ADMINISTRATIVE VIEWS:
In my tour of duty as an administrator (I served two terms as Chair of the Division of Social Sciences at Alfred University and am currently Director of the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg), I did develop several ideas that, in part, comprise my "philosophy" of administration. One, a Chair can neither wait for consensus to develop nor get so far out in front of the group that no one is willing to listen or follow (while I am hardly a Maoist, Mao's admonition against the sins of leaders pursuing either "headism" or "tailism" makes a lot of sense). One must have a productive dialogue and develop norms for doing business through continuing discussion. Through such communication, norms can develop that can guide the unit forward. Consensus will not always occur, of course, but at least people will have been part of the process and understand how the norms came about. Two, I believe that academics need to have fun while doing their work. I believe that it is important for an administrator to try to reinforce the element of enjoyment in faculty doing their jobs. Three, in baseball jargon, I see myself as a "player's manager," trying to use the talents at hand in terms of the varying abilities of the people involved to the best advantage of faculty, students, and the university at large. Four, I think that I ought to encourage people to raise questions of me and, indeed, to demand more of me as an administrator. Too many people, here and elsewhere, are willing to let things happen and not take their needs and dreams seriously. My own view? "Think major league." If a member of the faculty thinks that s/he needs some support from me (as administrator) I want them to ask, cajole or plead with me--even if the encounter is a very uncomfortable one for me. Too many administrators, from what I have observed and learned from others, prefer that no one makes any demands because that is a safer and more comfortable route to go--but, in my judgment, it leads to "moribundity" and an underperforming unit.