The Academic Dean: A Descriptive Study

This article presents descriptive data drawn from a sample of general and social science deans in American junior colleges, four-year colleges, and universities. The major conclusions of the analysis are that the rewards of deaning may not be sufficient to guarantee the recruitment of the highest quality deans; evaluations of deans are often insufficient to provide guidance in job performance; deans generally prefer to put discretionary funds into outstanding programs instead of upgrading poor programs; and there is an inconsistency between their statements in support of teaching and the level of support and rewards actually provided for teaching-related activities. All of these findings have implications for strategies designed to foster excellence in teaching.