Tao and the Lost Art of Leadership

Abstract

I often tell people that I am literally a lifetime student of academic leadership. I grew up watching myfather navigate his career in the academy as a professor of Sociology, including serving asDepartment Chair. Much to his pleasure I followed suit, pursuing a fun and challenging career as aprofessor of Communication in the same state university system. Over the course of my journey inacademe, I’ve observed, and participated in, almost every level of academic leadership. From servingas chair of too many committees to remember, Department Chair, Vice-President of the AcademicSenate, University Ombudsperson, and now Associate Dean, I’ve encountered both the good and badin leadership at the university level.