Chairing an Academic Department

Chairing an Academic Department
Author: Walter H. Gmelch
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Incorporated
Total Pages: 168
Release: 1995-08-25
Genre: Education
ISBN:

You have just been selected to chair your department. Now a thousand questions and challenges await you. How do you recruit new, qualified faculty? How do you balance your time between managing a department and pursuing your own academic research? How do you allocate department resources? How do you prepare the budget? The answer to these and other vital questions confronting chairs of academic departments are clearly answered in this practical volume. Authors Walter Gmelch and Val Miskin describe all the basic tools necessary to being an effective academic chair. From recruiting and developing strong faculty to juggling the dual role of manager and scholar, this book covers every aspect of chairing an academic department.

How to Lead Academic Departments Successfully

How to Lead Academic Departments Successfully
Author: Lindgreen, Adam
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2021-12-07
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1789907152

It is an old cliché that leading and managing academics is like herding cats. This book challenges this myth and presents a way to deal with the many challenges of academic leadership, from managing departments, research groups and teams to managing tensions between research and teaching. The book is a practical and stimulating guide to different pathways to successful academic leadership, both in personal and organizational terms.

Academic Leadership

Academic Leadership
Author: Deryl R. Leaming
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2007
Genre: Education
ISBN:

As the responsibilities entailed in being a department chairperson are ever evolving, those who occupy the position must continually adapt and build upon their skills in order to meet new challenges and expectations. In the first edition of Academic Leadership, Deryl R. Leaming helped thousands of chairpersons navigate changes in higher education and effectively lead their departments. While maintaining its focus on practical application, this new edition has been significantly revised and expanded to address new aspects of the role of department chairs. Now organized into six parts, the second edition contains best practices and ideas from some of today's leading scholars. It also incorporates information on emerging challenges and expectations for department chairpersons, including Developing a departmental vision Working with constituents Retaining students Conflict management Mentoring faculty Post-tenure review Written to assist chairpersons in carrying out their duties, each concise chapter offers advice and practical suggestions for aspiring, new, and experienced chairpersons. Readers are provided with the expectations of the chair role as well as examples for handling specific tasks. In addition, this book encourages chairpersons to analyze their departments in order to effect improvement and develop their own approaches to solving problems. Featuring useful checklists, tables, and sample forms, this book also provides practical tools on the key areas of chair work—departmental management; interacting with faculty, students, and upper administration; financial matters; legal issues; assessment and evaluation. This invaluable resource will help guide chairpersons through the many responsibilities of their position.

Leading Academic Change

Leading Academic Change
Author: Ann F. Lucas
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2000-03-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

"To ensure its continued validity, higher education needs to change, something it cannot do without the participation of department chairs. In this book, Ann Lucas has assembled some of the most thoughtful people in higher education to provide the 'line leaders' of higher education with the essential knowledge they need to bring those changes about." --Margaret A. Miller, president, American Association for Higher Education "Department chairs are typically amateurs, entering upon their position for a limited time with no formal training to prepare them for the many roles and responsibilities that the job requires. Both new chairs and more experienced ones will find in Leading Academic Change help in dealing with problems they are facing as well as inspiration and insights to go beyond minimum expectations and provide leadership for the future." --W.J. McKeachie, professor of psychology, University of Michigan "With practical advice and a platform of sound social science, Lucas offers a promising paradigm for chairs to move their departments from a federation of islands to a decision-making team." --Carla B. Howery, deputy executive officer, American Sociological Association For the 80,000 department chairs working on campuses across the nation, this visionary yet practical book shows how to manage academic change at the department level. It provides useful ideas and strategies on handling resistance to change, transforming departments into productive learning communities, and improving educational quality for students. In twelve incisive chapters, top academic scholars, authors, and consultants address topics and trAnds as diverse as service learning, technological change, curriculum renewal, faculty reward systems, and post-tenure review. They offer effective models to help department chairs and administrators work through the change process, including recommAndations based on real-world experiences. They also integrate the latest research with examples of best practices into a readable, accessible format. Whether you are a department chair, administrator, or a faculty member aspiring to improve your department, Leading Academic Change is the expert's guide to mobilizing faculty energy towards academic success.

