Purpose - The purpose of the development of the paper was due to the seemingly endless searching for deans to replace the former dean of three to four years. Design/methodology/approach - The paper was developed around the present relevant secondary data. Findings - The key findings of the paper were that deans were being replaced due to the difference in expectation of the various constituents (e.g. students, faculty, administration, parents) in the performance of the SBA. Research limitations/implications - Limitations of the study were not providing primary data to support the theory based hypotheses of the study. Practical implications - Deans need to recognize that there will be conflicting expectations relative to the performance of the dean and that deans have a very short time to effectuate change in academic organizations. Social implications - Not having such high turnover in dean's positions should provide the stability of management to bring about change need in institutions of higher education. Originality/value - Identification of key mistakes made by deans as well as the mistakes made by faculty undermine the performance of deans.