1999 AACSB Annual Meeting
Women Administrators in Business Schools Workshop
April 18, 1999

by Patricia Sorce and Patricia M. Flynn

• In 1992, there were only 6 woman deans of AACSB-accredited institutions in the U.S.– less than 2%.  Yet, women comprised 40+% of the students at business schools.
• Several of the woman deans began working with AACSB in 1993 to begin what became an annual workshop for current and prospective woman deans.  The AACSB Women Business School Administrators workshops provided networking opportunities. They also focused on mechanisms for increasing the number of woman deans, and for providing skills to help women succeed in these positions.  Topics included, for example, networking, negotiating, fund-raising, and job search and interviewing skills.
• Ambiguity about the career paths of woman deans emerged at the 1998 AACSB Woman Administrators workshop, as women interested in becoming dean sought answers to questions about the best steps they could take for preparing to become dean. 
• Patricia Sorce, associate dean, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Patricia Flynn, dean, Graduate School of Business, Bentley College, and volunteered to conduct a survey of the women business school deans and present the findings at the 1999 Women Administrators Workshop.

• Purpose:  The survey was created to better understand the career paths for woman deans in business schools.  Its primary intent was to inform and guide prospective woman deans of careers paths that had led to women becoming b-school deans.
• Initial thought was to survey male and female deans and compare and contrast the results. This scope was beyond our resource and time constraints, so we focused instead just on the woman deans.
• The survey was designed to answer the following questions:  What career paths had been followed?  What is the demographic profile of the woman deans?  What was the nature of their job search?  How satisfied are they with their jobs?  How do they balance their professional and personal lives?
• The survey was conducted in winter 1998/1999.  A questionnaire was distributed via e-mail and regular mail.  Phone calls were subsequently made to non-respondents.
• AACSB provided a list of 44 women business school deans:  19 were from AACSB-accredited institutions, 25 from non-AACSB accredited institutions
• 22 women completed the survey for a response rate of 50%.  The response rate was 63.2% for the deans at AACSB-accredited institutions; 40.0% for the non-AACSB accredited institutions.

• Current age:  in 50-54 category.
• Approximately 3/4s are married.  About 20% single.  One of the 19 who answered this question was widowed.
• Two-thirds of the respondents were under the age of 50 when they obtained their first dean’s position.
• Most had PhDs in a business discipline or economics.  40% (n=7) of those responding to this question had a degree in economics.  Five had PhDs in management or strategy, three in accounting and two in finance.

• The woman deans had on average 8 years of administrative experience prior to their first dean’s job. Not all was in academia. More than half of the deans had administrative experience in business or government.
• For those with administrative experience in academia, they tended to have experience as department chair, assistant or associate dean, program director or interim dean.
• Almost half (9%) of the deans were members of the faculty in the college/university where they were first named dean.
• Less than half (8 of 19) of the deans reported that they actively searched for the current dean’s position.  Of the eleven who did not actively search for their jobs, many reported being asked to apply by the search committee or the president of the college/university.
• The majority of the woman deans had had at least one mentor, who was very influential in advising and encouraging them along their way to the deanship.  The mentor was often a dean, provost or senior faculty member.

• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership – ability to organize diverse people to achieve goal
• Credibility/experience working with business and government
• Communication skills
• Strategic thinking
• Budget & faculty evaluation

• Most of the woman deans were very satisfied with their jobs.  (78% rated satisfaction at levels of 8,9 or 10 on a 10-point scale with 10 being the highest.)  The areas of greatest satisfaction were:  student achievement & development, building a quality reputation for the school, accomplishing tasks with measurable outcomes, and helping others achieve their goals.
• Accomplishments listed included:  achieving accreditation, improved relationships with the business community, launching new academic programs, increased faculty participation, and fund raising.
• Some of the biggest challenges reported were; motivating faculty, building consensus/leading change, building and maintaining good relationships with upper administration, balancing needs of multiple constituencies and the long hours.
• A majority of the deans reported that they worked 60 or more hours per week.
• Balancing work and family is a major issue for woman b-school deans.  Several of the deans had interrupted their careers to raise children.  The long hours, travel and demands of the job created a constant balancing act.  Several noted that they “needed a wife.”

• Many different routes taken.
• Importance of academic and administrative experience.
• The majority of the woman deans were not seeking a dean’s job; they were approached by the search committee or an administrator.
• Most woman deans had mentors; some male, some female.
• The dean’s job involves a massive time commitment.
• Most woman deans are very satisfied with the job.
• Balancing family and the dean’s job is very challenging.
• There is an ongoing need for opportunities for current and potential woman b-school deans for networking, skill development, and related activities.