88 ORGANIZING ACADEMIC COLLEGES: A GUIDE FOR DEANS At the time, SOAS was under an interim dean, a former dean who had come out of retirement to serve. “This may have helped,” relates one of the faculty leaders, “because then we’re not talking about changing someone’s job here.” And at the same time, “we had a chancellor who was willing to shake things up. So they were more accommodating to change than otherwise might have been the case.” The schoolwide vote took place in January, with the reorganization to take effect the following July 1. There began a “soft split” in the intervening months, overseen by the interim dean. The change was not too complex as departments retained their budgets and items that were schoolwide (travel, copying) were split propor- tionately based upon the number of faculty. Each department also had its own P&T guidelines, which did not change under the reorganization. By several measures, the reorganization has been successful, with both schools (the new School of Sciences and the remaining school, now called Humanities and Social Sciences) experiencing enrollment gains. The dean of the School of Sciences believes the independent school status has given them more opportunities to pro- mote programs and activities in the sciences. For instance, it is helpful during the budget development process to have one voice speaking on behalf of the School of Sciences rather than speaking as a subset of Arts and Sciences. 6. Creating programs, centers, and institutes With the rise in interdisciplinary research, teaching, and programs, faculty and deans often establish centers or institutes as the organizing framework for these cross- or multi-disciplinary endeavors. Whether to house research efforts, pro- grams or courses, deans often must get involved to sort out the thorny issues of faculty workload, peer evaluation, and management oversight. These three cases encompass instances where courses, programs, and/or research were at play. a) As part of the process of developing a university-level strategic plan at a Midwest- ern research university, faulty were invited to submit 1-2 page “concept papers,” with either wholly- or partially-formed ideas welcomed. In reviewing all the pro- posals, the A&S dean found a strong cluster of faculty ideas around the general idea of environmental studies. The proposals reflected competing agendas, with some wanting a pure research center, and others suggesting a new academic pro- gram be established. The dean, along with the provost’s staff, merged program- matic elements together starting with a new undergraduate degree, which was an institutional priority. Because there was a formal strategic planning process, new funding was available, which served to catalyze the initiative. The new Environmental Studies Center was able to launch vigorously because of the coupling of faculty enthusiasm and institutional support and investment. The undergraduate major in Environmen- tal Studies was developed quickly after getting approvals at the institutional and