If you have ever called a dean’s office, chances are you were told he or she was in a meeting, out of the office or even out of the area. College deans have a number of responsibilities that often send them traveling around the world.
Deans are responsible for budgeting, hiring, reviewing faculty, course curriculum and the wellbeing of students as they work toward their degrees – duties which sometimes require travel.
“We are the ones who make sure our individual colleges work the way they are supposed to,” said Linda Halisky, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “And yes, it’s a lot of meetings.”
Halisky recently returned from a trip to Raleigh, N.C. to attend a conference entitled Autonomy, Singularity, Creativity, at the National Humanities Center. A group of colleagues were also invited to attend this conference to discuss the integration of the arts, sciences and technology at Cal Poly and improve the College of Liberal Arts.
“Hopefully, the things I learn will help me run this (college) better and make it more efficient, more fruitful and a better educational experience for the students,” Halisky said.
She also visited a study abroad program in Peru, where she joined a group of students, learned how they studied and saw where they lived.
CLA did not pay for the trip, since the organization which sponsors the program and hosts Cal Poly students in Peru provides a modest amount of funds designated to bring an administrator to observe the program. The organization paid for part of Halisky’s airfare, as well as accommodations.
While deans’ travel is usually work-related, when they do have time to travel outside of work, it is cherished.
“When I travel, I travel to visit my children or my dear friends who live in other parts of the country,” said Halisky. “I don’t have a lot of free time. Deans are a bit tied up.”
Similar to the complaints of many travelers, deans can sometimes find travel a burden due to flight cancellations, schedule changes, increases in cost and dead time in airports.
“I think that if both myself and my fellow deans could avoid travel, we would not travel at all,” said Dave Christy, dean of the College of Business. “These days, any travel that involves the airlines is very difficult.”
Since Christy’s program has national accreditation, he has meetings and travel associated with accreditation activities. He also serves on the accreditation review team for other schools and must travel to meet with the team.
Not all deans travel alike. For example, liberal arts and science deans do not have national accrediting bodies, so they have fewer meetings with the larger world of academia. However, every dean is involved in fundraising activities and outreach.
Travel associated with fundraising and outreach is generally paid for through the use of discretionary funds, which are gifts from alumni in support of those activities. Funds come out of the college’s regular budget if the dean is traveling to represent the university.
“We try as a college to spend money from gifts to raise more money,” Christy said.
Aside from his work-related travel, Christy found time last December to take a driving vacation to northeastern California, where he made his way up the Fender River Canyon, through Citizenville and Alturas. This summer, he found himself in Cape Town, South Africa for 10 days of volunteering and vacationing at the same time.
“Nothing is totally for vacation,” said Christy. “I enjoy the experience of going to other places, the cultural experience and the broadening.”