{"id":1152,"date":"2020-01-09T13:19:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T13:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/?p=1152"},"modified":"2020-01-09T13:38:25","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T13:38:25","slug":"demystifying-leadership-deputy-dean-of-undergraduate-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/2020\/01\/09\/demystifying-leadership-deputy-dean-of-undergraduate-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Demystifying Leadership: Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies (Ruth Valentine)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our previous student intern, Georgia Spencer, interviewed Dr Ruth Valentine<\/a> as part of our Demystifying Leadership blog series to learn all about what the role of Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies entails<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your main responsibilities in your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\nI\u2019m the Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies, meaning I support the Dean of Undergraduate Studies in shaping, developing, and enhancing the Undergraduate programme in FMS. \n\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The most important part of\nmy job is quality assurance, meaning I must ensure the programmes that we\ndeliver are of the standard that they should be. A large part of my role is\nalso strategic; developing new programmes, making decisions, and leading\nprojects, so I often need to approach tasks with a business head. I also work\nwith the learning and teaching staff to ensure a culture in which they feel\nfully supported and recognised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Deputy Dean position is my second role, and has been somewhat of an add on to my other job within the School of Dental Science. There, my research is in nutrient gene interactions, with a specific focus on zinc and fluoride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does an average day look like for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019m sure many others in\nroles such as these have said, there just isn\u2019t an average day. As I\nessentially have two roles, my days are a mix of both, which has been\ndifficult. I try to do two days a week in the Faculty Office, but I\u2019m often\njuggling my commitments in each area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since stepping into the role, I\u2019ve dropped some of my research, and officially I now just do teaching and scholarships, I\u2019ve found that my responsibilities as Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies fit better with teaching than research. However, I do still feel like I do research, as my role is often like market research; investigating how to develop a great program through methods such as student surveys and reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you enjoy most\nabout your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love this role as it\nallows me to have influence at a University level, not just in Dentistry. I\u2019m\nvery passionate about widening participation and inspiring the next generation,\nand as Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies, I have been able to push for this\nacross the whole Faculty. For example, considering how take home exams will\nwork for those without internet access at home, and how the University can help\nto fund trips. I feel very proud of this and our widening participation\nnumbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also like that I\u2019m able to check everything and be very thorough. I can look across the whole Faculty and see how certain areas can be improved. I can make sure I\u2019m questioning everything, and asking the right questions, such as why we\u2019re assessing students in a certain way, or if they like it. I find this really interesting, as I can be inquisitive about everything. The job also gives me a real sense of satisfaction when new programmes I\u2019ve helped design are rolled out to students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you feel you get\nout of your role? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, I feel like it\ngives me a platform to fight for the students and ensure that they\u2019re being\nprioritised. I love that we can support them through schemes such as the Intu Scheme,\nfor students who aren\u2019t quite ready. This means we never have to compromise the\nquality of our degree programmes, and can be proud that they\u2019re really good,\nbut we can still give extra support to the students who need it to make sure\neverything is still fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think is your\nbiggest achievement in your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the long term, I feel\nthat championing widening participation and helping to eradicate the elitist\nattitude that has existed in Universities historically has been my biggest\nachievement, simply because I feel so strongly that this is very important. My\nrole has given me a bigger arena to make a difference, which is such a special\nposition to be in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve also loved introducing a new program, Dietetics, which starts in 2020. I feel that I got it through the Faculty and got it to the place where the DPD can create a fantastic course. It will be in the new building, with new kitchens and sensory booths, which is just great. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What made you want to\napply for the role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I applied, I was doing\nan Associate Postgraduate Taught role and really wanted to learn more about\nUndergraduate, as well as expanding my influence to create change. Really, I\njust saw this role as a progression from my Postgraduate Taught role. As Deputy\nUndergraduate Dean, I still look after the quality assurance of Postgraduate\nTaught, so I continue have elements of my old job incorporated into this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I applied, I chatted\ninformally with the Dean of Undergraduate Studies about the role and how it\nwould impact my career development, which gave me a clearer view of whether the\nposition was right for me. I was also helped to apply by my close colleagues.