108 ORGANIZING ACADEMIC COLLEGES: A GUIDE FOR DEANS The dean of the A&S college approached the merger process proactively where possible. She held one-on-one pre-merger meetings with each department chair [Human Resource] and faculty known to be influential among their peers [Political] to learn of their concerns, express empathy, and dispel rumors. The dean believed taking the time to quash rumors in one-on-one conversations was important, because “universities don’t run smoothly in the best of times, let alone when the faculty are gorging on gossip.” The dean expedited decisions on programs where faculty would be reduced to meet budget cut goals prior to the reappointment process for faculty, as these faculty could be let go before reappointment, thus minimizing legal risk [Structural]. The dean did not over-promise what structures/prac- tices/programs would be kept as-is, which ensured she could keep her word on the few commitments she did make. She repeatedly emphasized that faculty and staff would not get everything they want, but that the institution would remain strong and employees’ new roles would still be enjoyable and manageable. Despite possessing the best of intentions, the dean occasionally internalized negative feelings of others, periodically agreeing verbally with indi- viduals who were espousing anger against the provost/president and the process. She recommends that other deans avoid this trap, as it sets up the dean as a pawn between the faculty and the executive office in future discussions. When the dean started in her role several years prior, she did not know a lot about college administration. She was overly-cautious and made painful mistakes during her “honeymoon period” with the faculty. Now, as a dean of a new college, she realized she had a second honeymoon with the faculty, while also feeling better equipped with knowledge and experience. She found she could use this time effec- tively in influencing the direction of the College. (This may be an important consid- eration as to the placement of a first-time dean or a “repeat” dean into the deanship of a reorganized college.) Similarly, chairs of departments found unexpected freedom as they rebuilt their units. For example, the new colleges required administrative and physical move- ment of some programs, providing a chance to realign teaching spaces and teaching/ research laboratories without the burden of territoriality established among the pre-merger departments. The dean also explored the curricula with unit heads for courses that would distinguish a program as distinct from courses which could be taught more gener- ally (e.g., could one applied statistics be taught to all social science majors or did each program need its own statistics course?). Universities are not known for having The dean did not over-promise what structures/practices/ programs would be kept as-is, which ensured she could keep her word on the few commitments she did make.