Meet the researchers finding fulfilment in leadership and administration | Careers

When Brenton DeBoef took on the role of the graduate programme director for his department many years ago, he realised he enjoyed overseeing graduate student recruitment and other managerial aspects.

That’s when a three-part blueprint for his academic career started to emerge in his mind. ‘It was kind of an unofficial plan,’ says DeBoef, then an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Rhode Island. He decided that the first fifteen years or so would be dedicated to pursuing research, teaching and scholarship. ‘And then I thought there’d be another phase, maybe 10 or 15 years, when I did this leadership thing, where I would try to help others be successful,’ says DeBoef. This would be followed by a more teaching-oriented third phase.

DeBoef’s plan seems to be unfolding smoothly. Now, as the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university, he is squarely in the second phase of his career. Before this, he also helmed the university’s graduate school.

Being an administrator may seem daunting, but the career trajectories of researchers such as DeBoef provide valuable templates for scientists seeking to pursue leadership roles.

Wearing the admin hat

Few researchers consider exploring administration when they begin their academic journeys. But over the course of their careers, many scientists are drawn to leadership roles. Some start out by taking on smaller roles out of curiosity; others take on positions upon their colleagues’ request. As they demonstrate their leadership capabilities, they are rewarded with bigger responsibilities.

Jeffrey Urbach, vice provost for research and professor of physics at Georgetown University, US, became the department chair in 2000. The position typically rotated among faculty. ‘It was just sort of my turn, but also it’s something I wanted to do, and I think my colleagues knew it was something I would be happy to do,’ says Urbach, who has held the position three times.

For Shikha Nangia, professor and department chair of biomedical and chemical engineering at Syracuse University, US, serving as the graduate programme director was a major stepping stone to the chair position. ‘The role there was to manage graduate-level recruitment,’ Nangia notes. So, when she got the opportunity to lead the whole department, Nangia was ready. ‘I had closely watched my colleague as a chair. We used to have a lot of conversations, so I feel I had the grooming to take that on,’ she says.

Department chairs are responsible for many crucial tasks, including hiring new faculty, allocating teaching responsibilities, recruiting graduate students and updating the curriculum – all while managing the departmental budget and bills. They also serve as an important conduit between faculty and the dean.

With broader leadership roles, such as deans and provosts, the scope of responsibilities widens. ‘I run everything from the theatre department to French, to social work, all the way to chemistry,’ says DeBoef. He is tasked with streamlining processes that ensure the well-being of all faculty members and students in the college – whether that’s monitoring faculty promotion timelines, setting faculty hiring priorities or initiating curriculum upgrades. Similarly, in his role as vice provost for research, Urbach supports various offices that oversee administrative aspects of research, including grants and compliance, at Georgetown University.

The multiplicity of these roles makes them stimulating for researchers, but it can take some adjustments in the beginning. ‘One of the things that many new heads [of departments] get surprised by is just the extreme variety of human behaviour,’ says Adam Davis, a professor and head of the department of crop sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US. ‘As head, you’re not just dealing with the visionary aspects of the role, you’re dealing with the nuts and bolts. And sometimes people don’t get along, or they do something they shouldn’t have done.’

Urbach says the hardest part of the job is making decisions that impact his colleagues. Internal grants are competitive, and many brilliant proposals are rejected. ‘I’m the one who has to say [no], and has to explain the reasoning, so that part’s never fun,’ says Urbach.

Managing research ambitions

While administrators have reduced teaching loads, the all-consuming nature of some roles can significantly diminish their capacity to engage in wet-lab research. Urbach continued to run his research programme while he was department chair. However, as vice provost for research, he no longer has his own lab. He has found other ways to remain active in research, including through the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology

at Georgetown University, which he directed in its initial years. ‘Fortunately, in setting up the institute, we now have a strong cohort of people with whom I collaborate closely […] which allows me to stay research active without having the responsibility of maintaining a group all by myself – that would be very hard to do,’ he says.

For Srinivas Palanki, chairperson and professor in the department of chemical and biomedical engineering at West Virginia University, US, research is a non-negotiable. ‘What I saw early on was, if you are an administrator, but you don’t have your own research, you can’t make people do what you yourself are not doing: writing proposals and getting funding,’ he says. The seasoned administrator, who has also been a dean of engineering and associate provost for research at another institution, says maintaining a research programme has another big benefit: once someone’s administrative tenure ends, they can ease back into research seamlessly.

