Tellin’ Ain’t Leadin’
Every now and then, some young person or other—usually a friend’s child—will ask me what I do for a living. I try to make my answer appropriate to the child’s age, often describing a dean’s similarities to and differences from the principal of a school. Frequently, the response I’ll get…
Returning to Campus: How Leaders Can Address Trauma
In the past 18 months, students, faculty, and staff experienced what can only be described as trauma. Many have returned to campus after enduring the loss of family members; others are exhausted from nursing sick loved ones back to health or shouldering extra caretaking responsibilities with children. Some have family…
Reflections of a Retired Dean
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 head, to dean, to vice president for academic affairs, to provost, to interim president, and (finally!) to senior vice president…
How to Respond to Toxic Leadership: Six Practical Approaches
Do you work for a dean, provost, president, or department chair who belittles you regularly? Or someone who seems to enjoy criticizing you and brings up your past mistakes? Perhaps your leader is someone who believes they are destined for greatness and refuses to admit they have faults. Or do…
My Return to Practice and Considerations for the Academy
The superintendent of schools called me at 9:00 p.m. on August 13. “Can you come and be an interim principal? My principal left on short notice, and I need an experienced K–12 principal starting in September.” “Are you crazy?” I said. “The fall semester starts August 24th!” As we talked…
Six Lessons from the Pandemic
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on December 14, 2020. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. With the coronavirus pandemic affecting every aspect of our lives, now is the time for us to learn from each other. While Allegheny College has the advantage of being small, private, and located in rural Pennsylvania,…
Tending to Your Mental Health while Leading through a Crisis
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on October 19, 2020. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. Be kind. It’s my first pandemic. I saw this statement on a button as I was scrolling through social media, and across the past three months, I have frequently returned to it as my institution…
Seven Big Ideas for Academic Leaders: How You Lead Matters!
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on May 2, 2018 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. During my time as a dean, I’ve learned a lot about budgets, fundraising, strategy, recruitment, retention, and personnel matters, but I’ve also discovered seven big ideas about how my outlook and approach influence my leadership….
Mind Your Ps and Qs: A Guide for New Administrators
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on August 1, 2019 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. Have you ever been told to mind your Ps and Qs? The expression is often used to admonish children to be on their best behavior, to be polite. Thus, some say the P stands for…
Becoming a Mindful Leader
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on April 30, 2015 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. We live in a world of distraction. Technology bombards us with new information every second of the day, making it hard to focus on any one thing. Yet one of the most critical leadership skills…
