Great Expectations: The Changing Ecosystem of University Professional School Deans

• In Event: 18.072 - Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: 18.072-12 - Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership From a Complexity Perspective

Abstract

The objective of this session is to present the findings and analysis from an ecosystem study of dean roles and role changes and community expectations of the role in three professional faculty communities: (1) Veterinary Medicine, (2) Education and (3) Social Work. The findings will surprise many dean aspirants and practicing deans in professional faculties with constant dean turnover. We begin by updating the dean role to find a heavy human resource and finance management role (a role they are not trained for) and sharp contrasts between community expectations and actual dean work. We end with guidelines for developing this important successive leadership human capital in the context of healthy, emergent complex adaptive nested systems (professional faculties).

Authors

• Eugene Gary Kowch, University of Calgary

• James K. Donlevy, University of Calgary

• Dianne Gereluk, University of Calgary

• Margaret Patterson, University of Calgary

• Michael Lee Zwiers, University of Calgary

• Jason A. Ribeiro, University of Calgary

• Ann E. Calvert, University of Calgary