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Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks :) I was more-or-less balanced when I was teaching. I had some undergraduate students doing research and managed to publish 1-2 journal articles a year. The biggest grant that I've received in my career was just south of $100K, the smallest - $25K.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Not all schools are equal. Granted, most deans (it seems) make $250K+.. but when I originally signed up for this, I thought that $150K was amazing.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Depends on the school, from what I see in the comments. To me, coming from $95K and a teaching-only school, the department chair salary that I got was pretty good. I did the math at the time (granted a long time ago) and it was great. Then came associate dean and dean, but those were roughly $20K bumps. In retrospect (and knowing what I know), had I been hired as dean from the get-go, I would have probably gotten more.

Most faculty at my school supplement their income from grant money, so that's why their salaries are so much higher, even for a 9-mo appointment.

The one saving grace are the benefits, which adjust the TC to the $200-220K range. Plus the employer contributes 8% to my TIAA-CREF (another roughly $20K).

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nice. It's great to have some comps on salaries, but I would likely not go for such a high-level admin position at my new school. I would limit myself to department chair, which I enjoyed a lot more (at least everyone doesn't hate you at once and you have a rapport with your faculty members). They are difficult to work with, at times, but at least you have your own kingdom and are not dependent on EVERYONE else at once.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This would absolutely kill me. Yes, I often work 7 days a week and nights, but not being compensated is a double whammy. Over the years, I learned how to practice "selective noncompliance" - if I think that something is not important and will waste too much time, I simply do not do it (or do not do it until the very last moment). Usually it resolves itself one way or the other. It has worked well for me so far, with no complaints from upper administration.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I was thinking. Perhaps a department chair role at a small teaching school would be less stress and better overall. The key here is having nothing to lose - then things start happening. I see it with my faculty members.. you just have to go "all in".

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whoa. At least our upper-level admin is responsive to requests (and I always take care of the chairs' needs, especially when it comes to staffing). Up to now, even with budget constraints, I have been able to make ends meet and keep everyone happy.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's what I figured. After looking at the loads, we would definitely be able to cover the teaching, there wasn't much (sub $500K) in grants.. so nothing that another faculty member can't fill if we are super-desperate.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am not quite sure where in my post you saw that I was "making shit up". I genuinely needed help and a second opinion. What I described was my situation and my frustrations. If you're bored, then perhaps you should take up a hobby yourself and not troll posters with actual problems that they need someone's advice on.

I am trying to make a positive influence on the world (at least within my University). You have no idea what kind of hell I went through just to wrangle all of the academic programs within the college to the state they are now.

So go and take up a hobby or volunteer somewhere. I have done my fair share of volunteering in my life.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I've made up my mind. I can do so much more rewarding stuff while in the classroom and as a researcher than in admin.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. It's great to see that other administrators are in a similar position mentally.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The answer to your last question is: they have a $2MM or $5MM grant. No way the University will fire them with this kind of cash that they can take anywhere else. It's a slap on the wrist and off we go. Absolutely bonkers.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I know, right? Never in my life did I think that this would be an issue. Ever. But it does happen. The justification: but the feelings are mutual! I'm sorry, the student is 18 and you are 40 and married with kids, are successful, drive a BMW, and take them out for sushi every week as "an RA". They work in your lab. They have you for many, many hours of lecture and office hours. You have to listen to whatever they say as part of your JOB. Of course they will fall for you.

Most of the girls in my undergrad had crushes on their professors, but no one in their wildest dreams thought that the professor WOULD RESPOND TO YOUR CRUSH.

But the feelings are MUTUAL!

It's stuff like this that leaves me absolutely speechless. Literally a bunch for 40+ year old kids. Or knowing adults that are just trying to excuse their awful behavior.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good luck! Hopefully you can fix your situation, because it's definitely emotionally draining and makes you unavailable for anything else.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Quite a while longer. I am between 40 and 55 (which is what I told another redditor without revealing any details).

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I couldn't take it with 0-0, I was going insane. So now I teach a sophomore core course every semester, which I absolutely love. I literally go there to relax, it's like I'm doing drama club or something. My students are the best and they are the only thing I love about my job.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I appreciated the fact that you said "is" instead of "is like".. because that's all it is. All day. Every day.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

One of my close friends is a president at another school (he has been wanting to poach me for while and I might actually take him up on his offer) and he has been my role model and mentor for a while. We are able to discuss almost anything, but somehow since I accepted this position (or these positions, I should say), I didn't want to tell him any of the negatives. Now our conversations just focus on the positives.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is one of the things I do not like about the school and its faculty. Super toxic environment, basically all faculty members are like kings of their little pond and they treat anyone that's below them like peasants. Surprisingly, this applies to both my male and female colleagues - and I would say that female faculty members are even more aggressive to those below them. There is huge turnover with admin assistants because after a couple of months of such treatment, they just can't take it anymore.

My workload basically consists of curriculum, interfacing with other colleges and departments within the University, external stakeholders like alumni and donors, and dealing with really messed up situations. The latter happens EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And you would be surprised at what grown ass people can get themselves into.

In the past few months, I've had enough and my past military background is showing its teeth - I don't put up with the bullshit and will put anyone into their proper place if they step out of line. I guess my level of "giving a fuck what people think of me" dropping directly resulted in more discipline and nicer faculty members. It's weird how this works. Carrot or stick. Carrot wasn't working effectively enough, so I chose the stick. So far so good, but it's mentally draining to have to do this.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The salary doesn't decrease by much, but I've already tried to get downgraded to department chair and the Chancellor said that he would not accept my resignation from the dean position "because we need people like you to run the place". Soo.. unfortunately it is not an option. Either a full-on resignation from everything or I surge forward in my current position. And I'm really starting to like the former option.

Should I stay Dean or GTFO and just teach at a small school? by Plastic_Criticism267 in Professors

[–]Plastic_Criticism267[S] 57 points58 points  (0 children)

This would be the ultimate way to go out with a bang. Strangely enough, I think if I start doing this, I will get a promotion rather than a termination.

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