52 ORGANIZING ACADEMIC COLLEGES: A GUIDE FOR DEANS payroll, student employment, and affirmative action are commonplace. Staff titles appear to be haphazard across functional areas. Looking at Table 3.4, any title in the left-hand column is likely to be found preceding any of the functional areas in the right-hand column. How administrative faculty are deployed, the history of the office, current demands, and the individual dean or associate/assistant deans present all influence how professional staff are assigned and what the positions are called. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Our analysis of personnel reveals a tremendous variety in titles, assignment of respon- sibilities, and types of personnel staffing the dean’s office. Our interviews with deans reveal decanal staff deployment is related to a) the number of available decanal staff positions, b) which functions are centralized outside the college or are handled within, and c) the talents, background, and interests of the people in the jobs. Faculty members in the dean’s office usually liaise directly with faculty, and pro- fessional staff members are found in functional positions that support faculty and students. Yet there are enough exceptions to conclude that deans possess flexibility in structuring the responsibilities of their offices. There is no “one right way” to organize decanal staff. Deans appear to have the freedom to deploy their team to best fit the needs of their college. After exploring how colleges and office staff can be organized in Chapters 2 and 3, the reader might be itching to try something new. Caution is recommended. People and policies need to be consulted, and there are many options. The next chapter offers a framework for determining if your college might benefit from reorganization.