The deanship unveiled: insights from EAB’s 2024 Voice of the Dean Survey

There is no job in higher education quite like the deanship. From bridging academia and administration to playing a vital role setting college strategy, the opportunity for deans to impact institutions and their students is perhaps unparalleled. However, so are the demands of the role.

In 2024, EAB launched The Voice of the Dean Survey at the request of deans eager to understand the experiences and perspectives of their peers at research-intensive universities. Our survey provides deans with valuable guidance from their peers across disciplines and universities in North America, while simultaneously allowing EAB to collect actionable insights to inform our work supporting university deans in the year ahead.

Our Voice of the Dean Survey executive brief shares the results of the survey, threading quantitative and qualitative data and providing a detailed overview of the dean’s experience, enriched by direct quotes from participating deans. Here are four major features you can expect to find in the report:

1. Snapshot of the deanship

Our survey includes 44 responses from deans across four college types—Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Business, and Health Sciences and Nursing—a majority of whom hail from R1 institutions in the United States or U15 institutions in Canada. Notably, respondents’ time-in-seat varies between less than one year to 10 or more years, reflecting a diverse range of experiences and tenures.

2. Comprehensive survey questions

The Voice of the Dean Survey includes more than 60 questions across four sections, covering diverse topics from well-being in the role to college objectives.

To understand deans’ priorities and challenges, we asked questions about the urgency of a wide range of topics, such as the role of AI in teaching and research, and program portfolio review. To gauge well-being in the role, we inquired about job satisfaction and burnout across the past academic year.

Through these lines of inquiry, the survey captures a detailed picture of the current state of the deanship.

3. Top challenges and priorities for deans

Our survey prompted deans to reflect on a variety of strategic goals and challenges. Respondents identified fundraising, high-quality faculty research, and launching new programs for revenue generation as some of their primary goals this year.

Additionally, deans shared their most pressing challenges, citing graduate enrollment, low faculty morale, and resource constraints within their college as critical concerns.

4. Advice for new deans

Deans shared their advice and best practices on a variety of topics, such as relationship building, leadership, and change management. We hope deans of all tenures use this section to glean wisdom from one another.