According to section 14 of the Trinity Junior College Act (1969), ""the President and Dean of the College shall be appointed by the general conference of the Evangelical Free Church upon the recommendation of the Board of Governors of the College."" Originally, the Academic Dean was the chief academic officer of the school, reporting directly to the President. The roles of Dean and Vice President were essentially one and the same.
The first Dean served as Registrar (see fonds 37) and Dean of Education from 1962 to 1971. In 1971, the position title became ""Dean of the College."" In 1978 it was revised to ""Dean of Academic Affairs,"" and soon after that - in 1979 - to ""Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs.""
Ken Davis split the roles of Vice President and Dean in 1990.

Department Heads:
Those who have served in this position - and its precursors - include: Enoch E. Mattson (1962-1971), Leland Asa (1971-1975), Deane Downey (Acting Academic Dean, 1976-1977), Craig Seaton (Dean of Academic Affairs,1978-1979; Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, 1979-1980), Ken Davis (Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, 1981-1990) with Deane Downey serving as Dean. (See fonds-level description for Fonds 03 for more information.)
Deane Downey, hired as Professor of English in 1973, later served in the following capacities: Assistant Academic Dean, 1983-1988; Associate Academic Dean, 1988-1998; Dean of Academic Administration, 1998-2004.

Position Description:
According to an undated position description (Box 1, File 14), the Associate Academic Dean reported directly to the Dean, and was responsible for the following:
* serving as Acting Dean in the Dean's absence
* providing oversight of the practical operations of the regular Academic Undergraduate Program
* committee involvement (Faculty Affairs, Admissions and Probation, Tenure and Promotions, Academic Council)
* faculty professional development and teaching
* supervision of divisional reviews

Additional Notes:
When Deane Downey was serving as Associate Dean, the four faculty heads were considered Assistant Deans. They became full Deans in 1998, when Downey took on the role of Dean of Academic Administration. Harro Van Brummelen became the Undergraduate Dean around that time.
A seventh Dean - the Dean of Graduate Studies, was added in 1990, with Ken Davis initially taking on that position. (See Fonds 21 for more information.)
As of 2000, the office of the Academic Vice President (Later the Provost) was often still referred to as the Dean's Office. It included the Vice President (Dennis Jameson) and the two administrative Deans. Dr. Jameson, along with all other Vice Presidents, sat on the President's Cabinet, formerly called the Administrative Committee.
In terms of roles, the Vice President was responsible for general oversight, long-range planning, and policy formation, while the Deans were more ""hands-on"" and dealt with such issues as student appeals, budgets, and syllabi approval. There has always been a degree of overlap between the roles.
The Deans reported to the Vice President, Academic.
Source: These notes were taken during a telephone conversation with Deane Downey September 21, 2000.