ABSTRACT
She sits at the dean’s desk on Day One wondering, momentarily, what to do. The desk is familiar, at least from the other side, as she has moved into the role from within her own institution. But in those first moments of stillness she thinks, “Okay, I’m Head of School. Now what do I do?” A few weeks earlier, in a short “handover” meeting with her predecessor, she is given a list of staff leave entitlements (a document she rarely uses during her six-year term) and advised to “stay out of the newspapers”. She is assured that the dean’s assistant, who is continuing in the role, will be able to guide her through the many documents she needs to sign. Beyond that, she cannot formulate any questions about doing the job, despite her background.
