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[larryc]

Scores to settle.

[sibyl]

All of the above.

There are good and noble reasons to do it: mostly, to make the kinds of changes that individual faculty do not have the leverage or opportunity to make.  There are venal and shallow reasons to do it: mostly, prestige (at least within academia) and power (at least within their own institution).  (There is little additional money available, but I suppose some people are drawn by the money; some people care a lot about $5,000-$20,000 and others do not.)

Of course, there are noble and venal reasons for all kinds of jobs: for example, some people seek faculty jobs because they want to shape young minds or expand the bounds of knowledge, others do so because they cannot face a room full of people unless they hold some kind of power over the audience (e.g. grading or lecturing), or because they cannot bear to be held accountable for their time as machinists or bureaucrats are. 

[melba_frilkins]

As someone who almost applied for a position that would have been stepping stone to deanship, I can tell you my motivation. I'd found myself involved in various faculty leadership positions. Other faculty, and administrators as well, kept telling me I was on the path to becoming a dean, I should go for it, I would be great at it, etc. I though, ok, they are right. I'd probably be good at it, someone's got to take one for the team, and who knows it could be fun and exciting.

And my life since age 2 had always been focused on The Next Level: preschool, grade school, junior high, high school, college, grad school, first FT job, much better FT job, tenure, then what? Administration? Ok. May as well continue the pattern up and up, almost just seems natural.

But then two things happened simultaneously within my job. I took leave from teaching full time to be faculty Director of Big Project and I very carefully watched a new dean on campus and imagined what it would be like to be in his shoes. After a couple years of that I realized that being faculty is really where my heart is. I've been trying to burn bridges ever since, just in case I ever get the inkling that I should try out for deanship after all.

[questor]

The Deans on my campus make double or triple the salaries of most of their faculty -- it is a HUGE difference, they also have staff, decision making power, being more directly part of higher administration so they are in the know, have a path upward to Provost, VP, or President or Dean at a more prestigious school or a location they want, have many perks like free travel and meals/credit accounts, the best technology, they don't fret about summer salary, they already have it. They also work hard as heck. In further answer to why they want to be dean, it is ego, promotion, the interest it holds for them, and very rare for them to step down into the faculty -- that tells it all. One stepped down and the faculty voted him on the parking committee (student complaints), he retired.

[uconnclasdean]

I'm a dean of arts and sciences at a big university.

I like the job.  Lots of variety:
  deep questions about academic quality (tenure + promotion);
  interesting technical questions about metrics and resources (budgeting, program evaluation);
  challenging management problems (navigating your way through joint hires and cross-college initiatives);
  lots of opportunities to help the good and to confront the bad (very satisfying);
  chances to use your creativity and powers of persuasion (development);
  freedom to sit in on any seminar anywhere in the college because you're interested in it, under the guise of         "keeping  in contact with the faculty,"
  opportunity to work in a team (a nice change from years of solo work in my discipline).

Only downside is that the job can be relentless and everyone wants your opinion about everything.  Also you have to get dressed up once in a while.
 
Nice work if you can get it.

[hongkyongnae]

Here, it's for the oldest of reasons.  Deans get their choice of the prettiest maidens or most strapping lads in the college, plus a good parking space.

If only (I don't get a parking space)..

OK, seriously ... when I was a faculty member, I had direct influence over the students in my classes and my lab; my ability to have a large positive impact was somewhat limited.  When I was a Chair, I could lead disciplinary curricular reform to improve student opportunities and success, and gather resources for faculty who were better at teaching and research than I was.  

As Dean I am able to do all that, but also allocate broader college-wide resources to buy faculty stuff, send them on trips, support student research, etc.  If I think about the influence I have had overall, I have done a MUCH better job in getting the resources for other people, than from working on my own teaching and research.

I actually enjoy doing a lot of the stuff that many faculty hate doing - and by my doing it, they can move the institution forward through their individual efforts.

this sums up quite well why i became a dean. i can make a difference on so many people and on the University, far far far more than i ever could as a member of the faculty. as a faculty member it was often all about my research, my classes, my students....maybe....my department. as a dean i see a much bigger world and i enjoy it much more.

by the way, money is not the reason someone should become a dean. a desire to make their school better is.