Peter Rock , dean of mathematical and physical sciences, said he favored going slow in making such a change. One of the reasons that universities last so long is that they're very, very cautious about how they change doing things. That gives them stability. Governments come and go, but universities usually stay. If you make small changes, then you can pull back.
Big changes are traumatic.
While Rock said the title of Lohmann's talk helped persuade him to hear her speak, and that he enjoyed her presentation, he said being a dean hardly seems like a death march. One's supposed to talk about how you can't wait to return to teaching and research. But I love doing the job I'm doing. It's exciting, invigorating. It's great fun.