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| The College Administrator's Survival Guide | 
 enlarge | Author: C. K. Gunsalus
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (9 reviews)
Sales Rank: 154527
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 264
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0674023153
Dewey Decimal Number: 378.111
EAN: 9780674023154
ASIN: 0674023153
Publication Date: September 30, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
This book should be read by every academic, administrator or not January 29, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Survival Guide deals with the human relations complexities administrators like deans and department heads face in higher education, especially in big public universities like the author's own University of Illinois. Much of its advice can be summed up in (a) be aware that administration is a *role* (actually, a number of them) that must be *played* in an appropriate way, (b) when problems of certain sticky kinds come up, consult with the people at your institution who are paid specifically to worry about those kinds of problems, (c) know and observe the rules governing what you do and be careful to document your actions accordingly - "Process is your friend".
But this dry precis sells the book way short. Its notable strengths include:
*A rich lode of cases taken from the author's own experience and gleanings from years of consulting on other campuses. Anyone who has ever spent time as faculty or staff at a university will find much to interest them here.
*An analysis of the various kinds of problems likely to come up, together with clear guidelines for dealing with them, distilled from her deep experience and reflection.
*A natural and easy delivery that makes the book engaging and easy to read, and a consistently-maintained clarity that makes it easy to understand. I worry just a bit that some academic readers will conclude that any book so easy to understand must not be saying much. (Wrong!)
*A shining authenticity that has to appeal to every person of good will. The book is a potent manual of practical idealism dedicated to "leav[ing] the institution better than you found it".
Here are some extracts from the Introduction:
"One of the most puzzling aspects of higher education is that its front-line leaders are almost always selected for qualities other than an ability to run complex organizations. ...yet...universities are among the most complicated organizations around... For most academics, the people problems are the most difficult aspect of serving in an administrative position... There are conceptual tools and practical skills that can help academic administrators successfully handle personnel problems, and these skills can be both taught and learned... Most serious problems can be prevented, and should be... As teachers and parents know, helping people grow and develop new skills can be among life's most rewarding activities..." (p1-9)
I cannot imagine a better laying out of the ground.
A special strength of the book is its use of the "war story" cases. Each chapter is anchored to a realistic situational problem, and Chapter 6 in particular provides numerous experience-derived illustrations.
The author's hand on the elephant is that of an attorney, and that fact shows up in the frequent references to lawsuits and litigation. This feels oppressive, but since a lawsuit can be as bad as a fire, it is no doubt justified. The problem is not with the book but with our situation in society, and the informed cautions the book provides may be among its more valuable contributions.
In the Bullies chapter {as elsewhere) the author displays gentle persistence in bucking up the reader's resolution in the face of the challenging problems she presents. It is so tempting to "pass by on the other side" so long as one can get away with it! "If not you, who?" says it just right, reassuring the reader that administrator effectiveness is both possible and indispensable. The author's lays out in a natural but compelling way the destructive longterm effects of inaction.
A basic thing I treasure about this book is the thoroughgoing way it does NOT imply a title like, Administration - Your Gateway to Prestige and Power. Instead, it shows how there is satisfaction to be found in enabling the higher education organism to function in a healthy way, that the role is worthy of a reader's dedication to it, and that chances are s/he will be able to rise to the occasion. The view is sometimes heard in academia that administration is intrinsically despicable or at best a distraction from more important things. One of the reasons I think it would be good if this book were read by everybody in higher education is that it provides a powerful corrective to that corrosive prejudice.
Does the book have defects? Sure. I disagreed in a couple cases with the author's suggested resolution of illustrative problems situations. There is one(!) short passage that I found clumsy and obscure, one where a problem situation seemed improbable, one where I understood her advice but could not see how it would be executed. But these are all tiny warts, not consequential enough to discuss further.
A possible deficiency is the lack of examination of the question of a candidate's talent for administrative work. (The text proper begins (p11), "When you take on an administrative role...") It would be helpful if, say, an appendix could discuss the traits and predispositions that augur well or badly for a prospective administrator. This could help both selection committee and candidate, but especially a candidate. "Am I equipped to ride this horse? Do I want to?"
