Few students and faculty members know what actually happens during a day in the life of a dean. There are 12 deans at Penn State's University Park campus and each of them has a different job description. This Collegian reporter had the opportunity last semester to spend a complete business day with Hart Nelsen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

As I walked into the Dean Hart Nelsen's office in 108 Sparks, I was greeted by the dean's secretary, Pat Miller. Dean Nelsen's office has a homey appearance: his large desk, cluttered with papers, looks like he does most of his work there. Behind him stands two large brass lamps. The room is encircled by a comprehensive library shelved with many of his own publications.

Nelsen usually arrives at his office before 8 in the morning and notes the day's agenda. On this particular morning, he reviewed files and supporting material for his daily appointments and met briefly with a staff member.

Aside from being dean, Nelsen is also a University Faculty Senate member. At 9 that morning, we hustled quickly to a senate committee meeting across campus in Kern Building. At the meeting, members of the Senate Committee on Research discussed a report on the University's Office of Physical Plant. The report responds to a number of perceptions and concerns from within the University regarding the services provided by the Office of Physical Plant. The meeting ended at 10:30 and Nelsen returned to his office for an appointment with Lynn Liben, head of the psychology department.

"Psychology is a very visible department nationally," Nelsen said. He noted the need for the department to address its equipment needs. The meeting between Nelsen and Liben was on this subject, including materials needed by its new faculty.

Nelsen, who holds a doctorate in sociology, reviews about two manuscripts a month for journals. He took the brief time before lunch to read a submission, explaining that professors around the country submit entries for publication and journal editors send them to two or three qualified professors for review.

After reading the manuscript, Dean Nelsen will either recommend approval or changes, or recommend the manuscript not be published. The manuscripts can take anywhere from a one half-hour to three or four hours depending on their complexity.

"I enjoy reading them because it keeps me posted on what people are working on currently in my field," Nelsen said. The dean continued to read the journal article manuscript; however, two lengthy telephone calls interrupted his schedule.

Nelsen has responsibility for reviewing dossiers for tenure or promotion within the college. Dossier reviews are required every second, fourth, and sixth year of a faculty member's employment and must be examined by departmental committees, heads, the dean and others. A dean must be qualified to accept this responsibility and he frequently reviews dossiers from other institutions, he said.

Nelsen received a doctorate from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He has been a full professor since 1974, and he had significant administration and professorial career experiences before becoming dean.

I asked him what qualifies him as a dean.

"I've had extensive committee and budget experience. I have a broad perspective of what a university is and I've had good research and teaching experience," Nelson said, adding, "One must be well thought of in his or her profession to be dean."

The dean spent eight years at the Catholic University in America, located in Washington, D.C., where he served on the university-wide tenure and promotion tenure committees. "That," he noted, "took every Friday for three years."

Persistent dedication is only one necessary attribute for deanship, he said.

"The most challenging aspect in being dean is dealing with a limited budget. One must allocate very limited resources. We want to accomplish so many things but are sometimes limited," Nelsen said.

As I interviewed Dean Nelsen, I admired his extensive library. Nelsen has published more than 70 published works, including The Black Church in America and The Black Church in the Sixties. His publications generally involve minority status, political and religion socialization of children, clergy roles, and civil rights or other orientations.

Nelsen grew up in a small, midwestern community where religion was an important topic of daily conversation. High school cliques tended to be organized around basic religious divisions -- Catholics, Scandinavians Lutherans, and other denominations, he said. As an adolescent Nelsen noticed the importance of group membership for the formation of social attitudes and values. This led to his taking undergraduate courses in sociology and eventually to his doctorate in sociology.

"At that point," he said, "I became aware of the real importance of the black church in the black community."

Just as we were getting up to leave for a meeting, his secretary came in to remind him of a few important memos. The dean is constantly interacting with faculty and administrators throughout the day.

Nelsen considers it essential to maintain rapport with his faculty. "I see myself as a colleague. I am a faculty member and that status is an important part of my definition of being a dean," Nelsen said.

The dean also enjoys his contact with Penn State alumni. He often engages in development work with alumni of the College of Liberal Arts. Last semester he spent two days in Chicago meeting with alumni to help raise money for the Campaign for Penn State. The campaign, a four-year effort to raise $300 million, supports academics at Penn State.

"The alumni are very nice people and I thoroughly enjoy them," Nelsen said.

Two years ago there were four associate deans in the College of Liberal Arts, but to save money and create additional faculty positions, the college now has only three. Nelsen and Associate Dean Theodore Kiffer assumed the extra workload.

"We interact constantly and have an excellent working relationship," Kiffer said.

At 12:30 -- following a cold roast beef sandwich and Coke at his desk -- the dean had a meeting with the Liberal Arts faculty senators from University Park and the Commonwealth campuses. Dean Nelsen talked briefly on current activities within the college. After the meeting the dean chatted with Ernst Schurer, head of the German department, about chocolates.

We came back to his office until 1:30 that afternoon, when the dean attended the monthly senate meeting. The dean had to leave the senate meeting at 3:30 to meet with Jeannette Bragger, liberal arts associate dean for undergraduate studies. They discussed in detail a portion of the strategic plan update -- enrollment increases in the language departments and student credit hours per full time faculty member.

The dean's last appointment for the day was confidential in nature, with two department heads meeting with him to discuss a joint-offer for a new faculty member.

The dean's day, however, does not end when he leaves the office.

Nelson has what he calls his "paperwork." It consists of answering mail, reading reports, and the like. Generally, there isn't enough time in the day to do this, so he carries his work in a briefcase to be done at home that evening.