The College Administrator’s Survival Guide


Book Description

In this book, a widely respected advisor on academic administration and ethics offers tips, insights, and tools for handling complaints, negotiating disagreements, responding to accusations of misconduct, and dealing with difficult personalities. With humor and generosity, C. K. Gunsalus applies scenarios based on real-life cases to guide academic administrators through the dilemmas of management in not-entirely-manageable environments.




The College Administrator’s Survival Guide


Book Description

The book that every dean and department chair needs to survive—and thrive—in the twenty-first-century university. First released in 2006, The College Administrator’s Survival Guide has served as the bible for a generation of provosts, deans, department chairs, and program directors. Shrewd administrators have returned to the guide time and again for C. K. Gunsalus’s advice on handling complaints, negotiating disagreements, and dealing with difficult personalities. Now, in this revised and updated edition, Gunsalus guides rookie administrators and seasoned veterans through today’s most pressing higher-education challenges. These days academic leaders must respond to heightened demands for transparency and openness. These demands are intensified by social media, which increases the visibility of university conflicts and can foster widespread misinformation about campus affairs. Meanwhile, institutions have become flatter, with administrators expected to work more closely with faculty, students, and a range of professionals even as support staffs shrink. Between the ever-replenishing inbox, the integration of often-exasperating management systems into every dimension of academic life, and the new demands of remote learning, deans and department heads are juggling more balls than ever before. Tightening budgets have already forced administrators into more difficult choices and, in the wake of COVID-19, there will be no relief from financial constraints. From #MeToo to partisan battles over curricula and funding, college and university leaders need more savvy and greater sensitivity than ever. What hasn’t changed are the challenges of dealing with difficult people and the importance of creating and maintaining environments in which faculty, staff, and students have the support they need to do their best work. The College Administrator’s Survival Guide provides the tools to keep cool and get the job done.




How to Run a College


Book Description

How can colleges stay relevant in the twenty-first century? Residential colleges are the foundation on which US higher education is based. These institutions possess storied traditions fondly cherished by students, alumni, and faculty. There is no denying, however, that all colleges today struggle with changing consumer preferences, high sticker prices, and aging infrastructure. Technological and pedagogical alternatives—not to mention growing political pressure—present complex challenges. What can colleges and smaller universities do to stay relevant in today’s educational and economic climate? In their concise guide, How to Run a College, Brian C. Mitchell and W. Joseph King analyze how colleges operate. Widely experienced as trustees, administrators, and faculty, they understand that colleges must update their practices, monetize their assets, and focus on core educational strategies in order to build strong institutions. Mitchell and King offer a frank yet optimistic vision for how colleges can change without losing their fundamental strengths. To survive and become sustainable, they must be centers of dynamic learning, as well as economic engines able to power regional, state, and national economies. Rejecting the notion that American colleges are holdovers from a bygone time, How to Run a College shows instead that they are centers of experimentation and innovation that heavily influence higher education not only in the United States but also worldwide.




The Young Professional's Survival Guide


Book Description

A nationally recognized expert on professional ethics uses pungent real-world examples to help people new to the work world recognize ethical situations that can lead to career-damaging mistakes—and prevent them. Gunsalus offers questions to ask yourself, sample scripts to use on others, and guidance in handling disputes fairly and diplomatically.




The New Dean's Survival Guide


Book Description

An experienced academic leader reflects on his career and provides advice to those new to the position.




The Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers


Book Description

This book offers practical guidance on such topics as roles and responsibilities, school environment and culture, classroom organization and management, collaboration with other professionals, and individual professional development.




An Insider's Guide to University Administration


Book Description

It's not the "dark side" if you approach it with insight, wit, and compassion. Most new college and university administrators, especially if they come directly from the faculty ranks or from outside academia, receive little if any training. Rather, they try to succeed mostly by stumbling through the (semi-)dark with a combination of their own knowledge and experience as well as on-the-job learning. This can lead to costly (for the administrator and the institution) mistakes as well as professional failures and campus-wide miseries. In An Insider's Guide to University Administration, Daniel Grassian helps those currently in faculty positions or outside academia determine whether a career in college and university administration is right for them—and, if so, how to best position themselves for success. Applying theory to real, practical examples of university administration, Grassian provides both prospective and current administrators with an in-depth critical analysis of areas pertinent to college and university administration, including leadership, management, vision, diversity, ethics, and fund-raising. Drawing on his varied, extensive teaching and administrative career, Grassian leaves readers with a better understanding of what those in college and university administration do and the important practical, political, and ethical issues with which they engage.




