Thu 24 Dec 2009
Administrator Advice
Posted by David under Administration at 6:46 am
Advice for the New Administrator.
How to Gain an Understanding of the History, Culture and Values — Spoken and Unspoken — of the College
There is no substitute for listening to people. Thus, I encourage you to spend at least your first few months (the first year if you are a president) in your new position asking everyone you meet what it is that you need to know to be effective in your new role. Listen rather than talk. Then follow up with an e-mail thanking those with whom you’ve talked.
Schedule meetings with academic and administrative departments, again to listen and learn. Choose a congenial setting and serve refreshments. (Note how often food is a component of my suggestions. Here, I was influenced by a friend who, as a dean, changed contentious faculty meetings into collaborative ones by serving wine and cheese.)
In your first months, at least several times a week, walk around the campus for an hour or two, stopping in faculty and staff offices to ask people to tell you about their work. Similarly, create occasions to talk with staff members who don’t have offices. For example, show up with coffee and donuts when the early shift of facilities staff or custodians or food service folks arrive. If people are working late at a time of pressure (e.g. the financial aid office at the end of the admissions cycle), arrive with pizzas, soft drinks and most of all thanks. Continue this practice of scheduling walk-around-the-campus time as often as you can, as long as you serve the institution.
Interesting throughout. What would you put in incoming-President Falk’s reading list?
Besides EphBlog, of course!
Print • Email| « Lawyer Up | Merry Christmas from Hood River, Oregon … » |
9 Responses to “Administrator Advice”
Leave a Reply
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post
If a comment you submitted does not show up, please email us at eph at ephblog dot com. Please note that commenters are required to use a valid email address when submitting comments.
hwc says:
Falk is at a bit of logistical disadvantage, starting during the academic year. He won’t have the luxury of quietly visiting all the staff during the summer and getting his feet wet before diving into more public events.
On the other hand, I’m sure he’s already started his version of a listening tour on visits to Williamstown this fall.
Dick Swart says:
The Prince , I, Claudius, Coming of Age in Samoa, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and Reflections on the Architecture of Williams College.
The Stoddard book is the most important. As they build, so shall they be known.
hwc says:
Volumes 1 and 2?
I’m using Vol 1 to whip up a little bernaise sauce to go on holiday filet mignon, but — overall — I prefer Marcella Hazen’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Dick Swart says:
@hwc:
Right with you, Dude, on Italian. I now use Julia’s The Way We Cook Today more than the originals. And Ada Boni’s old Italian Regional Cooking has been my stand-by for years.
Buon Appetito e Buon Natale!
frank uible says:
Modern Single Wing Football by Charlie Caldwell.
hwc says:
I’ve done dinner two nights in a row from a cookbook Julia and Jacques Pepin published – the companion to their PBS show. One night was a simple Mediterranian Seafood Stew. Tonight was using Julia’s most valuable reference work ever. She and Jasper White timed to the minute how long it takes to steam every size lobster from 1 pound to 7 pounders. That chart is worth its weight in gold when you start getting up in to the heavyweight category.
I use Mastering the Art of French Cooking as s reference — like proportions on a bechamel sauce for creamed onions, but seldom as a cookbook for an actual entree.
hwc says:
Back on topic, this is an unbelievable story. Swarthmore has a new Acting Dean of Students while they do the national search to replace the guy who followed the retiring President to the NYU Abu Dhabi startup.
As a second generation Swarthmore grad and Professor in the math department (his mother was the first director of the Studio Museum in Harlem and Dean of NYU Tisch School since 1991 and a Swarthmore Board member, his father is President of Cooper Union), I have to believe that he is a serious candidate to get the Dean’s job permanently.
Be that as it may, 300 students were stranded on campus last Saturday when the Philly airport shutdown for the weekend with the blizzard that rolled through. The Dean kept the dorms open and activated the emergency e-mail lists to keep track of everyone, but the dining halls had all closed and workers couldn’t get there. So starting at 4:30 Sunday morning, the Dean of Students broke into the main dining hall for supplies, trucked them over to a dorm with a dining hall. He and the Director of Student Housing cooked Sunday brunch for 300 students stranded on campus. Now, that’s how a new administrator can win the hearts of the students!
Photo of sleepy Dean cooking brunch
Ronit says:
@hwc: Excellent story, thanks.
On another note, one of the gifts I received this year is Simple to Spectacular by Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It’ll make for some very pleasant reading this winter, I think. The book presents 50 relatively simple recipes with minimal ingredients, and then four increasingly-sophisticated variations on each core recipe.
Bittman’s How to Cook Everything is still my favorite, all-encompassing reference cookbook.
hwc says:
Bobby Flay’s latest cookbook is laid out along similar lines. It’s actually quit brilliant because it actually suits the way we think about shopping and cooking.
There is a chapter on each basic item. So, for example, a chapter on grilled chicken breasts. Then, a dozen or two different things you can do to take them in a different direction. Various salads, salsas, sauces, spices, veggies, and so forth. Then another chapter on grilled scallops. And, one on grilled shrimp. And, grilled pork chops. And grilled steaks. And so on and so forth. Of course, an experienced cook can also mix and match. There’s no reason that something that works with shrimp couldn’t work with sea bass. All in a all, an incredible idea book.
One of our family’s new favorites is his deconstructed bacon scallops. Instead of wrapping scallops with bacon (that is so annoying to cook), he takes everything apart. Top the grilled scallops with diced bacon, scallions, and drizzle with the dressing from a warm spinach salad, then serve the scallops on the same plate with the wilted spinach salad and the same dressing. It’s about as good as anything I’ve ever eaten.