The Best Dang Job in the World: A Leadership Guide for College and University Administrators [Paperback]

In The Best Dang Job in the World, Bill Rezak creates a fictional campus to highlight characteristics, attributes, and behaviors which are key to success in leading an institution of higher learning. The book centers on Rick Nedic, a dean who finds himself the victim of a faculty no-confidence vote. It details his ascension to college president and the challenges he faces on a daily basis. The Best Dang Job in the World applies practices and techniques learned in both the corporate and academic world to a leadership role in the higher education enterprise. It covers effective techniques for identifying, interviewing, hiring, and retaining qualified college and university executives. It also discusses time management, budget preparation and management, job descriptions and performance evaluations, strategic and operational planning and implementation, and relationship building and fundraising. Rezak intermixes humor with crucial lessons to shed light on specific approaches for leading and managing a college or university. This is a must read for anyone aspiring to or currently in academic leadership.

Bill Rezak retired as president of Alfred State College in New York in 2003 after serving in that capacity for ten years. He was previously dean of the School of Technology at Southern Polytechnic and State University in Marietta, Georgia. He is a professional engineer and worked in the design and construction of nuclear and coal-fired electric power generation stations for eighteen years before moving to higher education. Rezak has bachelors and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University and Stevens Institute of Technology, respectively, and a PhD in human resource development from Georgia State University.

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The campus presidency is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. Bill Rezak was a distinguished member of that club. He shares with us his joys, frustrations, and leadership skills that ml£ã