“I love being able to support the success of others”Candid advice from a Dean of a College of Arts and Sciences
Carla Koretsky, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University, talks candidly about the joys and challenges of being an academic leader, especially in difficult times.
By Carla Koretsky with Patricia A. Maurice and Janet G. Hering
23 January 2024, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10456028
Dr. Carla Koretsky is professor of aqueous geochemistry and biogeochemistry in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Western Michigan University (WMU) in the USA and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) [1]. Her interdisciplinary research and excellent communication skills set the stage for her to be a strong leader of an intellectually diverse college. She is a mother of a young, STEMM-loving daughter and enjoys challenging herself in many ways, such as running the Mont Blanc marathon! [2]
How did you become an academic leader in STEMM?
Not long after I was promoted to full professor, I was invited to apply for an associate dean position in our Lee Honors College (LHC). As a faculty member, I always had many undergraduate (undergrad) research assistants in my lab, and really enjoyed working with them. My own experience as an undergrad working with Everett Shock at Washington University in St Louis was undoubtedly the reason I ended up pursuing a career as a geochemist. Liking the idea of being able to promote undergrad research, I decided to apply and was successful. About a year afterwards, I was appointed to succeed the retiring dean.
Leading the LHC was a terrific experience – I had the opportunity to work with students and faculty in all seven of our academic colleges. I learned an enormous amount about curriculum, scholarship, and creative activities in other areas across campus, as well as much more about the student affairs and staff support systems that are often invisible to faculty. Three years into my deanship, two opportunities arose – to go to NSF as a rotator or to go back to my home college (CAS) as dean. It was a tough decision, but I decided to pursue the deanship, and I’ve been doing that job ever since. I’m going into my 8th year, which these days, is a very long time to be in a dean position.
Which of your accomplishments as a leader are you most proud of?
I’ve been able to do some fun and exciting things as a leader in higher education. It’s hard to just pick one!
In the LHC, my team put together a year-long event series called “Raise Your Voice” that began with a seminar by Anita Hill and ended with one by Gloria Steinem. We brought in a wide range of scholars and artists whose work focused on gender equity, and highlighted faculty at WMU doing related work. I helped to launch a bunch of programs that are still going strong, among these - Study in the States: a short course program that allows students to travel and do place-based study with faculty scholars; Thesis Celebration: a weeklong event at the college for students to present and defend their honors theses; Mix It Up: a weekly series of professional development and fun events for honors students.
In the CAS, I launched a completion scholarship program that has provided funds for several hundred students, allowing them to graduate and substantially raising graduation rates. We launched some innovative programs and administrative units, including a Tribal Governance Graduate Certificate developed in close collaboration with the Three Fires Confederacy; a School of Environment, Geography and Tourism; and an Institute of Intercultural and Anthropological Studies.
Recently, I’ve served as PI for an NSF ADVANCE grant in support of women and historically underrepresented STEM faculty, especially those with family caregiving responsibilities [3]. We’ve launched cross-institutional mentoring programs; cross-institutional chair and director professional development; a WMU Allies and Advocates chapter (white men in STEMM who actively work to address issues of gender and racial equity); and a cross-institutional women’s caucus. I’ve also been the lead of our iChange ASPIRE initiative to identify and institutionalize policies and practices that will lead to more inclusive hiring and retention practices for all faculty, especially in STEMM [4].
What has been the most enjoyable and/or rewarding aspect of being a leader?
I love being able to support the success of others. Despite many challenges, the hard parts of the job become worthwhile when work that I do clearly helps to support the achievements of outstanding faculty, staff or students. It is incredibly satisfying to see a student walk across the stage at commencement, knowing that a scholarship program I championed helped to get them there. Every single time one of our faculty wins an award, publishes a book with a great press or lands a big grant, I am delighted if I’ve been able to do anything to help support that success. I don’t usually have the chance to interview faculty when we’re hiring, so I make a point of taking all our new hires out for coffee to get to know them. It’s inspiring to learn about their scholarship and their aspirations and to think about how I can help connect them to people or resources to support their success.
What has been the most difficult/least enjoyable or challenging aspect?
It has been a very difficult time to be a leader in higher education, especially during COVID. In the midst of the uncertainty and fear in the summer of 2020, WMU institution enacted an enormous budget cut. Deans were required to reduce staff costs by 25% in a matter of a few weeks. In CAS, that meant laying off 14 staff and reducing another 23 staff from full time to part time. It was absolutely gut-wrenching and terrible; by far the worst thing I’ve ever had to do as a leader. Faculty layoffs were avoided by making a 22% overall budget cut through the reduction in staff, incentivized retirements and reducing operating budgets across the college.
The other really difficult thing about being a leader is the abuse that we are sometimes subjected to – especially as women in leadership. As dean, I am occasionally evaluated by our faculty via anonymous surveys, similar to student course evaluations. I read a lot of student course evaluations as part of tenure and promotion packages, and I’m well aware that women and under-represented minorities are reviewed more harshly than others. I’ve also read student evaluations with inappropriate comments (e.g. about appearance). But I have never seen anything even close to the level of vitriol and explicitly inappropriate comments that have come from faculty. It’s truly shocking. I know from talking to other women that this is common – my experience is not an outlier. It’s notable that I receive these comments even though I have maintained a pretty high level of confidence from the majority of faculty over my long tenure as dean, despite the budget cuts and the many tough decisions I’ve had to make. It is small wonder to me that academic leaders quit and that so few women move into positions of provost and president as they are even more visible and vulnerable to attack.
What advice would you give to other women (or to your younger self) considering a position in academic leadership?
Identify allies and mentors! There are a lot of terrific women and men in academic leadership positions who are eager to help those who are considering moving into these positions. Take advantage of them and of professional development opportunities.
I always tell folks who are thinking about academic leadership that the best (and happiest) leaders I know are those who enjoy doing service. Ultimately, being in academic leadership means stepping away – partially or entirely from teaching and research (both of which I love) and spending your time doing service in support of others. If you derive satisfaction from this, you’ll like being an academic leader. If you don’t, you will likely be frustrated.
What systemic changes do you think would be the most beneficial for more women to have successful academic careers in STEMM?
We’ve got to change culture. We need to find ways to support work-family balance, and to provide resources for family caregiving. We need to call out implicit and unconscious bias and work actively to counter it at every level. We need to actively encourage women to apply for higher level positions and support them when they do. I think we’re doing better at engaging women in STEMM in K12 and even (at least in some disciplines) at the undergrad level, but we’re still disproportionately elevating men into leadership positions and giving them the highest level accolades, awards and attention. This needs to change.
What are some of your plans or goals for the future?
At this point, I am not sure what the future will bring. In 2021-22, I participated in a Michigan ACE - Women’s Network shadow program. I was paired with Rhonda Longworth, provost at Eastern Michigan University. It was a great experience and solidified that the provost position is far more appealing to me than a presidential position. Being a provost encompasses many of the things I’ve enjoyed most about being a dean, especially engagement with faculty, staff and students from across the institution and having the opportunity to help build systems to support outstanding teaching and research across a wide spectrum of disciplines. The pomp and circumstance, and some of the really challenging political issues associated with being a university president these days, are far less appealing. I am also always working to achieve a good balance between my work as an academic leader with my family life - this is a major factor in my thinking about whether or when to seriously consider moving into a new position.
Questions for further thought:
· What are the most and least enjoyable aspects of your own career?
· If you are considering a leadership position, how prepared are you to face potential vitriol as a female leader?
· What are some of the key strengths and abilities needed to lead an intellectually diverse entity such as a CAS or an entire university?
References and notes:
[1] https://wmich.edu/geology/directory/koretsky