INTRODUCTION 7 • A college is the academic unit housing related disciplines, as defined by the insti- tution. Colleges are headed by deans, who report to a provost/vice president for academic affairs. Note: At smaller institutions, occasionally the term “school” is used instead of what more typically is called a college (and is especially true if the institution goes by College rather than University). Some larger universities have held onto using school (instead of college) for historic reasons. Organization of the Book In the following chapters, Chapters 2 and 3 address the areas over which deans have the most control: their office. Chapter 2 reports our findings researching the most prevalent models for organizing the dean’s office and illustrates each finding with a specific case example written by a dean. In Chapter 3, we elaborate upon deployingdeca- nal staff. Chapter 4 offers a framework for assessing the need and potential for making changes to an organizational structure, andChapter 5 describes how to implement organizational changes once the best course of action has been determined. In Chapters 6 and 7, we address the other two lev- els of change: below the dean’s office (departmental), and above the dean’s office (merging or separating colleges and merging universities). In the book’s concluding Chapter 8, we offer final summary reflections about decid- ing if you are ready to make a change, and the most important “lessons learned” from the dozens of interviews we conducted with deans. As backdrop, we acknowledge that every institution is different in its structure, policies, management approach, governance procedures, and in its openness to change. We write from the perspective of what we have synthesized from our study of this subject over more than two years’ time and from what we have experienced ourselves as deans. We hope you find that the data, examples, and narratives make the consideration of college reorganization less intimidating and the process itself more thoughtful and less haphazard. [W]e acknowledge that every institution is different in its structure, policies, management approach, governance procedures, and in its openness to change.