Theological School Deans

Deans in theological schools tend to come up from among the Faculty, often out of academic disciplines not grounded in the field of education. While many have become effective teachers through years of classroom experience (often learning through trial and error) few acquire expertise as educators. Few, even as senior ...

When some members of the first Deans Colloquy group were together this past January, we spent a part of one day reviewing basic principles of systems theory. Two themes, in particular, that we discussed brought new clarity to my work in this season of deep change in my school: 1) cultures ...

“When I grow up, I want to be Dean.” Somehow, I doubt that many of us who currently occupy the office of Chief Academic Officer said this when we were kids. I remember thinking about becoming a pastor or teacher, but not that. I certainly felt “called” to the ministry ...

Sometimes, when someone takes on a new administrative role in an organization I say, "Welcome to the other side of the desk." Going from a staff or teaching position to that of administration will change the way one looks at things. This is merely the result of changing one's position ...

At a recent conference on leadership I was again struck by how the level of energy (anxiety?) in the room increased when the topic focused on change. This is natural, of course, since one of the critical functions of leaders, including deans, is to bring about positive change on several ...