Synopses & Reviews
The chief academic officer must be the voice for the campus's academic purposes and a source of energy in supporting the activities of others. Collaboration with colleagues across the institution is key to Ferren and Stanton's approach. Their experiences in administrative roles, ranging from department chair to provost, have provided them with the ability to conduct and utilize many studies, including budget adequacy modeling and salary equity studies. These are issues for which the authors have been responsible for implementation and decision-making, allowing them to understand that collaborative processes and partnerships-such as chairs with deans, deans with vice presidents, faculty with administrators, or the CAO with members of the president's cabinet--are as important as informed decision-making. Because CAOs are less likely to read what business officers and vice presidents for administration read, this book attempts to integrate differing institutional perspectives and explain processes and criteria. CAOs can tailor their decisions to institution circumstances and solve problems with greater insight. The book is organized around 11 topics, including the skills and personal qualities needed to provide effective academic leadership; strengthening the infrastructure for academic affairs through strategic planning, facilities planning, and technology integration; the importance of developing new resources and linking them to academic priorities; academic entrepreneurship; assessing academic quality and improving programs and services; continuous improvement; the central importance of investing in the faculty; and improving academic decisions.
Review
"The timing of Ann Ferren and Wilbur Stanton's book on collaborative academic leadership is ideal. Just as we are entering another "new" era of crisis and change in higher education, they have opened a fresh perspective on how academic leaders can succeed against all odds." - William M. Plater Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties
Review
"Ann Ferren and Wilbur Stanton's superb book is strongly recommended, not only for CAOs, but for academic chairs....As they integrate their own experience with new knowledge and insights from this book, chairs will find that their understanding of collaborative decision making, their role in strategic leadership, effective communication, and alignment between their department goals and university goals are all increased." - Ann F. Lucas Professor Emerita Fairleigh Dickinson University
Review
"I wish I had had access to this book when I first became a community college president over a quarter-of-a-century ago. It tells you what no one thought of telling you, and answers questions you didn't ask until it was too late. It tells you how to collaborate with business managers and with senior professors, while maintaining the scholar's curiosity. It is a book with an attitude. It's written in simple English. And when the authors write of chief academic officer 'who wallows,' I have to laugh." - Jonathan M. Daube President Manchester Community College
Synopsis
This book discusses the many issues that affect academic affairs and describes the role of the chief academic officer, including: the skills and personal qualities needed to provide effective academic leadership; strengthening the infrastructure for academic affairs through strategic planning, facilities planning, and technology integration; the importance of developing new resources and linking them to academic priorities; academic entrepreneurship; assessing academic quality and improving programs and services; continuous improvement; the central importance of investing in the faculty; and improving academic decisions.
Synopsis
This book is organized around 11 topics, including the skills and personal qualities needed to provide effective academic leadership; strengthening the infrastructure for academic affairs through strategic planning, facilities planning, and technology integration; the importance of developing new resources and linking them to academic priorities; academic entrepreneurship; assessing academic quality and improving programs and services; continuous improvement; the central importance of investing in the faculty; and improving academic decisions.
Synopsis
Chief academic officers face the continual challenge of balancing their many roles and maintaining the confidence of faculty and administrative colleagues, while remaining strong, constant advocates for the academic agenda. This book persuasively argues for a collaborative approach to academic leadership. The authors draw upon first-hand experience as they encourage CAOs to provide institutional (rather than divisional) leadership, to seek out information necessary to the planning and developing of alternatives, and to analyze the implications of their decision-making. In addition, the authors advise the CAO to collect hard data and to ask difficult questions, the answers to which will provide them with critical information as they deal with complex problems. To promote this process, each chapter is structured to facilitate data collection and analysis.
Synopsis
This book provides information on the most challenging issues faced by chief academic officers, and how these challenges should be met.
About the Author
ANN S. FERREN is a Senior Fellow at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She served as an academic administrator for over 20 years, was formerly Vice President for Academic Affairs at Radford University and interim Provost at American University, Washington, D.C.WILBUR W. STANTON is currently Associate Vice President for Academic Administration and founding Dean of the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Radford University.
Table of Contents
Preface
Academic Leadership: Collaborating for Institutional Effectiveness
Strategic Planning: Designing Institutional and Academic Change
Facilities Planning: Linking Campus Environment and Academic Purpose
Technology Integration: Improving Learning and Productivity
Financial Resources: Aligning Budget with Academic Priorities
Academic Entrepreneurship: Marketing Intellectual Capital
Program Review: Pursuing Academic Quality and Cost Effectiveness
Continuous Improvement: Enhancing Value, Service, and Efficiency
Faculty Workload: Understanding Productivity and Equity
Faculty Compensation: Applying Equity, Merit, and Market
Improving Academic Decisions: Institutional Research
References
Index