New CLAS Chairs
Mary Ann Eaverly, Classics
Martin Heesacker, Psychology

Lifetime Achievement Award
Psychology professor Franz Epting is recgonized for contributions to theory and counseling

Construction on Campus
Keene-Flint Hall, Anderson Hall, and other projects in the CLAS neighborhood

Poetry: William Logan
English professor's literary criticism nominated for national writing award

Historian Wins Big
Jason Parker dominates on "Jeopardy"

Dean's Musings
Hale and Farewell: 1988-2000

Around the College
-Department News
-Sullivan Named Interim Dean of CLAS
-Randles Steps Down as Statistics Chair
-NEH/DRP Summer Stipends
-Roxanne Barnett Honored for Superior Accomplishment
-Dean's Office Staff

Bookbeat
Recent publications from CLAS faculty

Grants May 2000
Grants June 2000
Grant awards from the Division of Sponsored Research

Back Issues

CLASnotes
is published monthly by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to inform faculty and staff of current research and events.
Dean: Will Harrison
harrison@chem.ufl.edu
Editor: M. Jane Gibson
jgibson@clas.ufl.edu
Contr. Editor: John Elderkin
elderkin@clas.ufl.edu
Graphics: Jane Dominguez
jane@clas.ufl.edu
Copy Editor: Bill Hardwig

CLASnotes
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Florida
2008 Turlington
P.O. Box 117300
Gainesville, FL 32611-7300
(352) 846-2032

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Reflections of a Long-Time Dean
Will Harrison Returns to Classroom

Dean Will Harrison came to UF from the University of Virginia to become dean of CLAS in 1988. As he steps down this month, he offers some personal views on his time in office.

Cn: What caused you to leave UVa to come here?
WWH: Actually, that turned out to be an easy decision. I had been looking at a number of deanships, but when I visited UF, everything just clicked. I loved the place from my first day here. What I saw was the opportunity to build something in a rapidly growing state.

Cn: Did you plan to stay this long as dean?
WWH: Not a chance. I naively expected to have everything done in 5 years. Now it's true that the budget difficulties of the early 1990s threw off all timetables, but in retrospect 10 years would have been a more reasonable target. Universities can be richly counteractive to change.

Cn: What are the greatest accomplishments of CLAS during your term?
WWH: That's a question I'd best defer to others. I am happy about the significant improvement in many academic programs, the success in recovering UF's historic buildings, and the sharp increase in research and private funding.

Cn: Were there things you had hoped to do that didn't get done?
WWH: Oh, yes. I call them, "Great Ideas That Never Made It." Included here are such unrealized projects as language dorms, a CLAS core curriculum, and an electronic CLAS Journal. Either they were bad ideas or I didn't market them well, or both.

Cn: How would you describe your management style?
WWH: My philosophy is to surround myself with the best possible people, then delegate heavily in responsibility and the attendant authority. I have been very fortunate that outstanding faculty have been willing to join the CLAS team, and they have made enormous contributions to the success of this college. And we have all tried to be as user-friendly as possible. Faculty and students deserve no less.

Cn: Did you try to follow some standard management theory?
WWH: I'm afraid I'm not a big fan of textbook management, at least not for academic leadership. My experience is that faculty respond better to low-key informality. I have my own management "text"ñ a very short one--that I call "Harrison's Rules of Commonsense Administration." This is still a work in progress, but it currently contains about 40 rules that I try to follow, not always successfully.

Cn: What happens next in your life?
WWH: Back to become an honest faculty member once more, which is truly a good life. Things are going very well in my research laboratory, and as part of UF's Analytical Chemistry program, ranked No. 6 in the country, I am fortunate to work with outstanding faculty, students, and postdocs.

Cn: Will you be on leave this year?
WWH: Yes, I will try to get caught up a bit and maybe reduce the entropy level of my life a notch or two. However, my projected "to do" list suggests this will never happen.

Cn: What will you miss most about the dean's job?
WWH: Well, the deanship of CLAS is a terrific job, so I will miss many, many things. Too many to start listing them all, but things like recruiting faculty, building new programs, fund raising, etc. A lot can be summed up by saying, I will miss the ability to "make things happen." And overriding all this, it is the people I will remember. So many good memories in this job. No question, it's the people I will miss the most.

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