, one of the most important offerings to the academic community by the American Conference of Academic Deans, is written by and for academic leaders to address the expanding, multifaceted role of college and university administrators. Each chapter explores a topic related to how higher education leaders are influenced by national events, local partnerships, or on-campus collaborations. Among the topics covered are: • understanding educational policy at the national level • working with leaders from department heads to provosts • engaging with external partners • leading collaborative change at small colleges and universities • shifting toward student-centered campuses • making data-informed decisions • embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion • managing and balancing salaries • building effective leadership teams and mentoring future leaders • holding difficult conversations • returning to the faculty after leadership Providing helpful advice that can be studied in short chapters and inspiring content based on personal experience, the forty-three authors in this volume hold positions from department chairs to presidents at four-year and community colleges across the country. Written during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid calls for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, each chapter offers perceptive insights from experienced leaders who serve a broad range of institutional types.

Table of Contents:
ACAD Preface, by Mike Wanous Acknowledgments Introduction Andrew Adams I. Leadership Insights 1 A President's Letter to a New Dean or Academic Leader Philip A. Glotzbach 2 Purpose-Driven Leadership: The Value in "Finding Your Why" Courtney B. Smith II. Leadership and National Contexts 3 The Critical Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Higher Education Hideko Sera and Kendrick T. Brown 4 How Academic Leaders Can Bend Their Institutions toward Racial Justice Paula O'Loughlin and Jeffrey Ratliff-Crain 5 Navigating the Civil Rights and Social Justice Landscape O. John Maduko 6 Working toward Greater Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The Benefits of Wearing Multiple Hats Jamila Bookwala 7 Understanding Higher-Education Policy in Order to Manage Risk and Achieve Equity Margaret Brown Marsden III. Leadership and Partnerships 8 Educational Ecosystems for Equity Margaret Hunter 9 Searching for the Butterfly: The Dean's Engagement with Internal and External Partners Del Doughty 10 Higher Education and Community Collaborations in Times of Crisis Josephine Mendoza Kershaw 11 Using Institutional Expertise to Foster Connections through Local Leadership Development Programs Ross Peterson-Veatch 12 Building Reciprocal Relationships for Careers and Lifelong Learning Cheryl Bailey and Wendy A. Weaver 13 Narratives That Connect Our Collective Communities: Integrated Learning at St. Catherine University Tarshia L. Stanley IV. Leadership and the Institution 14 Working with the Upper Administration and Leadership Team Gregor Thuswaldner 15 Key Components of a Successful Relationship with the Advancement Office Michele Yapsuga Ewing and Elaine Meyer-Lee 16 There Is No Known Limit to the Capacity of the Human Mind to Learn, Grow, Develop, and Change J. Herman Blake and Emily L. Moore 17 Leadership in the Transition from a College to a University Claudine Keenan 18 Leadership and Effective Use of Institutional Structures to Advance Strategic Initiatives Kelly H. Ball and Lilia Cuesta Harvey 19 Leading Collaborative Change for the Sustainable Future of Small Colleges and Universities Ron Cole and Jenna Templeton 20 The Institutional Shift toward Student-Centered Campuses Gina Hausknecht and Paula O'Loughlin 21 Leadership at the Dean's Level in Community Colleges Vincent Wiggins V. Leadership and the College 22 The Dean as Supporter in Chief: Spreading Joy in Academic Communities Maria C. Garriga 23 Data-Informed Decision Making in Higher Education Pete Skoner 24 Creating a Culture of Possibilities: Managing and Balancing Salaries across the College George H. Brown 25 The Line outside Your Door: Principles for Managing the College Budget Del Doughty 26 The Role of the Academic Dean in Institutional and Specialized Accreditation Processes Ann M. Vendrely 27 Developing a Communication and Connection Plan for Success Feng-Ling Johnson 28 Thriving as an Associate Dean: A Life-Cycle View James M. Sloat VI. Leadership and the Units 29 Department Chair Development and Mentoring Jamie L. Mullaney and Elaine Meyer-Lee 30 No Small FEAT: Fostering Effective Administrative Teams Darla S. Hanley 31 Reimagining Difficult Conversations as a Form of Leadership Bridget Keegan 32 Mentoring to Build a Pipeline of Academic Leaders Paula O'Loughlin, Angela Ziskowski, and Angela Bos VII. Leadership in the Future and in the Past 33 Embracing New Joy: Returning to the Faculty after the Deanship Lisa Jasinski 34 The Role of the Dean of the College (1964) William C. DeVane Afterword Andrew Adams Contributors Index

About the Author :
Andrew Adams is the director of the School of Music at Western Carolina University.

Review :
Academic deans, both new and seasoned, will benefit enormously from this collection of ruminations by experienced and successful academic leaders on the issues that are most prominent and often most vexing for those who enter the arena of academic leadership. For newcomers to the deanery, this handbook will be an eye-opener; and for veteran deans, a helpful reminder of both first principles and best practices. --Richard Ekman, president, The Council of Independent Colleges ACAD has created an extraordinary resource for the entire postsecondary community. For new and seasoned deans alike, the ACAD handbook offers a wealth of generous, wise, and practical guidance. Presenting lessons learned both from lived experiences and from organizational scholarship, the handbook will help deans succeed in their myriad essential roles. --Carol Geary Schneider, president, Association of American Colleges and Universities ACAD meetings and electronic communications are marked by collaboration and by sharing means for encouraging faculty and student success. The handbook exemplifies that spirit of collaboration as members articulate their candid and helpful recommendations for enhancing work with faculty and students. --Scott E. Evenbeck, president, Stella and Charles Guttman Community College There is no map for thriving as a dean, but this handbook offers an essential guidebook and compass for the journey. Both informed and inspired, it is above all humane in presenting the purpose, practice, and privilege of a dean's good work. --William J. Craft, president, Concordia College