Dissertation Abstract

Today's Allied Health Deans: A National Study of Deans in Academic Health Centers.

Purposes. The study was designed to address several purposes: (1) to establish baseline data on allied health deans, an area not previously researched, (2) to investigate the career patterns of current deans, (3) to analyze relationships between career patterns and selected biographic and demographic variables and (4) to compare the professional profile of allied health deans to that of other types of academic deans.

Methodology. Allied health deans in 57 academic health centers in the United States were surveyed using a 55-item, self-administered questionnaire designed by the author. The instrument, "Today's Allied Health Deans," divided information into three areas: (1) current professional data, (2) background professional information and (3) personal data. A pilot study validated the instrument. The study design was descriptive and comparative. The applicable statistical techniques used for analyses of data were percentages, frequencies and correlation coefficients.

Selected Findings and Conclusions. The results showed that the characteristics of allied health deans did not depart from those of other academic deans. All deans had fairly uniform experiences in their roles as academic officers across the country. An analysis of the career patterns of allied health deans showed that they varied on several dimensions when compared to the traditional career ladder models for other academic deans.

Recommendations. Suggestions for future inquiry included conducting studies to determine the economic feasibility of increasing or decreasing the pool of applicants for allied health deanships. Training workshops were also recommended to orient new deans with the various aspects of "deaning." Both recommendations might result in a better prepared pool of applicants for allied health deanships.

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