24 ORGANIZING ACADEMIC COLLEGES: A GUIDE FOR DEANS interactions, working directly with department chairs and program directors to identify solutions to a variety of issues and questions. I routinely ask an AD to join me when I meet with a department chair or director; this extra set of ears in the room facilitates active listening and critical thinking. Fundraising Increasingly, the dean’s role is one of fundraiser. Meeting with donors takes me out of the office, sometimes for extended periods. With AD leadership, I work externally, meeting fundraising obligations while the ADs work with our devel- opment team and alumni in a portfolio, taking on a greater fundraising role. Communications Leadership of the ADs is not only an advantage in terms of administrative oper- ations of the Dean’s Office and the College; the portfolio structure also enables better messaging in terms of internal and external communications. Through the portfolio structure, we build a stronger identity, both in terms of what the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences stand for at UD, but also in terms of what experience prospective students can expect. Additionally, the ADs act as content-area experts for press and media interactions instead of the dean being the only leadership respondent. As the largest of UD’s seven colleges (and almost four times the size of the second largest college), explaining the College in the context of portfolios helps us manage perceptions internally and the context provides us a stronger voice on discussions ranging from budget models to admissions decisions. Succession Planning The AD assignments and portfolio structure act as an excellent model for succes- sion planning. For example, as the inaugural AD for the natural sciences I ran about 40 percent of the College. The experience as a divisional dean was benefi- cial in making the transition to the deanship. I encourage one-year interim AD appointments, which helps determine a person’s fit with the leadership team, as well as manage expectations for what the role entails. Challenges of This Model Despite the numerous advantages, organizing the Dean’s Office through the portfolio model also presents its challenges, including the following: Staying Informed The dean is a conduit to central administration and thus, is regularly the sole recip- ient of firsthand information. ADs have the responsibility of a dean in many ways, but they are not necessarily empowered to be a part of the process at a central administration level. Therefore, it is critical for the dean to communicate regu- larly with ADs to ensure priorities and messages are aligned. It takes a significant