Welcome
Welcome to Dispatches from a New Dean! I’m Walt Jacobs, currently an Associate Professor in the Department of African American & African Studies at the University of Minnesota. Before joining...
View ArticleCommencement Ceremonies
Today I am attending my college’s commencement ceremonies. (Yes, ceremonies; the college is so large that there are two sessions.) This may be the last time I attend an event in rented academic...
View ArticleAssociate Professors as Department Chairs
In a March 27, 2013 article for Inside Higher Education, Lawrence Abele discussed “The Associate Professor as Chair.” Abele wrote, “It is unfortunate that any administrator would feel it necessary to...
View ArticleFundraising Workshop, Part 1
Today I am flying to Chicago to attend tomorrow’s Professional Fundraising Workshop for Deans, Department Chairs, and Aspiring Academic Leaders. At $750 a pop (for the “investment”) I was initially...
View ArticleFundraising Workshop, Part 2
Yesterday I posted an entry about a fundraising workshop I was scheduled to attend today. The workshop turned out to be a rewarding experience, as I developed strategies that I can use once I start at...
View ArticleReturning to the Residence Halls
Today I finished My Freshman Year, a book that recounts anthropology professor Rebekah Nathan’s research project that involved enrolling as a first year undergraduate student and living in a residence...
View ArticleGraceful Exits
A couple of days ago The Chronicle of Higher Education printed “The Good Goodbye,” an article about gracefully exiting an institution of higher education when one has accepted a job elsewhere. I’ll...
View ArticleA New Language-Learning Curriculum?
For the past five months I have been studying Spanish, in anticipation of one day being able to converse with Spanish-speaking people during interactions as a Dean. I had not studied a foreign language...
View ArticleUsing Facebook as an Academic Administrator
In the fall of 2007 I became a first-time department chair in an interdisciplinary unit of a major research university. That was also when I joined Facebook. At that time I had just a vague...
View ArticleInitial Meeting Stage Fright
Today was my third day as a dean, and the morning agenda included my first meeting with the university provost, the three other collegiate deans, and the associate deans from two of the colleges. My...
View ArticleNew Obligations
I have loved parades ever since participating in marching band in high school. While I saw only a handful while I was in college at Ga. Tech, I attended many parades while living in Bloomington, IN...
View ArticleAn Unexpected Duty
Today I was called into the Human Resources (HR) office to receive training about “Manager Self Service.” I was informed that “supervisors will learn how to enter their own leave electronically as well...
View ArticleA Seminar for New Deans
This week I am attending a seminar for new deans, conducted by the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences. 48 new deans and associate deans are learning practical strategies from experienced leaders....
View ArticleThe Love of Meetings
If you are a reader who is not a dean but you are thinking about becoming one, a question I’d pose is this: “do you like meetings?” If not, you may want to drop a deanship from the list of...
View ArticleScheduling Time for Reading
I knew that the new job as a dean would be very time consuming, but one thing I did not anticipate was that my Instapaper account would be overflowing by the end of each week. (As explained on...
View ArticleMaking Time for Movies
Yesterday I posted a note about scheduling time for reading. I need to also remember to make time for another favorite activity: going to the movies. Before joining the ranks of administration I would...
View ArticleAdding Graduate Instructors to the Brand?
One of my tasks as a new dean is to work on the brand for the college. (This includes finding ways of motivating folks to think about how we can actively manage the college’s reputation without using...
View ArticleNo Big Surprises in the First Month
I’ve been a dean for one month now, and I’m happy to report that there were no big surprises in the first stage of my transition to full-time administration. I am attending a lot more meetings than I...
View ArticleQuarterback Theory of Diversity
In 2008 I was invited to participate in a panel discussion organized by graduate students in sociology at Indiana University, my graduate alma mater. My main contribution to “Building Bridges:...
View ArticleMeetings with Department Heads
Today I had the initial meeting with the person who will be the interim associate dean for 2013-2014. I wanted to make the meeting short, since he is technically not on contract until next Monday, but...
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