TITLE: The Melancholy Department Head
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: June 15, 2017  2:14 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
In
<A HREF="http://suburbdad.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-melancholy-dean.html">
   The Melancholy Dean</A>,
Matt Reed notes that, while most management books speak at the
level of the CEO or a founder, most managers work further down
the chain of command.

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
 Most managers are closer to deans than to presidents.  They're
 in the middle.  ... it's not unusual that they find themselves
 tasked with carrying out policies with which they personally
 disagree.  When success in a position relies largely on "soft
 power", having to carry out positions with which you personally
 disagree can be a real strain.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
 Obviously, if the disagreements become too large or frequent,
 the right move is to step out of the role.  But that's the
 exception.  More commonly, there's a vague sense of "I
 wouldn't have done it that way" that falls well short of a
 crisis of conscience, but can be enough to sap motivation.
 That's especially true when budgets are tightening and adverse
 decisions are made for you.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have seen this happen to deans, but I also know the feeling
myself.  Here, department heads are administrators, and formally
they depend upon the dean and provost for their positions.  As
public universities have to face falling state appropriations,
increasing regulatory requirements, and increased competition
for students, they often find themselves operating with more of
a corporate mentality than the hallowed halls of academia we
all dream of from yesteryear.  Even with good and open leaders
making decisions in upper administration (which I have been
fortunate to have in my time as an administrator), more agency
lives outside the department, more of the department head's
time is spent carrying out activities defined elsewhere, and
fewer strategic decisions are made by the head and faculty
within the department.

It does wear on a person.  These days, academic middle managers
of all sorts have to cultivate the motivation they need to
carry on.  The good news is, through it all, we are helping
students, and helping faculty help students.  Knowing that, and
doing at least a little programming every day, helps me relieve
whatever strain I might feel.  Even so, I could use
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2017-05.html#e2017-05-23T14_50_02.htm">
   more closure</A>
most days of the week.
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