Theological School Deans

Deans work in complex systems and, often, need to communicate complex ideas when leading Faculty to interpret problems and determine solutions. I've found that using graphic interpretation of data helps facilitate communication and interpretation of complex ideas. I've benefited greatly from the works of Edward Tufte (http://www.edwardtufte.com/...

Deans in theological schools tend to come from the Faculty, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's a question of who is most willing to serve (or, who missed the meeting when the vote was taken!). Sometimes it's a decision based of budget constraints. Sometimes it's political. More often than ...

Deans in theological schools face increasing demands to demonstrate educational effectiveness from accrediting agencies and constituents. For many theological schools, and for new deans, this can seem like an imposing challenge. Demonstrating educational effectiveness falls to the office of the dean in most schools, highlighting again, that theological school deans ...

Theological school deans serve in the capacity of institutional change agents. By virtue of leading from the center, deans bring about change through vision, influence, and, by pushing against inertia. As a person who leads from the center, theological school deans see beyond the horizon (when others may not) and ...

The relationship of the dean with faculty does not have to be adversarial, but it occasionally can be. Edwin Friedman wrote, “Living with crisis is a major part of leaders’ lives. The crises come in two major varieties: (1) those that are not of their own making but are imposed on ...