People who wish to become, or are currently, an academic dean can utilize the information provided in this study as a guide to understand what the priorities of the position are from people who currently hold the position of dean., In the United States and Canada, deans are usually university professors who serve as the heads of a university's constituent colleges and schools. Deans are common in private preparatory schools, and occasionally found in middle schools and high schools as well., Historically, academic deans have been male, white, and in their mid-50s. Although some shifts have occurred in recent years with more women and people of color being hired into these positions, the deanship remains male and majority dominated., With diminishing state support of higher education and increased operational costs, the need to identify new sources of revenue has increased considerably, and the work of garnering such support has become a primary function of academic deans in most institutional settings., Smaller liberal arts institutions and community colleges, where numbers of faculty are fewer, may have a dean of faculty or academic dean who has jurisdiction over faculty in all disciplines. Deans' roles frequently vary according to academic field, institution type, and institutional context., The academic dean's work primarily centers on serving as the leader of their school (also, in some institutions, referred to as college or division), which involves the oversight of departments led either by department chairs or conveners..