my adviser happens to be the dean and it seems his job focuses on budgets, plans for improvements (direction of the department), and overall being the 'face' of the department for events between businesses and alumni.
Dean? Are you sure you don't mean department chair?
It's not clear from your profile whether you're in grad school or undergrad, but if you're a PhD student and the guy's really a dean seriously consider changing advisors even if he's a "big name"---it would be exceptional for a dean to be on the cutting edge of research, or to be spending as much time on research as you'll need. If you're an undergrad or master's student, no worries.
