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[arts_admin]

I am an untenured tenure-track faculty member in the arts. I am two years away from my final tenure vote. My recent tenure vote was very positive, and while nothing is certain, I have good reasons to expect that I will be tenured and then promoted to associate professor.

During this time, our Department hired a new chair. This new chair has made many positive changes and everyone is happy, for the most part. He has assigned me several administrative projects which have gone well and I have received "kudos" from my peers, the new chair and even the Dean of the College. This has resulted in several colleagues and my chair remarking that I should consider a career switch to administration.

While I have no intention of being an administrator before I am tenured and maybe not until I am well on my way to being a full professor, I do find the idea interesting. I am wondering what kind of preparation, over the next 5-10 years, would be helpful. I have a Ph.D. in a discipline offered by my department and a respectable portfolio of teaching, research and service. I have thought about pursuing an additional degree in Education Leadership. I don't think I need extra credentials but need to develop a familiarity with the larger issues that often escape "arts administrators". If an additional degree would be helpful, what might you suggest?

Thanks!

[sibyl]

Most folks who become good department chairs have no more preparation than you already do:  taking on administrative projects and doing them well.  You could also try to work on institution-wide projects, which can give you good exposure to a wide range of problems as well as connections with colleagues in many fields and on the administrative side.

I don't think you need a whole degree to be an administrator, because those degrees aim in different directions.  MBA programs, for example, assume that you will need certain tools that simply aren't appropriate in academia. 

That said, there are some workshops that aim at preparing folks to administer in academia.  These might be very helpful.  I went to one such workshop offered by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and it worked well for me.  Bryn Mawr offers a very reputable program for female leaders, but I think you can't go until after you become a president or CAO.

And, of course, in the meantime, you should read.  Here are three books to get you started:  How Colleges Work, by Robert Birnbaum, a good look at how decisions are made in academia; Tuition Rising, by Ronald Ehrenberg, a strong introduction to the economics of the university; The University: An Owner's Manual, by Henry Rosovsky, a wide-ranging look at the different aspects of a large university written in a very engaging, personal style. 

Good luck!

[artone]

I agree with sibyl.  The new dean of students at my art and design institution was a professor for about fifteen years.  He was very active on institution wide committees and was overall involved outside the classroom.  It probably would hurt (especially if your school will pay) to attend NASPA, ACPA, or AICAD conferences so that you are abreast of current research, trends, etc.

[cardamom]

I also concur with sibyl and would add that there is a tendency among academics (current and recovering) who are interested in moving into administration to assume that another degree is needed. With some exceptions, additional degrees do not matter as much as experience, of which you seem to be getting plenty. What else you should do really depends on what area(s) of administration you're interested in: recommendations for student affairs will differ from those for research. One general suggestion is to get some budget management experience. No matter what the area, this can be very useful.

[neniaf]

I agree with others that you don't need another degree, just experience.  My suggestion would be to get tenure securely in hand.  Then do two things.  First, identify those areas in which you need experience and find tasks which will help you to get exposure to those areas.  For example, if you need fund-raising experience, volunteer to help on such a project.  I you want to learn budgeting, offer to help the chair out in that area (you might want to explain why, or they may wonder if you have embezzlement in mind!).  Secondly, let your ambitions be known, especially to those who might be in a position to help you.  It does tend to engender some negative reactions among those who see administrators as "the enemy", so I wouldn't do this pre-tenure, but it can help in the long run.  I'm in my current position because they needed someone to do the job and someone in on the discussions knew I had an interest in administration, and in the past few weeks I've been asked on more than one occasion to suggest faculty "who might have an interest in administration" for positions on campus. 

[prof_d]

Sibyl mentioned Bryn Mawr.  This is a very interesting program for women. You do not need to be a CAA or Presidential type--there are other training programs for them.   ACE also has regional and national leadership forums for women. You need to be nominated by your university for the ACE things. There is also the ACE fellowship for both men and women, very competitive, but they require your university to fund you while you go to another university to learn admin. That's a really good idea, for all kinds of reasons, but might price some universities out of the option.

You certainly don't need another degree. Ph.D.s may sometimes lack social skills appropriate for managing people, but they have all of the analytical ones they would ever need.  Decisiveness is helpful, too. Hard to say if a Ph.D. suggests that quality or sheer insane persistence (also a good administrator virtue).

[anthroid]

In fact, the educational leadership-type degree could hurt you if you want to do deany kinds of things.  Right now, before you get tenure, see if there is some way you can direct a program of some kind, or work on establishing a new program college or department wide, so that you get experience working with a variety of folks in different disciplines and learning how to manage conflict, both of which are crucial for good administrators.

[voxprincipalis]

It does occur to me, though, that even though you are seeking to go into administration in an arts school, which is different from "arts administration," you may need to be conversant with issues and practices in arts administration organizations because of the likelihood of needing to partner with them for outreach, fundraising, etc. So if you don't have any arts administration background per se, it might be worthwhile to investigate this area, possibly through professional development opportunities at your current job.

VP