Drew Faust's Dean Problem
On Gadfly, Adam Goldenberg suggests that, with Jeremy Bloxham having turned down the FAS deanship, Drew Faust is going to have a very difficult time finding a replacement. I agree—though not for all the reasons Goldenberg states. They are:
- Deal with Harvard’s faculty. Every single day. Forever.
- Deal with FAS’ budget deficit. More than $75 million in the hole, at last count!
- Deal with someone else’s Curricular Review. Explain how the new curriculum is not the Core, redux. (It is.)
- Give up one’s academic vocation and instead become an administrator.
I don't think 1, 3, and 4 are such a big deal. The FAS deanship is still a prestigious and desirable job, especially for professors who might want to become college presidents one day. You also get a big raise. And let's face it, leaving scholarship behind for a while isn't always the worst thing.
Finally, I'm inclined to think that the FAS deanship under Drew Faust is going to be a strong position. She needs strong deans, and she's smart and secure enough to realize that.
No, the problem seems to me to be #2—budget issues. What if the new dean is going to have to operate in a time of shrinking resources? Trying to manage the relationship between science and Allston at a time when FAS is facing budget cuts could be a nightmare.
It's a lot more fun to be dean when you can say yes than when you're constantly telling people no.
I suspect that this is the real issue here, and it is a big problem for Drew Faust. She obviously wanted a scientist for the deanship. But will any scientist take the job if he or she has to pick and choose among the various science factions because of budget cuts?