Chairing the Academic Department

Chairing the Academic Department
Author: Allan Tucker
Publisher: Greenwood
Total Pages: 584
Release: 1993
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Third edition of a handbook for the academic administrator promoted from the faculty ranks with little administrative skill or know-how. Provides an depth examination of the typical duties and responsibilities of a department chair that covers an awful lot of ground: from curriculum management to co

Time Management for Department Chairs

Time Management for Department Chairs
Author: Christian K. Hansen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2011-07-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0470769017

"Department chairs who have asked themselves the question 'Who knows where the time goes' should ask Christian Hansen for the answer. His book, Time Management for Department Chairs, will help chairs maximize the investment of their most important resources—their time, focus, and energy."—Don Chu, author, The Department Chair Primer "Department chairs take note: Hansen's Time Management for Department Chairs can change your life in just three hours. Written by a seasoned academic chair, the author offers practical ideas and strategic advice about how to increase your day-to-day effectiveness (and sanity) by using proven approaches to managing expectations, organizing tasks, running meetings, monitoring communication, controlling calendars, avoiding interruptions, containing crises, and everything else in between. If you want to learn how to strike a better work-life balance, this book should be at the top of your reading list!"—Christine Licata, senior associate provost, Rochester Institute of Technology "It's about time—the resource department chairs have the least of and what faculty want the most! Christian Hansen's book is filled with insights, techniques, and artful strategies to help chairs maximize their time while working effectively with faculty and balancing their personal and professional lives. This book is a life saver!"—Walter Gmelch, dean, University of San Francisco

The Department Chair Primer

The Department Chair Primer
Author: Don Chu
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2006
Genre: Education
ISBN:

What do chairs need to know from their very first day on the job? Research has shown that most chairs receive little or no training to prepare them for the demands of their new roles. The Department Chair Primer provides the practical information that chairs need to do their jobs well. Many of the book's ideas come from practicing chairs and are proven strategies for dealing with a variety of issues. Each chapter details a particular problem chairs face, includes a brief introduction to the topic, provides tips on how to deal with the situation, and concludes with study questions. Its concise format is ideal for busy chairs who need a brief but informative resource they can turn to for solutions to particular problems. The book can also serve as the basis for group discussions on campus.

The Department Chair Primer

The Department Chair Primer
Author: Don Chu
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2012-02-07
Genre: Education
ISBN: 111807744X

If higher education is to fulfill its vital social mission, new department leaders must be prepared for their positions and get up to speed on the basics quickly, educating themselves about the role and continuing to learn on the job. In this second edition of his classic resource, Don Chu outlines the proven ideas and strategies new department chairs need in order to do their jobs well. Thoroughly revised and updated, The Department Chair Primer contains information that addresses the current pressures and challenges in higher education and offers practical suggestions for responding to them. Filled with illustrative examples, the book gets straight to the heart of challenges and issues. Each chapter details a particular problem, includes a brief introduction to the topic, and provides tips on how to deal with the situation. Covering a wealth of topics, The Department Chair Primer Explores the chair's role as department leader Offers suggestions for handling stress and conflict Includes information on budgeting, resource management, and development Contains strategies for professional development, people management, and working with challenging personnel Presents ideas for handling department communications, student development, and strategic positioning Written in a concise and accessible manner, The Department Chair Primer is an ideal resource for the busy new department chair.

Chairing Academic Departments

Chairing Academic Departments
Author: N. Doug Lees
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2006
Genre: Education
ISBN:

What role does the position of department chair occupy in higher education today? Once characterized as largely a management function, the 21st-century department chair is now facing a host of emerging challenges that require additional skills and fresh approaches to fulfilling the role. In Chairing Academic Departments, the author offers experience-based suggestions for new, existing, and potential chairs as they face a higher education enterprise that is undergoing significant change. While acknowledging that many traditional responsibilities and expectations will remain unaltered, the author also identifies several dynamic functions—from entrepreneurial work and fundraising, faculty evaluation and motivation, student recruitment and retention, problem solving, and interpersonal interactions such as advising, meditating, and mentoring. The author navigates the changes arising in the role of department chair by offering valuable insight in the following areas: Characteristics of effective department chairs How to work with, and advocate for, internal constituents Managing and disseminating information Recruiting, retaining, and evaluating faculty Fiscal responsibility and strategic planning Benefits of serving as department chair Planning to exit the chair position While the position of department chair will continue to evolve, Chairing Academic Departments equips readers with the situational understanding and practical advice they need to meet the demands of tomorrow.