Leading from the Middle

A Case-Study Approach to Academic Leadership for Associate and Assistant Deans

Tammy Stone, Mary Coussons-Read

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2011
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781442204669
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Administration

Pity the humble academic. Moving from a faculty position to an administrative office frequently entails gaining considerable responsibility-but ambiguous power. The hope of these two authors is that this volume will serve as a reference and a source of support for current associate and assistant deans and as a window into these jobs for faculty who may be considering such a role. Staff positions often come with detailed job descriptions and reporting lines, but the role of associate/assistant deans is often ill-defined and dependent upon the personality of the dean they serve. The authors thus begin their discussion with an examination of the relationship between these two positions, setting the tone for the rest of the book. Stone and Coussons-Read have structured as a series of modules that encompass different situations in which associate/assistant deans may find themselves, and the authors candidly give advice about how to handle the resulting challenges. Case studies illustrate the typical daily work required by this position, with each case followed by suggestions for effective responses. The authors also provide references to sources in which readers can dig more deeply into areas such as conflict management and communication styles.

Table of contents

• Preface
• Chapter 1 Academic Leadership for Associate Deans: Tool Kits and Case Studies for Maintaining Your Sanity
• Chapter 2 Are You Ready to Visit the Dark Side? Considering Becoming an Associate Dean
• Chapter 3 Stepping Up to Leadership with Your Head and Your Heart
• Chapter 4 Working with the Realities of Your Dean’s Leadership and Management Style
• Chapter 5 Changing Behavior in a Culture of No Accountability
• Chapter 6 Something Old, Something New: Working with Department Chairs and the Faculty as an Associate Dean
• Chapter 7 Communicating Effectively: Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say
• Chapter 8 Dealing with Conflicts between and within Units
• Chapter 9 Trouble in Paradise: Dealing with Departmental Dysfunction
• Chapter 10 The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Getting Hostile and Unproductive Faculty and Staff on Board
• Chapter 11 I Know Your Parents Think You Are Brilliant, but You Still Have to Follow the Rules: Working with Students in an Atmosphere of Entitlement
• Chapter 12 Call Me When the Fire Trucks Have Left: Defining and Responding to Crisis
• Chapter 13 Meet and Greet: Making Connections outside Your School
• Chapter 14 Adapting to Change While Keeping Your Sense of Humor
• Chapter 15 Burning the Candle at Both Ends: Drawing Boundaries and Defending Balance
• Chapter 16 Moving On: Life after Being an Associate Dean
• Chapter 17 Lessons Learned: Distillation of the Principles of Leading from the Middle
• References
• About the Authors