WHAT DEANS ARE READING
For Professional Enrichment…
The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership (Stephen Sample)
“I loved this book - it should be used as a dean's bible (and crutch!)” -– Julia Wallace
--Thomas Riley
--Laura Foster Huenneke
Good to Great and Goodto Great and the Social Sectors (Jim Collins)
“Causes one to think critically about being strategic and about the definition of "excellence" for our programs.” --Laura Foster Huenneke
“Were essentially required reading on our campus this past year. Our new president has a background in economics, and we've been using the vocabulary from these books as we think about how to move our institution to the next level.” --Joel Haack
“The major point here is that we cannot be all things to all people. So, we need to find what we are good at, and go for it” --Gary Kiger
--Brenda Nichols
My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student (Rebekah Nathan)
“Discloses a lot about the college environment especially among entering freshmen. It is a lot different from 1962 when I started college.” --Anthony Duben
--Thomas Riley
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (Daniel Pink)
“I have found [this] most useful in re-situating the arts into this career-centered world. Its premise (which is well supported): The MFA is the MBA of the 21st century.” --Stan Green
--Brenda Nichols
Academic Leadership (Deryl R. Leaming)
--Mary Healey
The Academic Tribes (Hazard Adams)
--Thomas Riley
The AmericanCollege in the Nineteenth Century (Roger Geiger [ed]).
“See for example the chapter by Turner & Bernard, "The German model and the graduate school : The University of Michigan and the origin myth of the American university," on the tension that has always existed between the integrated liberal arts perspective and the push for expert specialization.” --Kathryn Anderson-Levitt
An American Girl, and Her Four Years in a Boys' College (Olive Anderson, Elisabeth Perry, and Jennifer Price)
“This is a reprint of Olive Anderson's fictionalized account of her own experience as one of the women who enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1870, when it opened its doors to women. I read it not just for the gender story, but for descriptions of the subjects studied and the teaching methods. There were all of 1300 students, and this was the biggest university in the country, apparently. Don't miss the incident with the pearl-handled pistol in the muff.” --Kathryn Anderson-Levitt
The Art of Wonder, A History of Seeing (Julian Spalding)
“Understanding the dramatic way in which we see our world and ourselves in relationship to it.” --Lon Gordon
Authentic Happiness (Martin Seligman)
“Great source for identifying your signature strengths and making the best use of them in your job.” --Heather Hardy
The Big Test (Nicholas Lemann)
“And also for keen insights into the transformation of US higher education since the 1930s: a rich and critical history of the SAT.” --Kathryn Anderson-Levitt
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking(Malcolm Gladwell)
--Thomas Riley
BlueOcean Strategy (W. Kim and Renée Mauborgne)
“The authors argue that the ocean is red with the blood of competition. We need to find a niche where we are not competing in a bloody fight for limited resources and markets. The quintessential example given is Cirque du Soleil. They are not circus, Circuses, which experienced bloody competition; they are something new without competition. They are in the Blue (not bloody red) Ocean. We need to find ways to develop unique programs without competition that serve our mission.” --Gary Kiger
Building the Academic Deanship: Strategies forSuccess (Gary S. Krahenbuhl)
--Mary Healey
Collapse (Jared Diamond)
--Thomas Riley
The Cross-Cultural Transfer of Educational Concepts and Practices: A Comparative Study (M. Tanaka)
“Although based on secondary sources, fascinating because of the four-way comparison: How did German universities influence Japan and the U.S. in the 19th century? How did U.S. universities influence Japan and Germany after WWII?” --Kathryn Anderson-Levitt
Crucial Conversations(Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Stephen Covey)
“This book provides excellent tips about holding those difficult conversations that are inevitably part of serving as dean. I also participated in a 2 day workshop of the same name and found the combination to be a good refresher of important skills along with some new ideas.” --Benjamin Ogles
Death by Meeting (Patrick Lencioni)
--Laura Foster Huenneke
Declining by degrees (Hersh & Merrow eds., 2005, with forward by Tom Wolfe
“The 15 chapters in this book really provide a critical analysis of college education today and the paths we are not following. I especially enjoyed Carol Schneider's chapter Liberal Education: Slip-Sliding Away? A must-read for anyone who is passionate about the liberal arts.” –- Julia Wallace
Departments That Work (Jon F. Wergin and Estela Bensimon)
--Mary Healey
Duke of Deception (Geoffrey Wolff)
“One of the most helpful tools in understanding the mind of the con man, and perhaps even the more mundane types asking one for things.” --Carl Strikwerda
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (Thomas Ricks)
“Proper prior planning prevents...”--Carl Strikwerda
Free Play: Improvisation in Life andArt (Stephen Nachmanovitch)
“The author is a violinist and violist. He writes movingly and effectively about creativity, improvisation, and play not only in music but in all worthy endeavors. Reading it provided me with a conceptual and even a psychic framework for discussing with department chairs at a retreat the creative foundations of a College of Arts and Sciences.” --Ronald Sudol
Full Catastrophe Living (Jon Kabat-Zinn and Joan Borysenko)
“Meditation and exercises for coping with stress.” --Heather Hardy
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (David Allen)
--Laura Foster Huenneke
Glossary of Biotechnology and Nanobiotechnology Terms (Kimball Nill)
“If your campus is making investments in nano/biotechnology (and whose isn't?), and you are not a bench scientist yourself, you probably find yourself reading memos and attending meetings characterized by an unusual density of technical terminology. This book will make it easier for non-scientist deans to engage in conversation with their heads of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.” --Timothy Johnston
