Developing Deans: Transforming Academic Leadership [Hardback]

Developing Deans: Transforming Academic Leadership

L. Lynn Vidler (Ed.)

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Higher education leaders play pivotal roles in shaping its future, and this collection of essays provides practical guidance for intentionally and deliberately developing leadership capacity among deans and department chairs. The timely volume speaks to the need for responsible, collaborative, innovative, and empathetic leadership in the context of increasingly dynamic socio-political and cultural landscapes.

Dr. Shaily Menon
College of Arts & Sciences
University of New Haven

“Developing Deans: Transforming Academic Leadership” focuses on the intentional and deliberate development of academic leaders within higher education institutions. Under the excellent direction of L. Lynn Vidler, this volume brings together the perspectives of seasoned administrators whose essays go beyond merely explaining how to be a dean and instead advocate for proactive leadership development programs that cultivate specific skills, foster inclusive and collaborative cultures, and address systemic barriers. This collection makes a strong argument for supporting deans as they wrestle with the ever-increasing challenges facing higher education.

Sharon Diane Nell
Dean, School of Arts and Humanities
St. Edward’s University

“Developing Deans” is both timely and essential to the development of future decanal leadership. Having served as president of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, I have had the privilege of working closely with many of the contributors to this volume. Their collective expertise, insight, and commitment to higher education are evident throughout. Each essay not only illuminates the pathways to effective deanship but also offers practical strategies grounded in lived experience. It is an invaluable resource for developing the next generation of academic leaders.

Dr. Leslie Cornick
Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs
California State University, Chico

Deans spend most of their day navigating the various demands of a wide range of stakeholders and often can feel alone in trying to make progress on today’s difficult challenges. "Developing Deans: Transforming Academic Leadership” is a wonderful addition to the body of literature that can help any dean navigate the difficult waters of academic leadership. We are fortunate to have the excellent thinking and guidance of well-respected educational thought leaders providing their ideas in nurturing faculty, supporting students, and developing leadership across the institutions.

Dr. Aleks Sternfeld-Dunn
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

'Developing Deans: Transforming Academic Leadership' brings a fresh perspective to the development of higher education deans. Recent books on the deanship focus on 'becoming' or 'being' a dean, focusing the responsibility of the deanship 'on the individual'. That is, if you want to become a dean or be an effective dean, this is what 'you' must do. This new volume places the onus of developing deans squarely on higher education itself. We know that, in the future, we will need new deans. We also know that we want those deans to be tenured full professors. What are we doing to develop new, effective deans, and how might we do that 'intentionally' and effectively?
This edited volume includes empirical research, case studies, and first-person narratives aimed at highlighting methods and practices designed to develop fundamental leadership skills for university deans who create inclusive, collaborative, and cross-functional organizational cultures. Practitioners, researchers, and scholars address questions such as: How do deans learn to lead effectively? Is this the optimal developmental path? How might we scale leadership development as a practice across higher education?
The volume is divided into an introduction plus three sections, with several chapters per section. Section One features approaches that focus on the development of department chairs as a preparation for dean-level leadership. Section Two focuses on opportunities and experiences at the campus level used in strategic ways to intentionally develop future deans. Section Three supplements the first two sections with practical suggestions for individuals who are interested in preparing themselves for a deanship.
'Developing Deans' may serve as a reference for anyone hoping to design or improve a leadership development program on their campus, including current presidents, chancellors, associate vice chancellors, provosts, deans, and prospective deans. Other readers may include leadership professionals, researchers, consultants, and leaders both inside and outside higher education.

L. Lynn Vidler, Ph.D. (they/them), is Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Professor of Spanish at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) and co-directs UCCS’s Higher Learning Commission Quality Initiative on Leadership Development. Additionally, Vidler is the founder and CEO of Blooming Branch Group, a leadership and performance coaching firm. They have taught foundational leadership skills for the Pikes Peak United Way, the Women’s Community Leadership Initiative, the Association for Hispanic Classical Theater, and the Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences. They have also provided leadership on various boards, including the Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences, the Association for Hispanic Classical Theater, the Pikes Peak Workforce Development Board, the Bee Vradenburg Foundation, and the Unity Project. Vidler was previously Interim Provost and Dean of the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at UCCS; Professor, Program Director of Spanish, and Associate Dean at the United States Military Academy (West Point); and Chair and Associate Dean at the University of South Dakota.

Higher education, higher-education leadership, deanship, leadership theory, leadership development, change management