The Art of Diplomacy
Diplomat—”someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you begin to look forward to the trip.” Well, dean colleague, how good of a diplomat
Thomas McDaniel
May 19, 2025
Diplomat—”someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you begin to look forward to the trip.” Well, dean colleague, how good of a diplomat
I don’t know about you, but I always feel as though delegation is one of those practices that deans need to do better. I speak from sad personal experience. As
The situation: You are an academic dean. Your president is one of the new-breed leaders, a nonacademic administrator whose expertise is in business management, alumni affairs, social life, or development.
My son the political philosopher, who works under a devilish dean at a here-unnamed state university, assures me that Stanley Bing’s new book, What Would Machiavelli Do?, misses the essence
Nearly everyone finds twins interesting. That is so, in part, because twins are relatively rare, with only three or four out of 1,000 births producing twins and only about 25
Yogi Berra said a lot of stupid things that had a ring of truth about them, such as “Even the future ain’t what it used to be,” “You can observe
College amenities have long been a topic of concern for college administrators as well as students and parents. What should college and university administrators know about such concerns as they
To serve a college or university as a dean or provost is a special honor and responsibility. I had the pleasure to be in such offices—from department chair, to division
“There is nothing so practical as a good theory,” said John Dewey, one of America’s most important philosophers. And I say there is nothing so practical as a sound liberal
Those of us who have served our institutions as deans or provosts know that leadership requires many skills—some of which we bring to the job and some of which we
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