The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins)
--Thomas Riley
Higher Education Law in America, 5th Edition(Center for Education & Employment Law)
--Mary Healey
I Am Charlotte Simmons (Tom Wolfe)
--Anthony Duben
Making Peace (George J. Mitchell)
“Insights on negotiation.” --Heather Hardy
Never Check E-mail in theMorning (Julie Morgenstern)
“Useful guide [see also Getting Things Done and Death by Meeting] to staying on top of it all, minimizing the deadly influence of meetings and administrivia, and balancing one's life purposes.” --Laura Foster Huenneke
Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power (Robert Dallek)
“A great reminder on the dangers of abusing power (what little a dean has, that is).” --Robert Cole
Our Underachieving Colleges (Derek Bok)
“A thoughtful and provocative discussion of general education and the expectations of students, parents, and the public regarding university education. Not everything Bok suggests will appeal to all (or most) A&S deans, but the book can be used to stimulate reflection and discussion.” --Timothy Johnston
Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative (Sir Ken Robinson)
“Great book for thinking about our liberal arts education and shaking the system up a bit.” --Robert Olin
Portraits in Leadership: Six Extraordinary University Presidents (Arthur Padilla)
“Inspiration, insight and very readable.”--Angela Durante
Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, andLeadership (Lee Bolman & Terrence Deal)
“[This book and The Contrarian’s Guide] are two very different but very useful takes on leadership and its application to academic institutions with their peculiar governance and conservative pace of evolution.” --Laura Foster Huenneke
Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office andHome (David Shipley & Will Schwalbe)
“E-mail is both the bane of my existence and a tool without which my job would be a lot more demanding. This book addresses in particular the problems that arise from the ease with which e-mail can be composed, sent, forwarded, and copied, and from the near impossibility of conveying tone in e-mail messages. Essential reading for all administrators (and it would be a good idea if faculty read it too.” --Timothy Johnston
The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That DefinedAmerica (Jeffrey Rosen)
“Essence of it is that the best leaders are quiet consensus builders, not the ideologues who are better known.” --Matthew Moen
Teaching at the People's University: An Introduction to the State Comprehensive
University (Bruce Henderson)
--Kathryn Anderson-Levitt
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (Alan Alda)
“It is not only an inspirational book about doing something with that time between being born and dying, it also provides excellent speech material (in case one needs ideas for a commencement or beginning of the year talks). This could be both decanal and bed-time reading.” --Susan P. Connor
Transforming a College: The Story of a Little-KnownCollege's Strategic Climb to National Distinction (George Keller)
“This author of the landmark book of the 1980s Academic Strategy, wrote about his experiences with helping a small school, ElonCollege, move from problematic to excellence.” --Angela Durante
Universities in the Marketplace (Derek Bok)
--Thomas Riley
"Using publication counts to measure an institution's research productivity." (R.K. Toutkoushian, S. R. Porter, et al.)
“On the relate topic of faculty workload, these are the only two sources I've found so far with half-way believable data on how much faculty actually publish. Who can recommend other sources on this topic?” --Kathryn Anderson-Levitt
The World is Flat (Thomas Friedman)
“Provides context of why we should care about quality in higher education.” --Anthony Duben)
Whatever happened to the faculty…” (Mary Burgan)
“I just finished writing a review of this book. Deans should read it, along with provosts, presidents, and trustees.” – Dick Pratt
Associate/Assistant Dean responses
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro.
“The film version is ok, but the book is much better – what it has done for me is to help me to constantly think about how my ability to face challenges and grasp opportunities will be viewed in the future, and that placing blind loyalty ahead of principles has its costs.” – Bruce Cochran
Snow, Orham Pamuk
“Deans need to read literature. Reading a great novel when you can find the time is going to make you a better dean. Pamuk received the Nobel Prize for his extensive writing but primarily for this novel. It opens your eyes to issues of secular and religious issues in contemporary Turkey and the Near East.”--Michael Aakhaus
The following literature has helped me think about how to negotiate various tensions between being a new associate dean and administrator with my previous 'life' as a full-time faculty member as well as understanding implicit as well as explicit expectations of my responsibilities:
Adams, G.B. & Balfour, L. (2004, 2nd ed) Unmasking Administrative Evil. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.
Allan, Elizabeth J., “Re/thinking Practices of Power: the Discursive Framing of Leadership in The Chronicle of Higher Education,” in The Review of Higher Education, Fall 2006 Vol 30:1, pp. 41-68.
Bennett, J.B. (1998). Collegial Professionalism. The Academy, Individualism and the Common Good. Phoenix: The American Council on Education/The Oryx Press.
Brubacher, John S., “The Autonomy of the University: How Independent is the Republic of Scholars?” in The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 38, No. 5 (May, 1967), pp. 237-259.
Cahn, Steven M. (1986). Saints and Scamps: Ethics in Academia. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlelfield, Publishers.
Gunsalus, C.K. (2006). The College Administrator's Survival Guide, HarvardUniversity Press.
-- Sue Martinelli
Departments that Work: Building and Sustaining Cultures of Excellence in Academic Programs by Jon F. Wergin, Anker Publishing Company, Inc.: Bolton, Massachusetts, 2003
Particularly useful is the section on “Finding Evidence of Quality and Quality Evidence” which can be used in assessing various programs.
--Karen M. Jennison