DEPLOYING PERSONNEL IN THE DEAN’S OFFICE 49 from two or more categories often are combined into a single position. For instance, it is common to find associate deans for research and facilities, or an associate dean for curriculum and student affairs. Assistant deans and professional staff positions often report to associate deans, lessening the number of direct reports to the dean. Assistant deans with faculty rank have a much narrower range of functional assignments, predominantly dealing with undergraduate programs and student affairs. Assistant deans with diversity or inclusion assignments are common, where- as assistant deans assigned to faculty-related areas are not common. Assistant deans who oversee research tend to report to an associate dean of research, a division asso- ciate dean, or are within a college where assistant deans are the predominant senior title for administrative faculty. The number of A/AD positions held by professional staff increases with the size of the institution. Professional staff tends to oversee administration, student related func- tions, or development. Several of these functions—like event planning, admissions, and human resources—are distinct from faculty administrative positions. Professional staff members are more likely to be assigned financial service functions like business, fi- nance, and budget than are faculty. This may be due to A&S faculty being untrained in financial service areas, not having an interest in these areas, or because it is more cost effective to hire staff rather than faculty for administering these functions. Professional Staff In addition to associate and assistant deans, deans’ offices employ a diverse array of professional staff. Professional staff is defined as non-student employees (both ex- empt and non-exempt) who do not hold faculty rank. Professional staff assignments range from the dean’s administrative assistant to financial managers to advising staff. Professional staff may report to the dean or to A/ADs. Although titles other than associate or assistant dean typically indicate the per- son in the role is not in an academic appointment, this assumption is not always accurate. Many examples exist of former adjunct, part-time, or lecturer faculty who move into professional staff roles. For example, the distinction of staff positions from faculty lines blurs when advising staff members teach credit-bearing courses akin to “Introduction to the University.” Likewise but uncommon, tenured faculty members sometimes transition into titles normally held by professional staff. Tenured faculty bring the “faculty side” of the college into their role and they can be an excellent fit with such administrative roles. Professional staff is divided into two categories, exempt and non-exempt, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Exempt employees are not paid overtime; they are “exempt” from accessing overtime, meaning they work until the job is done and do not register hours. Exempt staff members often supervise other staff and/or student workers and make decisions about routine matters indepen- dent of their supervisor. Exempt staff members develop and implement policies and