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[minilu]

Things have been going south for my dean for two years. I think the same is happening to me.

I am the associate dean for research and graduate programs in a mid-size college at a public university - in the job 1.5 years. The dean has been in office 8 years. Discontent with the dean has grown significantly since I took my position. The faculty are now VERY unhappy with him (there may be a vote of no confidence in the near future). I hear concerns such as lack of vision, apathy, and poor communicator. I worked well with the dean when I was a department chair (5 years). In part, he selected me, with faculty input, because we worked well together and he could trust me to lead the research endeavors in our college. All the feedback I received to date has been positive and metrics are good (e.g., more grants submitted, improved facilities). As the faculty turn on the dean, they are turning on me as well. They project some of the same concerns on me.

I now see I will not come out of these events unscathed. I was told today by a senior faculty that everyone wants to wipe the slate clean, meaning run out the dean, the other associate dean, and me. That comment really knocked the wind out of my sail. I don't know what to do. I certainly do not want to be in a position serving faculty if they don't want me. I've supported the dean for years, but I think it's time I looked after myself. I have no interest in moving to another institution at this stage of my career (I'll be 59 this summer). It will be very difficult to return to being faculty member after 2 years as associate dean, 5 years as chair here, and 5 years as chair at another university before that. I don't want to be a bitter, older faculty member. I'm afraid that is who I will see when I look in the mirror. I need advice...what are some better ways for me to think about my situation? I do I get out before I am run out?

[plunkett]

If you can return to faculty status, that seems the best option.
What possessed you to move to the dark side in the first place?  What was your real game plan in the past ten years?
You may have hoist yourself on your own petard.
If the dean is so incompetent, why were you so closely aligned with him and why did you accept the position as his associate?

[sinatra]

Consider your source. It could very well be the case that the senior faculty member you spoke with was overgeneralizing or had a personal axe to grind. At my institution, the assistant deans and the assistant VPAA would never be held accountable for the actions of their supervisors. Most of them are too busy doing the mundane tasks of running the college to arouse the faculty's ire on anything. Are there other senior faculty members whose opinions you value with whom you could have a conversation in confidence away from work?

[brixton]

I think what you need to do is build a base.  Do you have friends on the faculty?  Make sure you're socializing with them.  Try and reach out and widen the circle in an organic way.  The dean at our place started to run afoul of the president.  She wisely turned to the newest faculty members -- had gatherings, created social supports -- in your position you can reach out to them to help them with grants, or negotiate the research ropes, or whatever.  Run workshops.  Serve beer. Whatever it takes.  With strong support from the newest and brightest -- although they weren't politically powerful -- the departments that hired them wanted to keep them happy, wanted to make sure their bright stars didn't seek other skies.  Through this sort of positive coalition building it was pretty easy to separate *this* administrator from all other administrators.  (The most important thing is to win over posters like plunkett who see your role as existing the dark side! Instead help them see you as a flesh/blood human.)

[oatmeal]

Minilu: If you stop serving in this position there is no reason that you have to become a bitter senior faculty, but rather you could use all your experience to be a strong senior colleague and leader. You have held a lot of administrative type positions and sometimes those come to an end (I am not saying they will in your case)--12 years is a long time really. People that see themselves as just administrators face a difficult adjustment (and for some this is a reason they should not continue) though again, you do not sound like that. This situation is not the end of the world at all. If you want to continue in your position, just do your job well, continue to make connections with faculty members and distance yourself, as much as possible from the Dean. Build a base as brixton notes but not just with the newest faculty members. That would only get you so far really. At the same time, as someone else notes, make sure these are not wild rumors and be careful in putting too much stock in such things. Having said that a Dean's time always runs out if they do not leave or retire. If the Dean does go (or get pushed out) administrations like some continuity, so you might be in a position to move up.