First Person

Interviewing for a Deanship

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By Joshua R. Foyle

As I mentioned in my last column, the holy grail at this point in the recruiting season for deans is to be invited to an off-campus interview. So far, I have received one such invitation. Unfortunately, I have also received a couple of the dreaded "thin envelopes," signifying that my interest in those positions has been met with a lack of interest by the search committees.

In the past two years, I've had eight off-campus interviews, so the format isn't a surprise to me anymore. Generally, these meetings are held in a conference room at an airport hotel. The job candidate is ushered in, either by the search consultant or the head of the search committee, and is greeted by up to a dozen people seated around a table.

Sometimes, the members of the search committee have name tags. Otherwise, a good memory is invaluable as you seek to recall as many names as possible during the two minutes of introductions around the table. Then the head of the committee explains the ground rules. Most often, the candidate is told that there will be a time limit to the interview (usually 90 minutes) and that time will be reserved at the end of the interview (usually 10 minutes) for the candidate to ask questions of the search committee.

And then it begins.

"So tell us Dr. Foyle, why do you want to be dean of our college?"

I always expect this question or some variation on this theme to be the first thing I am asked. To some degree, this is a warm-up question but it also serves to signal the candidate's preparedness to the committee. If you've not done your homework or if you answer this question casually or flippantly, your chances of moving on to the final interview stage are slim.

One thing in my favor when I answer this question is that I'm not a "serial applicant." I've carefully considered each institution before I've applied to make sure that, at least on the surface, my personal values fit with the values of the institution. Irrespective of how much I would like to be a dean, I wouldn't apply to a place that I know is incongruent or a bad fit simply because I want to be a dean. My answer to this question usually is a short discussion of the matches that I see between the institution's interests and my own.

After that first question, committees proceed in different ways. It's not unusual, in my experience, to find that a committee has a set of scripted questions posed to every candidate. This does two things for the committee. First, by asking each candidate the same basic questions, the committee has some assurance that the interview process was fair and equitable across the entire pool of interviewees. Second, a scripted approach provides a framework in which to compare candidates later.

In my most recent off-campus interview, I was asked the following general questions:

• "What are your strengths?"

• "How would you describe your management style?"

• "What process do you use to make decisions?"

• "What is your position on campus diversity?"

• "How would you mediate a disagreement between two faculty members?"

• "Could you provide us with an example of a situation in which you showed leadership?"

• "Could you give us an example of a decision you made that you're proud of and why?"

• "Could you describe a time when a decision you made didn't work out as you had planned and how you dealt with the result?"

Certainly, I've experienced committees that have asked more off-the-wall questions. My personal favorite from an earlier interview was, "What is your favorite flavor of ice cream and why?" But most committees confine their questions during the off-campus interview to more relevant topics. I try to anticipate the questions (I admit, the ice cream one threw me) and then prepare brief answers prior to the interview.

The question that was the most difficult for me to answer in my most recent interview was the last one, where I was asked to discuss a decision I had made that had not worked out. As a candidate, you don't want to accentuate the negative. But you also don't want to appear to be avoiding a direct answer.

In my answer I discussed a personnel decision where I had recommended hiring a faculty member despite a split vote by the search committee (55 percent in favor, 45 percent against). After two failed searches to fill the position, the faculty line was in jeopardy, and I sought to fill it rather than lose it. Two years later, I had to let that person go. In my zeal to protect the position, I made the cardinal error of hiring someone who wasn't a good fit. And as I told the committee, I've never forgotten that decision, nor have I ever repeated it.

The committee's time for questions flew by and eventually I was asked if I had any questions for the panel. I generally have a list of approximately 10 questions that I have prepared for each institution, and I try to pick the two or three most relevant. During my time, I asked the following questions:

• "Why would a faculty member want to come to your institution and what, if anything, would cause them to leave?"

• "In a word or a phrase, how would you describe the culture of the institution?"

• "If I was hired as your dean, how would I know that I was doing a good job after a year?"

From the answers provided by committee members, I was able to gather that faculty morale was high and many professors had spent their entire careers on the campus. When faculty members did leave, I learned, the most common reason was financial. Finally, the committee members told me the culture was nurturing and supportive and that I would be able to gauge whether I was doing a good job by the frequency of visits to my office.

Was this useful information? I think so, because it helped me to understand how a new dean would be received at the college. Would I ask more probing questions on a campus visit as a finalist for the job? Absolutely. Ten minutes is only enough time to get a glimpse of reality.

Although it's tempting to want to ask questions about the financial status of the institution, I'm not sure that it's appropriate at this juncture. The 90-minute, off-campus interview is the higher-education equivalent of rapid dating -- you're trying to see if personalities and core values fit. If you're ultimately invited for the on-campus interview, then it would be a reasonable expectation at that time to have a more detailed overview of the financial status of the institution. Besides, unless the vice president for business and finance is a member of the search committee, it's likely that the information you would get would be limited.

I think the interview went well and I enjoyed the conversation with the search committee. As I debriefed with the search consultant after my interview, he said that the one thing he was impressed with was that I had stayed "on message and on topic." I think this was an incredible pearl of wisdom for any candidate to remember. I kept my answers succinct during the interview and also answered the questions that the committee had asked. After having participated in a number of off-campus interviews, I know that I've gotten better at the process.

The unfortunate end to the story is that during our conversation, the search consultant also shared some additional information with me that had I known, I would not have agreed to continue in the search process. Turns out the institution is facing a fairly severe financial crunch: It undertook a building program years ago in the hope that it would boost enrollment. That didn't happen, and now the long-term debt used to finance the building program is coming due. This means that, for at least the next few years, the college's operational budget will start out each year with a built-in deficit; significant revenues over and above tuition will be needed just to balance the budget.

Based on that information, I withdrew from the search two days after my off-campus interview.

So it's back to square 1. I'm still active in two searches and have the same trepidation as the mail arrives each morning. I still answer the phone almost immediately if the call is from off campus. And I still start the day by looking at the jobs section of The Chronicle.

Oh, and just in case you're curious -- it's chocolate -- but to this day, I can't tell you why.