What is a dean, and there more than one at every college?

Question

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Answer 1

In the US:

In a department (like History, Math, Biology) there are professors and those professors have a boss called the department chair, he's usually a professor too.

The department is part of a school/college/etc... such as 'Humanities and Fine Arts' (might include English, History, Politics, Art, Music, Theater, etc.) and that division of the school is led by a Dean (boss of all the department chairs).

The institution might have several such divisions such as Humanities, Science and Math, Business, Education, etc... and each of those has a Dean. There might also be an administrative Dean called the Dean of Student Services who supervises things like campus activity department, learning centers, counseling, etc...

All of these Deans answer to the top teaching professional at the school who is called the Provost. The Provost answers to the President or Chancellor.

Of course, there are variations at different schools just as every business operates a little differently.

The leaders go up like this:
Professors/Instructors
Department Chair
Dean
Provost
President

There's also an order of rank among the professors:

Teaching Assistant/Associate
Instructor/Lecturer
Assistant Professor
Associate Professor
Professor
Distinguished Professor

Some are honored when they retire with a permanent title of Professor Emeritus and these often come back to campus to teach from time-to-time.

Answer 2

In addition to the answer chick2li gave, there is also a Dean of Students. This person may also hold the title "Vice President of Student Affairs." While the Dean of a college is responsible for the academic curriculum of that college, the Dean of Students is responsible for overseeing the support services of the institution. These usually include things like housing, student activities, health services, counseling, and judicial affairs.

Answer 3

Every university is organized differently, but typically, a dean is over a school of study, such as arts and sciences, or arts, or sciences, humanities, and so on. What you'll want to do is learn how your school is organized so that it's no longer a mystery. Once you understand a system you can master it. :)

Answer 4

a dean is the version of principal, just like in high school.