\nThey encouraged me, supported me, and gave me the confidence to put my name\nforward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you had any prior\nleadership roles or training opportunities that helped prepare you for this\nrole?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did the Leadership\nFoundation Programme for the Directors of Excellence in Learning and Teaching,\nwhere I found out a lot more about leadership. I was then put forward for the\nAcademic Leaders Programme by the Faculty, which was a programme run in\ncooperation between Durham and Newcastle. I found this programme really helpful;\nespecially elements such as the 360 feedback, and the small leadership sessions\non coaching, which was a really useful technique that I\u2019ve used since. I also\nwas able to make valuable links with people in other Faculties and at Durham,\nincluding more senior people who were able to advise me. I also had mentorship\nfrom NU Women when I first took on my prior role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my interview for my previous\nrole, I had to do a five-minute presentation about my vision for the role. No\nprompts. No PowerPoint. But I\u2019d say this was a great learning experience, as it\nhelped to show me that I can speak up and champion causes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What have you learnt\nsince starting your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think a key thing its\ntaught me is that I\u2019m more of a strategy person and I don\u2019t want to manage\npeople so much. This has helped to confirm for me that I\u2019m in the right role\nand on the right path. I\u2019ve also reduced my research, which I never would\u2019ve\nseen myself doing three or four years ago. This has really helped shape the\ndirection of my career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My position has also given\nme a lot of insight into the wider University as a whole. I never realised when\nI applied that I\u2019d be involved with Kings Gate, for example. It\u2019s allowed me to\nbranch out and make a difference both across other Faculties, as well as\nexternally at a national level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What have you found more\nchallenging in your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\nI\u2019ve found time management difficult, because I\u2019ve tried to do it all. But I\u2019ve learnt from this that you simply can\u2019t. Something has to give; you can\u2019t do it all. But I feel like I\u2019ve got the balance right now. I\u2019ve accepted my own capabilities and I let go of my previous admissions responsibilities, which has given me more time. I\u2019ve gained more confidence in saying no and have learnt to delegate.\n\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I initially dreaded working\non appeals. But I\u2019ve learnt that I\u2019m not that bad at them, and I\u2019m proud that\nI\u2019ve shown others and myself that I can do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you balance the\nrole with your other commitments?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With two small children, it\u2019s\nbeen important to have a really good attitude towards work-life balance. Even\nthough no academic role is 9-5, really good time management during the day, as\nwell as delegating to others, has helped give me my evenings with my family.\nI\u2019m also very strict on not checking emails during holidays and there\u2019s very\nlittle travel involved in my role, other than the occasional conference in\nLondon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My line manager has also been very aware and very understanding of my family commitments. For example, with the University Education Committee which starts at 8am, she\u2019s very understanding if I\u2019m not able to get there for it. Sometimes, you just have to decide you\u2019re spending time with your family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to my family, my husband is very supportive, and we share everything completely. I\u2019d like to be a good role model to my daughter by being successful in my career while balancing it with my outside commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to Ruth Valentine for taking the time to speak to us about her role! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the roles and responsibilities involved in being Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies (and a special thank you to Georgia for giving us such a wonderful series<\/a><\/em>!<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our previous student intern, Georgia Spencer, interviewed Dr Ruth Valentine as part of our Demystifying Leadership blog series to learn all about what the role of Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies entails. What are your main responsibilities in your role? I\u2019m the Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies, meaning I support the Dean of Undergraduate Studies … Continue reading Demystifying Leadership: Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies (Ruth Valentine)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8306,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,51],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-1152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-careers","category-social-mobility","tag-demystifying-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8306"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1152"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1164,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1152\/revisions\/1164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/fmsdiversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}