2 ORGANIZING ACADEMIC COLLEGES: A GUIDE FOR DEANS This need for guidance is the fundamental reason we decided to write this book: to offer a guidebook of sorts to provide insights into the theory and practice of col- lege administrative and academic reorganization. We conducted dozens of interviews with deans and we analyzed hundreds of college websites, and thus offer descriptions of “what is” as well as suggestions how to effectively make changes to existing organizational structures. We write the book from the perspective of mem- bers of the Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences (CCAS). Bret Danilowicz is a sitting dean and Anne- Marie McCartan is CCAS’s former executive direc- tor. CCAS is a professional association that provides ways for Arts & Sciences deans to help their fellow deans. The Board of Directors supported the pub- lication of this book when it realized the paucity of resources on this topic available to member deans. Although the target audience is deans of arts and/or sciences, deans of other col- leges (business, the fine arts, engineering, nursing, and so forth) will also benefit from its findings. New deans will learn about prevalent organizational models and how the work of professional and support staff can be structured. Continuing deans can bet- ter understand the processes that should be employed to maximize the chances that changes in organization and assignments will be successful. Finally, provosts will find this book useful as they have occasion to review and consider changes to the structure of the units over which they preside. The Context for Organizational Change Numerous conditions in contemporary higher education are instigating organiza- tional structure change. Examples of these conditions include: • declining state support for public institutions; • the changing proportion of tenured/tenure-track faculty versus adjunct or contingent faculty; • fixation on national rankings; • pressure from students and their parents for job-focused baccalaureate education; • increased scrutiny by regional accrediting associations, particularly in the realm of documenting student outcomes; • growth in administrative and staff positions relative to faculty numbers; • a growing focus on interdisciplinary teaching and research; • online education, which often requires cross-campus collaboration; and • focus on pedagogy and student retention. As mid-level managers within the larger organization, deans would be well advised to ask whether their organizational structure is the most efficacious given this shifting context.