It is important for overall department health that the chair and dean have a productive working relationship. At most institutions, the dean determines resource use through budget allocations, allowing faculty and staff vacancies to be filled and special considerations to be made for new lines and academic programs. There are many other areas in which the dean influences critical components of department life.
Connections Are Everything: Putting Relationships at the Heart of Higher Ed
As academic leaders, we are under so much pressure to deliver—enrollment targets, strategic plans, graduation rates, AI policies, and on and on—that we can lose sight of what our students