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[mtg2000]

Hello, All.

I'm a tenured faculty member at a highly faculty governed SLAC (we have only one academic officer; all other work is done by the faculty via committees). Because of our governance structure, I've been able to amass what friends who are administrators in higher ed say is a fairly impressive resume. I've worked deeply and broadly across the institution, although I have never been department Chair. I have, however, chaired other committees.

I'd very much like to move into administration--Academic Affairs seems like the most natural, exciting place for me. I'm told that search committees are loath to think outside of the box, will want to see "Department Chair," somewhere on my resume. Is this true across the board? And does that hold true if I'm applying for Associate Dean positions?

In lieu of being Department Chair, are their other experiences that might hold as much weight? (I wonder because we are so small that our Department Chairs do little more than answer queries from students, push paper around, sign transfer credit, etc...; all the heavy work, or most of it that happens at other institutions via the Chair, is done by our Dean.)

Thanks for whatever clarity you offer.

Best,
MTG

[sinatra]

Since you said that you are applying for an Associate Dean position, or something reasonably similar, I don't think chair is a *must*, although it would be a much more competitive type of experience to have. Others on the fora will disagree with me for good reasons. But having once worked at a place where there was only one academic officer, I understand that "chair" may not be an option for you. Barring an experience as a chair, you will need to have real experiences on your cv. For example, I'd want to see that you chaired some high-profile committee: a search committee for a president or for your academic officer, a university- or college-wide assessment or accreditation committee, a curriculum committee during a review of the core curriculum, etc. Serving as chair of your faculty senate will help, too, since it will expose you to aspects of the administrative structure that typical faculty members don't see. Associate Deans deal with student complaints of an academic nature, some hiring issues, budgets, and part-time faculty issues. So run-of-the-mill advising experience or the standard year of service on a tenure and promotion committee won't cut it in most cases. Barring some combination of experiences that speak to these areas, you won't be in the final cut 99 times out of 100.

The more basic question, I suppose, is where do you want to go administratively? If you are just testing the waters, a chair position may actually serve you better. The same is true if you would one day like to be a dean. On another of my posts, I noted that some discussions I had recently show that, more and more, not having chair AND assistant/associate dean on your CV won't get you higher. A quick search of the forum on these topics will produce some lively conversations for you to browse.

Good luck!

[mtg2000]

Sinatra,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. In fact, I have been building experiences and skill sets over the years. I appreciate you outlining just what kinds of experiences will be most helpful in the shift from faculty to administrator. I am currently Chair of a very high profile committee and we are undertaking a curriculum review, among other things. I've worked broadly and deeply across the institution: staff climate assessment, admissions work, strategy and diversity work, etc... I understand your response to be encouraging me to keep up that kind of activity, which I will.

Administratively, I'd very much like to be Dean of an Arts college, perhaps a Provost one day. I take your point that moving into a Chair instead of an Associate Dean's position might be the better option. I'll begin to look more seriously at it, though it seems to me that I don't see many Chair positions popping up. I would like to gain experience fund raising and with budgets. The former is possible and imminent at my current institution, the latter not so much. The SLAC model definitely provides for some challenges for upwardly mobile people! Nevertheless: the job I have now is one many, many colleagues from around the country would very much like to have (and I know because they tell me so at conferences). So I can bide my time and enjoy my students.

I'll poke around a bit more on the site and search for the conversations to which you refer. Thanks again.

Best,
MTG

[sinatra]

You say that fund raising opportunities are "imminent" at your institution. In a good institution, they always are. My advice would be to contact the Dean/VP/Director of Advancement (the fund raising head honcho) and ask to sit in on a major gifts call. Say nothing. Listen. Take notes. Have no opinions, at least none that you feel compelled to share. If it seems like something you would be interested in continuing your involvement with, ask the individual in charge if there is some way you can be helpful in the future.

Meanwhile, given that your goal is to become a dean, if chair positions are not opening up anytime soon, you can always apply for the Associate Dean position at your institution if you feel that you have the background experiences for it. The worst they can say is "No," in the first-round eliminations. If that would happen, you have at least indicated to a lot of people that you are interested in administration, and that in itself can open some doors for you down the line. You also may consider applying for positions at other institutions if moving is an option for you. Chair positions open virtually every season in most disciplines.

Again, good luck.

[sibyl]

Department chairs have different responsibilities at different institutions.  At R1s, they tend to be very involved in budgets, personnel issues, and scheduling.  At my SLAC, which also has a single academic officer, the department chair mostly serves to coordinate communications... which also seems to be like your situation.

You are right that a high-profile curriculum review committee is a good thing for your vita because it shows that you can manage a complex activity that affects every department.  I think you are also right to identify fundraising and budget issues as areas to develop, although I think the latter is more pressing than the former.  Have you been part of your college's executive faculty committee?  That group sometimes gets experience with high-level budgeting.  Or get involved with strategic planning efforts.  Or (and I hope this isn't true for other reasons) if your college is encountering financial difficulties you could lead a group that tries to identify steps to take.

Sinatra offers good advice, especially about talking to the major gifts person.

You have not mentioned involvement in rank and tenure issues, and that would also be a gap to fill if you have it. 

Good luck.