THE IDEAL FUNCTIONS OF THE ACADEMIC DEAN AS PERCEIVED BY EXPERIENCED DEANS IN SELECTED COLLEGES ACCREDITED BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF BIBLE COLLEGES (ROLE, VICE-PRESIDENT

The Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyze and describe the deanship in the Bible college, specifically in member institutions of the American Association of Bible Colleges (AABC).;The main emphasis was to determine, by the Delphi technique, what the ideal function of the dean should be. Answers to the following specific questions were sought: (1) Who are the deans in AABC colleges? Key descriptive information such as education, professional experience, career pattern and tenure as dean was derived from a questionnaire separate from the Delphi questionnaire; (2) What is the ideal role function for the deans of AABC colleges? The Delphi questionnaire provided this; (3) What are the distinctive characteristics of AABC colleges that may explain the reasons for specific functions of these deans?;The Findings. The subjects of this study were 25 academic deans recommended by the professional staff of AABC as experienced deans. The colleges they represented were distributed across a range of institutional size from under 200 to 1500 enrollment. The general questionnaire revealed deans generally well educated with 80% holding a doctorate, highly experienced with 8.76 average years of deaning and 9.74 average years of teaching, and with 72% having had some other previous administration experience. The study revealed the deans had a distinctively religious character both in their education and experience. Ninety-six percent had attended a religious college or university for at least part of their education. Eighty-eight percent were ordained ministers.;The three-round Delphi series identified seven role functions that these deans agreed were ideally important for deans to perform. These seven functions listed in the order of highest consensus voted were: (1) Lead in faculty personnel decisions. (2) Promote faculty morale and team spirit. (3) Provide for faculty development. (4) Prepare and supervise budget. (5) Conduct long and short-range planning. (6) Direct academic programs. (7) Communicate spiritual values and philosophical ideals.;Conclusions. The size of the institution does not significantly vary the role of the Bible college dean. The role functions identified were similar to those of other deans' with the exception of communicating spiritual and philosophical values. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).