KAIST Expands Academic Dean Powers

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will become the first university in Korea to adopt the “department oriented system,” a system that grants the dean of a department the plenary authority of personnel and budget executions.

According to the “Scheme on the Faculty Staff Administration” drafted by KAIST on September 13, the authority on appointment and dismissal of professors formerly given to the president or the dean of the university will be shifted to the deans of departments.

In addition, authority over general promotion, shifts in the salary class following long service terms, and job dispatches in and out of the country of the professors in the dean’s department are all passed on to him or her.

This measure places the deans of departments in the same position as that of a CEO of an independent corporation. Each dean has to hand in a management plan by November, and the university allocates the budgets based on the plans before it grants the deans authority to use them.

Chairman Seo Nam-pyo, during his 10 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the dean of the School of Engineering, improved this former regular engineering school to become the top ranking school where the bio and information technologies are integrated.

“In order for a university to improve, the authority should be given to not those in high positions but those who have more access to information,” says Chairman Seo. “The era of the gross national income at $40,000 pursued by the government depends on investment into brains, and for this purpose we have to give birth to a globally acknowledged university.”

KAIST extended the term of office for department deans from the current two years to five years, which is a year longer that that of the president, and strengthened the selection procedures.

The president will have the Dean Assignment Committee consisting of the professors in the department recommend two professors and make the final selection after face-to-face interviews. Prior to this, Chairman Seo decided to have the assignment committee should make the recommendations by discussions, not votes, saying that voting can lessen the sense of responsibility.

Throughout these procedures, 11 out of the existing 22 department deans were replaced. Lee Gwang-hyeong, director of academic affairs, says, “Some of the department deans resigned voluntarily from lack of confidence, and others say that they feel very burdened with heavy responsibility after being inaugurated as the deans.”

Until now, a dean of a department was no different than a clerical officer who passes on the policies of the university. Usually professors took the position in turn or the youngest professor was given the position as practice.

mhjee@donga.com