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
One word that I heard repeatedly from the 50+ higher ed leaders I interviewed last summer[*] was “impossible.” According to these interviewees, leadership jobs today are impossible, working with faculty
Those in deanships in higher education change on average every four to six years (Henk, Wepner, and Ali 2022). Given the turnover rate, one would think institutions would have a
University administrators and registrars often rely on deans and department chairs to promote departmental compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Likewise, such individuals are frequently the
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
We may be committed to academic excellence, but when we examine our institutional data, it may show us gaps. We might see racial disparities in student, faculty, and staff diversity,
Higher education faculty know the value of providing formative feedback to students. They recognize that feedback that provides actionable information promotes deeper learning. Faculty are also accustomed to receiving feedback
Let’s start by reviewing the budget components we assembled in part one:
Why redo department budgets at a time like this? There are so many other important considerations these days that this task might seem an unnecessary distraction. Well, we have just
A good bit has been written about the issues an academic leader should consider when thinking about whether to step back from a leadership role. Most recently, Lisa Jasinski has
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