This template includes guidance for questions to ask the outgoing DEO and leadership in the college including the Associate Dean for Faculty (ADF), Associate Dean for Research (ADR), and Dean to prepare you to succeed in your position.
The continued success of your department will benefit from an effective transition between the outgoing and incoming DEOs. It would be helpful to talk in broad terms about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in relationship to the department. You may then find the following questions helpful in guiding conversations with the outgoing DEO and college leadership that will aid in assessing current, ongoing, and anticipated aspects of the department’s people and processes.
Departmental Finances
It would be helpful to review a departmental financial report with the outgoing DEO and the department’s budget officer.
- What accounts does the department manage? What are the grant accounts and researchers associated with them? Are there General Expense funds; how much have those allocations been in recent years and how have they been spent?
- What is the status of Foundation or University of Iowa Center for Advancement (UICA) funds? Who are the contacts at UICA for your department? With what frequency does the DEO engage with the UICA contacts? Does the DEO engage with donors? If so, with what frequency?
- Have financial commitments been made to faculty or programs within the unit?
Faculty Development
It would be helpful to briefly discuss each faculty member with the outgoing DEO.
- At what stage of their career is each faculty member? What are their aspirations and their timeline for career development? What sort of support has the outgoing DEO provided to individual faculty members (e.g. regular meetings, additional funding for research, etc.)?
- Are there approved hires? What are they and what is the timeline for them?
Staff Development
It would be helpful to briefly discuss each staff member, their role in the department, and their career development pathway.
- At what stage of their career is each staff member? What are their aspirations and their timeline for career development? What is the reporting structure among the staff?
Research
It would be helpful to discuss each active grant within the department with the outgoing DEO.
It would be helpful to discuss the research trajectory of the department with the ADF and ADR.
- Are there financial or space (office or lab) commitments that you should be aware of?
Departmental Curriculum
- What is the process for course planning? Who is involved? What is the timeline?
Outreach
- What outreach and engagement are faculty involved in?
- Does the department have ongoing collaborations with community partners? If so, with whom and what are the names of contacts?
Strategic Planning and Initiatives
- Is there a departmental strategic plan? When was it last reviewed and by whom?
- What strategic initiatives has the outgoing DEO undertaken? At what stage are these projects? Who is involved, what are the timelines, and projected outcomes?
Departmental Pain Points
- Are there personnel issues that you should be aware of? If so, at what level of the institution have they been addressed? Is there an ongoing process or outcome you should be ready to manage?
- Are there concerns about programs that you should be aware of and prepared to manage?
- Discuss with the outgoing DEO and the ADF an outline for situations when you should work with the ADF to manage issues that arise.