Sessions

Department and division chairs occupy a pivotal role in the administrative structure of a college or university. The job often has been described as “leading from the middle.” How does the chair learn to lead? What are the potential challenges in the role of leader? How can the chair influence faculty colleagues within and beyond […]

Department and division chairs occupy a pivotal role in the administrative structure of a college or university. The job often has been described as “leading from the middle.” How does the chair learn to lead? What are the potential challenges in the role of leader? How can the chair influence faculty colleagues within and beyond […]

Good data can inform decisions about revisions to existing academic programs, help determine new curricular directions, and suggest strategies for attracting students to the major. How can departmental or divisional level data—including data from learning-outcomes assessments, program reviews, campus satisfaction surveys, enrollment trends, and national surveys such as the National Survey of Student Engagement—be used […]

The department or division operating budget is often viewed as a simple set of line-item allocations. Chairs will learn what a budget is (and isn’t), the different types of budgets, how their unit budgets fit into the larger institutional picture, effective practices for budget management, how to support colleague chairs in the budget process, and […]

Department and division chairs can prevent many issues from mushrooming into major problems through early intervention. Sometimes chairs delay difficult conversations with colleagues because they lack expertise to encourage change or to deliver bad news tactfully. How can the department or division chair understand better why a faculty member is less effective than expected? What […]

An attorney will lead a discussion of the chair’s role in faculty performance evaluation for reappointment, tenure, and promotion. Topics for discussion include the importance of adhering to effective procedures and institutional policies to ensure equity-minded evaluation when documenting professional performance, the role of student evaluations of instruction, peer review of teaching, the evaluation of […]