INTRODUCTION 9 Organization isn’t about perfection; it’s about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money and improving our overall quality of life. —Christina Scalise Organizational Models for the Office of the Dean 2 A ny dean’s office holds responsibility for the academic enterprise of the college (the teaching and research done by faculty and learning accomplished by students) as well as for supporting functions not otherwise provided univer- sity-wide. By and large, deans have the authority to organize the tasks and personnel as best fits their needs within the resources at their disposal. Colleges/Schools of Arts and Sciences tend to be the largest and most complex academic units in most non-profit universities–private or public, large or small. Therefore, the models that A&S deans choose for organizing the work of their college varies much more widely than other colleges. You may wonder if your office (and by “office,” we mean the academic personnel and service functions you oversee) is configured optimally to meet your needs and to take advantage of the talents of those working for you. You may ask about what your options are for reorganizing your operation. What models exist? What are the strengths and challenges of each model? We identified five models (some with variations) most frequently used to orga- nize the operations and personnel under the purview of the dean, based upon our review of several hundred websites to determine the most prevalent models of Arts and Sciences colleges. Our review focused on the size and scope of the college/s of Arts and Sciences, the structure of the dean’s office, and how academics are organized. The models are as follows: MODEL 1: Traditional Variation: Traditional + Schools MODEL II: Dean-Only MODEL III: VPAA/Dean of the College