I couldn’t give as much time to my graduate students as I wanted to

Adam Davis

That has been the case for David Kotz, a computer scientist at Dartmouth College, US. Despite having donned multiple leadership positions throughout his career, including provost and associate dean for the sciences, Kotz never gave up his research. ‘I always had PhD students, postdocs and research grants. I was writing new grant proposals while I was in these administrative positions,’ says Kotz, who is currently on a sabbatical at Imperial College, UK.

Moreover, during his term as associate dean, Kotz forged fruitful connections with researchers outside computer science, including those in the medical and engineering schools. These relationships helped him establish research collaborations for a project on the health applications of computer technology.

But some researchers have found it more prudent to step away from their labs. ‘I couldn’t give as much time to my graduate students as I wanted to,’ says Davis. He closed his lab in 2022 – four years after stepping into the head of the department role – because he didn’t want his research interests to compete with his administrative responsibilities. Now, he is only involved in an advisory role in some research projects, but plans to return to research at some point.

DeBoef also wound up his lab last year as he faced a similar dilemma – not enough time for PhD students. ‘That was hard,’ he says. ‘Eventually, as you step into these roles, you do kind of anticipate that your research will taper off, if not go away.’ DeBoef still serves on PhD-related committees and occasionally collaborates on papers.

Scripting others’ success

What motivates scientific leaders to persevere in the face of the unrelenting demands of their jobs is the desire to solve important institutional issues and help people in the academic ecosystem. ‘The reason why I wanted to do this job and why it’s satisfying is finding ways to support research across the university,’ says Urbach. Indeed, Davis notes that a big part of his role is to ensure operational excellence across department units. ‘So purchasing, travel, facilities, HR, they’re all these kinds of unglamorous things, but if they don’t work, it’s very hard to get science done,’ he notes.

Moreover, college- or university-wide leaders are deeply involved in shaping institutional policies—a complex process that entails participation of many administrative leaders and faculty. For example, DeBoef has been championing a student-focused policy that addresses sexual harassment on campus.

As a department chair, Nangia appreciates the opportunity to mentor students and faculty directly. Chairs’ support is particularly vital for junior faculty. ‘You get to work with them closely, make sure that they’re getting the resources they need if they are struggling with something,’ says Nangia.

You need to empower your subordinates to lead in their own ways

Mary Dawson

And that’s why, Nangia points out, it’s important for leaders to be accessible. ‘If a person becomes a chair and is either always busy, has their door closed, or is hard to talk to, they will not be able to do their job,’ she says. ‘Even if they don’t come to you, you go to them and say, “How are you doing?’ What can I do for you? I’ve not seen you in a few days.”’

Building a team of trustworthy deputies and staff is crucial for any institutional leader to succeed in their mission. ‘My associate deans are really good; I know I can lean on them,’ says interim dean Deboef. Mary Dawson, associate provost and dean of health programmes at Kingsborough Community College, US, emphasises leading with grace. ‘You are the fleet admiral. Your different leaders are the captains of their own ships,’ says Dawson. ‘You need to not over-lead. You need to empower your subordinates to lead in their own ways.’

While institutions are now investing in formal training and onboarding for these roles, every leader has to write their own playbook of how to succeed in this track. Peer groups are instrumental in helping individuals navigate the job. Davis meets his fellow department heads in the college for lunch every two weeks. ‘We understand each other in ways that just about nobody else can,’ he says. ‘We offer advice. All of us have been through similar things, so we share policies and procedures we’ve written. We share stories, we listen, and help people think through things, and whatever we say in that room stays in that room.’

Frustrated professors sometimes blame administrators for problems such as lack of funding or delays in supplies, and crossing over to the other side provides a unique window into how an institution is run. ‘It’s easy to say, “well, they don’t let us do this”. You blame “they”. And then suddenly you realise when you’re the [interim] dean, “Oh, I’m they”,’ reflects DeBoef.

And that’s why Kotz encourages faculty to consider giving administration a try – even if it’s for a short term: ‘[It] will make faculty a better faculty member, and also allow them to be a better participant in shared governance, which is so important to many universities.’