Facts are facts, and the author everywhere states them, whatever they are, in an almost startlingly unaffected way. "Wise as serpents, innocent as doves" is a phrase that comes to mind. She frequently references her guidelines back to the common wisdom lore of our culture. This is not the way academics, always striving to establish originality, usually behave. Her own contribution is the outstanding conception, organization, and presentation of the material. The delivery is so clear and natural that it would be easy for a reader to take much of the message for granted.
Chapter 8 is a wonderful close to a wonderful book. The discussion of the need to display a range of different personas, often to the same people over fairly short spans of time, I found especially strong and useful. These are things that a few gifted people might "know" by instinct, but that more ordinary persons might go through a whole career without entirely figuring out.
Finally, I love the concluding paragraph. It epitomizes the attitude of unaffected practical idealism that is so evident throughout the book, ending, "...step back every now and then to relish the excitement and the small victories."
Surely every newbie administrator should have this book. My own view is that it should be read by every academic, administrator or not. All would profit by an understanding of the crucial role of administration, its demands, and its rewards. If everyone involved understood how administration really *should* be done, maybe it would get done that way more than it currently does.
Not Just For Academic Types December 3, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought my first copy of this book because the author is a friend, and - OK - that's what you do when a friend writes a book. Then I read it and have since bought three MORE copies because it really is terrific. I bought two for family friends graduating from college, because I wish I had read this before I took my first professional job. I bought another for my son for the same reason, even though he is not that age yet. But I know when the time comes, reading it will help him launch his working career, or at least avoid some major pitfalls.
Careers are like so many other events in life: there is what you learn in school and what you learn the hard way. This book teaches - in an entertaining and amusing way - what most of us learn the hard way and what some of us are still learning. And it teaches those practical lessons from a moral center that is seldom articulated.
My only real quarrel with this book is its title: It should be the Everyone's Survival Guide, because it is not just for college administrators. Anyone who has worked in an organization will recognize the types and the traps discussed in this book. This book would be a great gift for any young person starting a career, or anyone thinking about a new job or a career move. You won't be disappointed.
great techniques, excellent read September 5, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
"The College Administrator's Survival Guide" was by far the best book I read all summer.
When I picked up Professor Gunsalus' book, I was expecting to learn a lot of important skills for my budding career in academia. What I found was much, much more - this book is practical, funny, thought-provoking, and a smoother and more enjoyable read than most novels.
The book covers topics such as negotiation, complaints, bullies and violations, but what sets it apart is the way grounds the reader (in such chapters as "embrace your fate" and "centering") before diving into gripping scenarios. Each chapter begins with one of these scenarios, and then goes on to discuss and build skills, which are then used to resolve the conflict at the end of the chapter. There are plenty of stories sprinkled throughout the chapters, as well, all drawn from Gunsalus' decades of experience as "the department of yucky problems."
I don't know why this book wasn't written years ago; after all, putting academics (who often have few, if any, social skills) in charge of groups of people without any sort of leadership training seems like a recipe for disaster. This situation, as Gunsalus points out, is exacerbated by certain factors in academia, such as tenure and the fundamental insecurity of many academic stars.
Fortunately, there are ways to avoid many of the problems that arise in an academic setting, and ways to deal with the problems once they've occurred, and Gunsalus makes them clear and accessible in this book. While I started reading to learn more about getting along in academia, it became immediately apparent that many of the ideas in this book are readily applicable to the "real world" as well. This book is a must-read for anyone who has to interact with people, in the workplace or elsewhere.
This book has much to offer, even to those outside of academia September 2, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Although I am not a college admnistrator, I attended a presentation by C. K. Gunsalus (full disclosure: I attended because I know her relatives in my area)and found myself looking forward to her upcoming book. Her commonsense approach to awkward situations and challenging personalities is both novel and imminently practical. I am a small business owner. I encounter the business-world counterparts of the characters in Professor Gunsalus's book regularly, and I can tell you that her approaches work equally well in both worlds. I heartily recommend this book. In fact, I am purchasing a copy for each of my staff with the hope that we can bring Professor Gunsalus's positive and ethical systems into practice in our offices and we will be discussing her examples at our next staff retreat.
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