As University officials continued the search for new deans this week, the academic arena on campus shifted with each hire. At most colleges, including N.C. State, deans have a large impact on the school’s academics, including courses taught, classrooms used, faculty and research.

According to Provost Larry Nielsen, each dean has two main roles. The first is that each dean is in charge of a college and must make decisions to benefit it.

“If there is a new degree program it would be endorsed by the dean of that college,” Nielsen said. “They have to figure out funding plans for it, and if there is space to teach each new class in the program.”

Marvin Malecha, the dean of the College of Design, said the most important thing for a dean to do is to put himself in the shoes of his constituents, whether they be students, faculty or alumni.

“My job, first and foremost, is to make sure students are having an excellent education experience,” Malecha said. “You have to interact with the students to know what you need to do.”

The second role of the deans is to collectively serve as University leaders, according to Nielsen. Every two weeks the Council of Deans meets to discuss or endorse issues that impact the University.

“They have to not only think in terms of their respective colleges, but for the University as a whole,” Nielsen said. “They have to see and balance both.”

Nielsen, who was once the dean of the College of Natural Resources, now oversees and hires the deans. He said one of the main things he looks for in making a hire is that the deans follow the “line of authority.” In this case, the line of authority is the promotion from faculty to department head to dean and so on.

“I am looking for people who have been in the line, so they get experience that leads to their job,” Nielsen said. “Experience within their field is the most important thing though, because you have to have the academic qualifications.”

Nielsen pointed out that a lot of leaders can become conservative in their ideas in that they stick with what worked in the past.

“I’m looking for people who aren’t afraid to think differently,” Nielsen said. “We want people who are innovative, creative and willing to take risks.”

Another one of the main duties of a dean, according to Malecha, is the communication of messages between the students and the provost and chancellor.

“If the Provost puts out something that needs to be communicated to the students, it is the dean’s responsibility to get it to the students,” Malecha said. “If there is an issue students have, it must be communicated to the Provost. It’s a definite balancing act.”

Deans may not be as visible to the student body as the Chancellor or an athletics coach, but their roles may effect students more than anyone else’s.

“As a provost I have been more in contact with students than I was as a dean,” Nielsen said. “It is hard to be in regular communication with the students, and that is the biggest downside of the job.”

But Malecha can be found on most days walking around the College of Design’s campus and in and out of the classrooms and studios.

“I make a strong attempt to be visible as much as I can,” Malecha, who also teaches a freshmen overview of design class, said. “It’s really important to walk through the buildings, ask the faculty how they’re doing and just to get a feel of what all is going on.”

Malecha said a typical day can be broken up into thirds. The first part he spends out with alumni and “raising friends and funds.” Secondly, he meets with the University bureaucrats, including the other deans and the foundation board. And third is with the students and faculty of his particular college.

“Problems do arise among students and faculty, because not everyone is perfectly alike,” Malecha said. “People have different personalities, and I try to help them as much as I can.”

But the duty Malecha said he enjoys the most is the way he is given something different to handle every day.

“There is always something different each day and I have surrounded myself with people who are free to agree or disagree and voice their opinions,” he said. “When you have open discussion and ask questions, you’ll get results and you can set about giving assignments.”