Dwayne Magee

Dwayne Magee reflects on his 21 years leading a university in-plant and some of the lessons he has learned.

Too many in-plant leaders see associations as vending machines: pay dues, get benefits. But the real magic happens when you start contributing your experience — and discover just how much more you get in return.

As another fiscal year winds down, many in-plants are facing the reality of rising costs and tighter budgets. Here are some ways your in-plant can grow stronger in FY26 without spending money.

The role of printers in shaping our country is immeasurable. In June I took an educational bus trip focused on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Everywhere we stopped, I saw evidence that the fight for civil rights could not have been possible without printing.

When a young lithographer published an illustration of the Great Fire of New York City in 1835, he had no idea it would lead to the formation of a now-famous partnership whose classic images endure to this day.

This was the day, in 1723, that Benjamin Franklin arrived in Philadelphia, nearly penniless and with no good job prospects. Whatever happened to him, anyway?

When senior administrators reviewed my in-plant and I needed a consultant, the only name other in-plant managers suggested was Ray Chambers. He helped me reframe how I approach my work and made me a better manager.

Just as a construction foreman wants to be sure the building’s base is strong before adding new levels, in-plant managers who attend industry conferences are building upon the foundations laid by those who have gone before them.

Appraising employees’ work is never enjoyable, but you can make it a little easier by clearly defining expectations as well as the process you use for scoring job performance.

Being “all in” in support of his university led to new challenges for Dwayne Magee once the pandemic hit, leaving him with three times the work and one third the staff.