How do we find them? We pluck our best classroom instructors or stars from other areas of the college, give them an office with a shiny whiteboard, a public round of huzzahs, and then pigeonhole them into a black hole of institutional meetings, budget deadlines, questions from support staff, complaints from faculty, pressure from leadership, and, just to round things out, ask them to respond personably and in detail to a couple hundred emails a day.
Yet, we depend on this position. The college could not run without them. From the faculty point of view, the Associate Dean is where you go when you have student problems; when you are unsure if your curriculum matches your competencies; when you need sources for supplies; when you need a grant for a new initiative; or even a place to store the 20-foot, ultra-cool class project before the end of the semester open house. An effective Associate Dean can run interference through the IT department, curriculum development and student services, maintenance and human resources in addition to being an understanding ear to listen to you after a particularly bad day/ week/ semester.
Four year colleges realize the thanklessness of this tweener management position by taking it out of the dean structure, calling it Department Head, and rotating it among faculty, who dutifully accept the letterhead designation for a couple of years before they retreat back to their research, students, and predictable fall schedule.
Technical college Associate Deans, on the other hand, knowingly leave the satisfaction of the classroom behind and take up pikes in the first line of leadership. Sometimes, future deans, vice-presidents, and even presidents are taken from its ranks. Most Associate Deans, however, stay at this level for the rest of their career supporting leadership and quietly influencing the direction of the college. I have seen some of the most successful initiatives at NWTC start as a dream of an Associate Dean. They know if they are willing to accept a low-wattage profile and work behind the scenes methodically and persistently, they can make the college a better place for students, staff, faculty, and the community.
They don't get the thanks for the job they do, but they should. Huzzah!
They don't get the thanks for the job they do, but they should. Huzzah!
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