Informative guide for academic deans at theological schools
Members of the Association of Theological Schools' Chief Academic Officers Society (CAOS) — deans and CAOs at more than 250 theological schools in the United States and Canada — face a number of unique vocational tasks and trials.
C(H)AOS Theory brings together in one volume perspectives from more than thirty deans and chief academic officers (CAOs) at theological schools across North America. These veteran administrators share their wisdom on a variety of topics related to academic leadership, from understanding institutional contexts and nurturing relationships to negotiating conflict, setting and meeting academic goals, building budgets, working with assessment and accreditation, and more.
With its rich amalgam of useful information, bold instruction on a host of academic leadership issues, and lively narratives on the ways that different colleagues address common challenges, C(H)AOS Theory will serve as a helpful resource for academic leaders.
C(H)AOS Theory
Reflections of Chief Academic Officers in Theological EducationWilliam B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Copyright © 2011 Kathleen D. Billman and Bruce C. Birch
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-0-8028-6687-5Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................................................................................................xiHonoring Complexities, Celebrating Colleagueship: What to Expect from This Book Kathleen D. Billman................................31. Academic Leadership and the Varieties of Theological Schools....................................................................232. Developing Vision and Serving Mission...........................................................................................443. The Vocational Call and Multifaceted Role of the CAO............................................................................634. Relating to the CEO.............................................................................................................895. The Dean's Role in Governance...................................................................................................1116. Faculty Leadership and Development..............................................................................................1337. The Dean's Relationship with Students...........................................................................................1548. Modeling/Leading in Teaching and Scholarship....................................................................................1759. Leading in Diversity: Personal Experiences and Institutional Choices............................................................19810. Orchestrating People and Processes.............................................................................................25111. Building the Academic Budget...................................................................................................28012. Balancing Formation, Academic Learning, and Ecclesiastical Goals...............................................................30213. Understanding and Using Assessment and Accreditation...........................................................................34514. Personal, Professional, and Spiritual Development..............................................................................380The Scholarship of Academic Leadership: A Postscript on the Work of Chief Academic Officers Daniel O. Aleshire.....................391CONTRIBUTORS.......................................................................................................................397
Chapter One
Academic Leadership and the Varieties of Theological Schools
Fins on the Left, Fins on the Right: Reading Context in Seminaries
Jana Childers
An Indispensable Compass for Surviving and Thriving
There are many reasons for a dean to put time and energy into exegeting context. A number of them have nothing to do with self-defense, but protecting your ability to do your job is an exceedingly common motivator. Far from being merely selfish or Machiavellian, it is a legitimate concern. Nobody is going to achieve your agenda for you. Whether your goal is to help your school live out its mission statement, envision a new future, reduce conflict, improve support for faculty, or strengthen student learning, accomplishing your goal depends on you. If you are not there to do it, the job won't get done. Something else will.
Most deans lead "from the center." In seminaries, deans live and move and have their being between two large entities, the president-and-board and the faculty. The interests, values, and work styles of the two groups can be quite different. Conflict, competition, or at least confusion over roles is common. When you see shark fins circling on your right and left, and as the song says, "you're the only bait in town," survival is key. Certainly the work of the office requires that the dean navigate among institutional forces. The ability to read cultural context can provide the dean with an indispensable compass. If you can read, you can anticipate. If you can anticipate, you can be ready to respond in constructive, effective ways. If you can respond in constructive, effective ways, you can meet your goals.
A surprising number of academic disciplines offer methodologies for exegeting context. Cultural anthropology, interpersonal communication theory, and various subfields within psychology and sociology are just the beginning of the list. Such diverse fields as engineering, archaeology, ethics, and literary theory also take an interest in this kind of work. Whether the focus of the investigation is on culture, ecology, process, or resources, there are many common tools.
1. Cultural approaches are often concerned with establishing identity. In theological education, a school's theological stripe might be examined in order to illuminate its culture. The tools of story analysis or rhetoric might be used to tease out information.
2. Ecological approaches involve focusing on the larger setting. The denomination's assumptions about the school's mission might be observed, for example, in the bishop's sermon or the Committee on Theological Education's report and used, in turn, to describe something of the school's ecology. The tools of rhetoric or content analysis might be used in such an investigation.
3. Process approaches are concerned with the dynamics of a situation. In a seminary, they might focus on governance style as a way of getting at a school's problems. Again, either story analysis, rhetoric, or content analysis might be among the tools used.
4. Resource approaches are concerned with who has what. In a seminary, noticing what programs are offered and/or what degree of participation is common in various programs might be an important way of teasing out information. The tools used to accomplish this might conceivably include any of the tools mentioned above. In addition, tools such as student surveys or longitudinal studies of data might be used.
Bridging these approaches is a four-step method that provides a basic pattern for exegeting many different kinds of situations. In Practicing Gospel: Unconventional Thoughts on the Church's Ministry, Edward Farley describes the phases of such a process:
1. Identify the situation's distinct and constituent features.
2. Uncover the suppressions of the past.
3. See the situation in its larger context.
4. Discern the situation's demand.
In seminaries, this method might be enhanced by consideration of additional factors:
• observations about denominational assumptions
• stories of congregations, denominational groups, and the seminary
• complaints of constituents (donors, board members, faculty, staff, students, etc.)
• the felt needs of various groups, how they dress, what lingo they use, what physical setting/use of space is common for them, how they express themselves in nonverbal interaction
• diverse world views
• various views of authority
• differing communication styles among constituents
Values analysis and/or content analysis are part of many of these approaches. They can be used in conjunction with Farley's method as well as others. Nora Tubbs Tisdale, for example, recommends asking questions of congregations such as:
• What symbols are important to this group?...