How Higher-Ed Leaders Derail


Book Description

In higher-ed, there is a widely-held myth that the smartest person in the room should lead. We take for granted that someone who is smart can lead, and when we don't take steps to prepare or develop our people for leadership positions, leaders are more likely to derail. This is a problem, because college and university leaders at all levels increasingly face complex challenges without easy solutions. They are navigating unknown territory. When we lead in the absence of a map, often we rely too heavily on what we already know or think we know well. We fall back on tradition, losing sight of the creativity and the risks we need to take now. We rely more heavily on "smartship" than leadership. We are especially prone to this tendency in higher education because of the unique weight we assign to hierarchy and tradition. This tendency leads to four destructive dynamics, and Pat Sanaghan's new book explores these four in depth and offers specific strategies for countering them. These four include: Derailment of the leader - wherein leaders are often promoted on the basis of academic prowess or past achievement but lack the management training, development, and support needed to succeed. Seduction of the leader - wherein leaders incorrectly believe they are receiving accurate intel about what is happening within their division. Arrogance - wherein we over-emphasize and reward individual achievement rather than encourage leaders to seek broad input and approach complex issues as a team endeavor. Micromanagement - wherein the risk averse culture of higher ed fosters leadership patterns that emphasize control and predictability rather than the risk taking, courage, and empowerment of one's people that leadership in today's higher education requires. EARLY REVIEWS FOR THE BOOK: "Pat Sanaghan has done an excellent job of identifying the unique characteristics of executive positions in higher education and offering a learning agenda that will assure success for university and college leaders. This book should be required reading for any president, and deserves a place on every leader's desk in higher education." - Bob Kustra, President Emeritus, Boise State University "Noting that the academy usually fails to select and prepare leaders with the right traits and experiences, Sanaghan's book is masterful at not only helping leaders prevent derailment and failure, but also at helping new and experienced leaders succeed. This is a wonderful keep-by-your-side manual for higher-ed leaders." - Rebecca Chopp, Chancellor, University of Denver




The Nurse Manager’s Survival Guide , 4th Edition


Book Description

Nurses are already nurse managers. They must manage patient caseloads and care plans as well as supervise aides, technicians, and other care providers. But moving from this type of organic management to a defined nurse manager role is not a natural progression. Nurse managers must command a vast, diverse, and robust skill set, and those skills must first be defined, explained, and operationalized for success. In an environment that offers new managers little support, where do they turn? The Nurse Manager’s Survival Guide (4th Ed.) provides an overview of a nurse manager’s major roles and responsibilities—all the fundamentals needed for success in one easy-to-use, consolidated, practical reference. From tips on building the right team to budgeting basics, time-management tools, and advice on taking care of one’s self (and their team), author Tina Marrelli supplies the resources nurse managers need to excel in day-to-day operations.




Survival Guide for College Graduates


Book Description

Survival Guide for College Graduates provides readers with valuable advice to help them navigate their careers during ups and downs in the economy or during recessions. Readers learn how to prepare for challenges related to job scarcity, as well as how to compete successfully for professional positions that are available within their field. The book, written like a manual or guide, encourages readers to recognize their worth in the job market and identify the competitive skillsets they possess. It underscores the importance of self-awareness, valuing oneself, and how self-confidence can come across in an application or during a job interview. Readers learn how to research and better understand the condition of the economy and job market so they can make informed, confident decisions that align with their personal economic needs and situations. Dedicated chapters examine the personal issues and challenges they may encounter--including stress, anxiety, depression, interpersonal conflict, and substance use--and offer advice for cultivating positive habits to counteract these challenges. Each chapter features questions and prompts to inspire self-reflection and help readers consider how the material applies to their lives. The book answers common questions by undergraduate students and recent graduates, including: * How do I survive during a major recession or economic downturn when jobs are scarce? * How to I explain the value of my degree to others, including parents? * What can I do with my bachelor's degree? * Do I need to go to graduate school to get a well-paying, professional job? * Is my bachelor's degree the same as a high school diploma? * Do I have to move to better myself financially with my bachelor's? * Do I have to get a job right away after I graduate, or can I take a break? * What job skills do employers want me to have? * What job skills should employers need me to have? * How does graduate school differ from undergraduate school? * What kinds of universities are best to go to for a graduate degree? Are there differences between them? * How do I deal with stress, anxiety, and depression during an economic downturn or pandemic? * What types of resources are available to me locally in my area to help me with stress, anxiety, depression, or mental health issues as I prepare for my career? Survival Guide for College Graduates is an essential resource for graduating seniors across all disciplines, as well as past graduates who are transitioning into the workforce and seeking jobs.