Law School Deans, Law Schools

Being Associate Dean

We aren’t saying the job is a thankless one. Okay, now we just did.

By LawProfBlawg & TempDean  
on

lawyer shruggingAssociate Deans (ADs) usually have the longevity of the Hand to the King in Game of Thrones.  We know.  Between the two of us, we have seen or been associate deans at several law schools.  Having said that, we have all probably experienced what happens when you have a great associate dean.  And by associate dean, we are speaking specifically of what is typically labeled the “Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.” We have also all probably suffered what happens when your associate dean is an absolute horror of a human being.  As an associate dean, if you’re successful, you help move your colleagues and the school in a positive direction.  If not, you will always be remembered, forever and ever, as that a**hole.  Or, if you are the AD at the LawProfBlawg School of Law, you get a clever nickname, positive or negative, depending on what you do.

While law professors have the best job in the world, some are called to be associate dean.  If you’re considering such a career move, here are some thoughts.

First, do it for the right reason.  Do you want to be Dean somewhere down the road?  If so, what the hell is wrong with you?  Sorry, we mean, if you do, then you probably want that associate dean experience, particularly if your Dean is a good mentor.  There is no better way to learn the job than hands-on training.  Moreover, the headhunters will come a-knocking when you are associate dean.  Not everyone who is an AD will get to be Dean one day, but it certainly improves your chances.  More importantly, being AD will help you answer the question of whether you actually want to be El Jefe at all (actually more akin to middle management at most university-based law schools).

You might also consider doing the job because someone has to do it, and it’s your turn.  Most professors avoid the position, which means that the hard work of this job falls on a select few.  If you’re service oriented, you might consider this as taking on your fair share of work for a period of time.  That’s cool, too.

However, there are some very bad reasons to be AD.  Do you have a thirst for power?  Do you want to punish staff or faculty members because they don’t do things you want them to do?  If so, then you’re not going to be a good AD, you’re going to be an a**hole.

And there will be tremendous opportunity for you to be an a**hole.  As you get to know the best and the worst about your colleagues, they’ll be asking for things.  Schedule changes, research support, etc.  Some of the requests will be reasonable and some will be absolutely crazy.  If you’re a good AD, you’ll be able to discern which is which, and give good reasons why you gave the answer you did.  If you’re a good AD, you’ll approach most requests as problems to solve so you can say yes without violating common sense or some fundamental tenet of the school.  If you’re evil, you’ll just be arbitrary and random, or perhaps just reward your friends and punish your enemies.  You’ll get a bad nickname.

Do you like to dress up every day?  If so, that isn’t a good reason to be AD, either.  Because tons of meetings while dressed up isn’t comfortable.  You have to go to those meetings, too.  Worse, you have to listen and participate.  It’s not like faculty meetings where you bring an article and ignore the world.

Sponsored

Do you like the money?  Okay, but if you do an hourly calculation a second job at McDonald’s would probably pay better.  Plus you still get to sleep and work out.

What you’ll be doing as associate dean varies by school, but, chances are you’ll be intertwined with the daily operations of your school while your Dean is begging people for money.  That means you’ll be dealing with every screw-up a colleague or staff member makes, serving “ex-officio” on every meaningful committee, and probably 3 billion e-mails a day.  You’ll be tightly scheduled if you want to stay sane.  You’ll be almost a prisoner of whatever crises come your way, as well as all the things the Dean doesn’t want to handle.

Some ADs try to write or teach classes while they are doing this noble job.  The problem is that requires you to set aside time, something that can’t always happen if there is an issue looming.  We don’t want you to get the impression that you’re a superhero with a cape.  By the way, if you’re thinking that, then that’s another bad reason to do the job.

We aren’t saying the job is a thankless one.  Okay, now we just did.

There are rewards, however.  Sometimes your colleagues will really appreciate you, thanking you for things you have done for them.  Or perhaps they’ll give you a gift when you decided to hand the reins over to someone else. Regardless, there are some rewards interspersed between a lot of hard and unrewarding work.

Sponsored

But, if you can drown the constant barrage of little stuff, you can move the school in a positive direction.  If you want your colleagues, students, and staff to win, and you the have skills necessary to achieve those goals, it can be worth it.

TempDean is an anonymous interim administrator and professor at a top 100 law school.  Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com if you must.

LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here and on Twitter. Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com.

Topics

, , , , , ,