This study examined the relationships among the roles of college deans and conflict and ambiguity in deans' work. Challenges deans perceived as imminent in the future were also studied. The sample included 1,370 deans from 360 universities. They were asked about their roles, conflicts and ambiguities they faced, and possible challenges for the…

An attempt was made to apply to the academic deanship finding by D. Thomas and J. Gabarro that executives of color who succeed in business possess three personal resources: confidence, competence, and credibility. Through the use of relational regression techniques, researchers examined deans perceptions of leadership success, competence,…

This paper provides an overview of leadership by college deans, proposes a definition of academic leadership, and assesses the degree to which deans exhibit the behaviors embedded in academic leadership. Drawing on the literature, a definition of academic leadership was constructed. Academic leadership is the act of building a community of…

A survey of department chairs at colleges and universities investigated the administrators' perceptions of the importance of 26 administrative duties. Results reveal patterns in perceived importance of functions and perceptions of effectiveness in achieving them. Factors of hiring, discipline, gender, or orientation (manager, leader, developer,…

A survey of 101 research and doctorate-granting universities explored, in part, the tradeoffs professors have to make to become department heads. Tradeoffs include time required by the department head to deal with administrative pressures and demands. Rewards include monetary benefits, status, and leadership satisfaction. (MSE)

This study investigated what university and college department chairpersons believe are the most important duties of their position, how they view their roles, and the relationship of perceived roles and duties. Possible role definitions included seeing department chair work as leader, scholar, faculty developer, or manager. The study surveyed 800…

An exploratory field study of 1,156 Oregon school administrators identified 12 sources of stress shared at all administrative levels. These stressors included complying with rules, attending meetings, completing reports on time, gaining public support, resolving parent-school conflicts, evaluating staff, making decisions affecting others, and five…

University department heads in the United States and Australia function under increased uncertainty and stress: diverse student populations; funding shortages; demands for quality; downsizing; balancing academic/administrative roles. Article examines environmental pressures on these administrators explores strategies department heads in the two…

This paper discusses how deans make successful transitions to leadership positions. It focuses on six areas: the typical stages of adult development; the rites of passage of new deans; how academics are socialized into administration; the keys for successful entry into the role of dean; what beginning academic leaders need to know; and what…

A study of over 1,000 faculty and administrators in 1 university investigated the perceived top stressors for different jobs, including residential instructional faculty, department heads, academic administrators, librarians, student services personnel, cooperative and extension staff, and nonacademic staff. Results are compared with national…

A study of 564 college and university department heads investigated the most stressful situations, emergent themes, and differences between department chair and faculty stressors. Most stress came from heavy workload, time pressures, confrontations with colleagues, organizational constraints, and faculty duties. Faculty and administrative…

This paper reports on a study that investigated the role, attitudes, and behaviors of department chairs in higher education. Specifically, the study investigated four objectives: (1) to examine role factors of effective chair performance; (2) to assess the impact of antecedent variables such as individual characteristics (gender, marital status,…

This study examined the relationship between five stress factors (faculty role, administrative relationship, role ambiguity, perceived expectations, and administrative task) and specific personal, positional, and organizational variables in relation to their effect on the roles of department chairpersons. Using a chair stress index, administrative…