Who Would be a Dean!

Since I arrived in the United States I have received invitations to apply for positions elsewhere. In fact, this is how I came to be in the United States and subsequently moved from Florida State University to the University of Pennsylvania, and then to the Graduate Center. In each case I was invited to apply, and eventually I was offered and accepted the position. I ignored myriad invitations, and on one such occasion I was invited to apply for a position as Dean of a College of Education in Florida. When I spoke to Bob Lathrop, the Dean who hired me at Florida State University, he shook his head sadly and remarked: “Do you have any idea what my schedule was like the past 24 hours?” He pulled out his calendar and read the schedule to me – his point was graphic. Almost all of his activities were associated with fundraising and hardly had anything to do with good scholarship. I do not deny that somebody good needs to do these things. However, it is salient for me to remember I am not that person. What motivates me concerns teaching and researching – not administering, and certainly not fund-raising.