I'd like to say that I knew how my search for an administrative position would end when I started writing about it last fall. But despite my bravado back then, I could never have envisioned the events of last semester.
Before you become disillusioned and think that this is another column about a failed search, I should tell you that I was successful in landing a new administrative position. I started on July 1 as the vice president for academic affairs and academic dean of a small, liberal-arts college. It's an incredible opportunity for me to begin putting to use skills that I have developed during my tenure as a department chairman and as an associate dean of a professional school.
But it was a circuitous route to this successful end. Last November, two unexpected events occurred. First, the dean of my college resigned. In my first column, I mentioned how I had no way to move up on my own campus since I thought the dean was unlikely to step down any time soon. He was a very successful dean in his late 50s, and I expected him to remain in the job until his retirement. His resignation caught everyone off guard.
The second unexpected development was that all of the administrative positions I had applied for were filled -- unfortunately not by me. By the beginning of January, I was out of the running for every one of them.
You might think that the confluence of these two events could have been the start of something wonderful for me -- specifically, an opportunity to become a senior-level administrator without moving to a new campus. But I still had two strikes against me. I lacked the appropriate terminal degree for my professional school, and I would be an internal candidate in a campus culture that looks with disfavor on such candidates. Those two issues were very much a part of my decision not to apply for the vacancy left by the resignation of my dean. As it turns out, it was a wise decision. Two other, very well-qualified internal candidates were in the running for the job, and neither made it out of the "big pile."
Just as I was making plans to remain in my position for another year, I received two telephone calls. The first was from the provost of my university, asking me to meet with him concerning the resignation of my dean. Long story short, he eventually asked me to serve as interim dean of the college until a permanent successor could be named.
So, this past semester I have served in that role and have been the person responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the college. Happily, it has only reinforced my desire to serve in a senior administrative role on a permanent basis. Don't get me wrong, each day has not been blissful. There have been challenges every day and some gut-wrenching decisions. But in the final analysis, the semester has been one of the most rewarding for me professionally since I returned to academe 14 years ago.
The second telephone call in January was even more unexpected. Someone I had met when I was a finalist for a deanship two years ago was named president of a small, liberal-arts college. We had kept in contact because we shared many similar beliefs and values. He asked me to apply for an opening as academic dean at his campus.
As I have done with all of the job possibilities this year, I weighed the positives and negatives, consulted with my family, and then sent my materials to the search committee. In March, after a series of phone interviews and reference checks, I was named a finalist for the position and invited to the campus for an interview.
The only way to describe the campus interview for this type of position is as a marathon, not a sprint. It's often a two-day affair, but the first day usually involves only a dinner meeting with the search committee. The conversation is kept light with very few substantive questions posed to the candidate. It's a time for the committee to see you in an informal setting and observe how you connect with people. The full day that follows is where you need to pace yourself. Every constituency wants time with the candidate, so the schedule is brutal, starting with an early breakfast and culminating with a late dinner. In between are meetings lasting 45 minutes to an hour with literally every group that has a connection to the academic dean. The questions that you're asked are similar from session to session, and can alert you to the "hot issues" at the college. I was able to pick up on three such issues and then use subsequent conversations to explain how I would deal with them if chosen as the next academic dean.
A key meeting of the day is with the person who would be your direct supervisor -- in my case, that meant a meeting with the president. This is not the time to ask questions about salary or perquisites. I spent my time with the president discussing the issues that I had gleaned from earlier conversations and gathering information about my role as academic dean in his administration. I asked him to describe where he saw the college in five years and how I would contribute. Finally, I clarified the opportunities for professional development and his willingness to support me as I expanded my skill set. Our conversation was very spirited (in a good way) and reinforced for me the character of the president and his commitment to the college.
Perhaps the most unpredictable part of the day is the question-and-answer session to which everyone on the campus is invited. You never know who is going to show up, but inevitably, at least one question comes for someone with an ax to grind against the current or former administration.
I was asked to give a short (10-minute) presentation on the role of an academic dean at a liberal-arts college to begin the session and then to open it up to questions. During my presentation, I focused on the balance that you have to maintain as an academic dean between your role as an officer of the college and your role as the leader of, and chief advocate for, the faculty. It is a delicate balancing act but a critical one.
After my short talk, the questions started coming, most of them of a situational, "what would you do if ...," nature. As expected, one faculty member went on a tirade against the former dean and wanted to extract a promise from me that I wouldn't take vacation days during the academic year. I declined to make that promise but told him that my commitment to the college would be total if I was hired.
Things must have gone well because I was offered the job in April after the last candidate had been interviewed. It's a very young administrative team -- I am the oldest member of the president's cabinet (46, just in case you're wondering). Even the president is younger than I am. But I feel privileged to be a part of it and I look forward to a host of new challenges. The best part is that I won't have to ride the job search roller coaster again -- at least for awhile anyway.
