Very good, lengthy article by Jack Stripling in Inside Higher Ed about the changing roles of deans. One of his sources says, “'A dean really more and more becomes like a mini-president -- the best ones, I should say.'" He examines the changing roles and brings perspective on the positive and potentially negative effects of the change, which appears to be unstoppable.

This is deanship 2.0, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Increasingly complex and big-budget colleges, a crushing economy, and a skeptical public questioning the very purpose of higher education have changed the landscape for a middle management position that now resembles some earlier incarnation of the presidency itself. While the deanship was always a position of leadership in academe, today’s deans say they are administrators in the truest sense, called upon to engage in more long-term strategic thinking within the wider contexts of universities that are often struggling financially. At many institutions, deans are also forced to fend more for themselves by courting donors, bolstering research and creating entrepreneurial partnerships with industry.