Take a Vacation—Please!
Although workshops on academic leadership frequently devote sessions to the topic of “work-life balance,” that phrase is really misleading. It seems to imply that we’re either working or living but never doing both at the same time. However, this is a false dichotomy for most administrators. We’re obviously living while...
Five Ways to Fail as an Academic Leader
Effective academic leaders teach us a great deal. They serve as inspiring role models, provide examples of best practices, and demonstrate that leadership at its best can utterly transform a college or university. But despite all the benefits we can derive from highly effective academic leaders, failed academic leaders actually...
When the End Is in Sight
There comes a time in the life of an academic program when it is no longer viable due to dropping enrollments, lack of faculty resources, budget cuts, changing external contexts, or other factors. When the decision is made to close a program, the department chair’s attention to planning will be...
Why Getting It Done Is Often Better Than Getting It Perfect
Although the remark has been attributed to lots of different people, it was Voltaire who first observed (in his Dictionnaire Philosophique, 1764) that “the perfect is the enemy of the good” (Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien). It has become such a common saying that we recite it almost without thinking....
High Risk, High Reward: The Life of the Entrepreneurial Administrator
Most definitions of “entrepreneur” include the notion of risking something to earn something of greater value. In the business world, both risk and reward are often capital (investment that generates greater profit). In academic settings, this could also be true of some initiatives, but, more likely, there are other valuables...
Promoting Faculty Development on a Tight Budget
In a dream world, every academic institution would be populated with a teaching and learning center coupled with a faculty enrichment meeting room. In fact, faculty would continually hone their skills as researchers and teachers in an engaged center on campus. Sounds great, right? For large institutions, probably. But for...
Evaluating Your Academic Administration Career Path Strategy
At some point during your teaching and research career, you may decide to seek your first administrative post. As tenure-track positions diminish and because salaries for administrators in general are higher than those for academics, you may find the choice attractive. It offers greater long-term financial benefits. It affords more...
Ten Ways to Find Inspiration for the Coming Year
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on August 1, 2022. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. The start of the academic year is nearly upon us. On our campuses, student orientations are in full swing, new faculty orientations are being planned, and faculty are planning their syllabi. Some might argue...
Accessibility: Making a Plan to Do What’s Right (and Required)
As of 2017, the last full year we have data for, there were 5,567 Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigations dealing with accessibility in K–20 institutions (Department of Education, 2019, p. Z-22). In 2018, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III Lawsuits in federal courts were projected to hit almost...
Considerations for Meaningful and Credible Strategic Planning
Formulating strategic plans is a relatively common activity in higher education. Some institutions have strong traditions in this regard, and all levels periodically engage in this process. Others participate occasionally. Much depends on the interest and motivation of the upper administration. In fact, planning of this type is often initiated...
