“Ten” Ideas for a Successful College
Presentation to the New Engineering Deans on 4/6/2014by Robert H. Davis, University of Colorado Boulder
1. Reward Excellence
2. Build Community
3. Manage Resources
4. Make Tough Decisions
5. Manage Your Time
6. Plan Strategically
1. Reward Excellence
Tip: Develop a Dean’s Faculty Fellowship Program
• Merit-based salaries
• Named faculty positions
• Awards
• Differentiated loads
• Space allocations
2. Build Community
Tip: Establish annual college events, such as a year-end recognition ceremony
• Respect
• Honest/fair evaluations
• Mini-retreats
• Publicize achievements
• Personal acknowledgement
3. Manage Resources
Tip: Perform annual space inventory, with comparative metrics
• Know the budget
• Open processes
• Build consensus
• Allocate strategically
4. Make Tough Personnel Decisions
Discussion: How is mentoring of new faculty
handled in your college?
• Large investment in faculty
• Excellence in teaching and research
• Consider collegiality in hiring decisions
• Say “no” in borderline cases
5. Manage Your Time
Tip: Review your schedule – are most meetingsreactive or proactive?
• Screen requests
• Important vs. urgent
• Short meetings
• Hold times
• Teaching? Research?
6. Plan Strategically
Tip: Hold mini-retreats or focus groups early in the strategic-planning process
• Strategic planning: Time well spent
• Four simple questions:1. Where are we now?
2. Where would we like to be?
3. How will we get there?
4. How will we measure progress?
• Engage constituents:1. Leadership team
2. Advisory committee
3. Faculty, staff and students