The Department Chair Primer E-Book

Don Chu

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: J-B Anker Resources for Department Chairs
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 172

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

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.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Jossey-Bass Resources for Department Chairs

Title Page

Copyright

Preface to the New Edition

What's New in This Edition

Dedication

Part One: What New Chairs Need to Know

Chapter One: Why Department Chairs Are Important

Case Study: A Successful Department Chair

A Formula for Success

Chapter Two: The Chair's Role as Department Leader

The Catalyst Between Ideas and Action

Setting the Department Agenda

Faculty as a Department Resource

Curriculum and Coursework

Tenure and Promotion

Hiring

Pursuing a Leadership Role

Chapter Three: The Chair's Ecosystem

Operating in an Open System

The Chair as Chief Boundary Spanner

What Chairs Need to Know About Faculty

What Chairs Need to Know About Deans

Chapter Four: Handling Stress and Conflict

Handling the Bureaucratic Grind and Housekeeping Tasks

Role Stress and Role Conflict

Chapter Five: What Kind of Chair Will You Be?

Constant Observation

The Long View

What Kind of Chair Can You Be?

Part Two: Getting Started: How New Chairs Can Make a Difference

Chapter Six: Before You Begin

Understanding the Expectations

Essential Reading Before Taking Office

Chapter Seven: Planning

Creating a Vision for the Future

Writing a Vision Statement

Strategic Planning

Reaching for Consensus

Chapter Eight: Budget, Resource Management, and Development

Income and Expenses

Alumni Resources

Personnel Resources

New Resource Streams

Special Events, Annual Conferences, and Workshops

Faculty Incentives

Miscellaneous Cost-Cutting Measures

Making Your Budget Public

Chapter Nine: Curriculum, Scheduling, and Instruction

Curriculum

Scheduling

Instruction

Chapter Ten: Professional Development, Personnel Management, and Handling Challenging Personnel

Professional Development

Personnel Management

Challenging Personnel

Chapter Eleven: Departmental Communication

Effective Communication

Reaching Out

Chapter Tweleve: Student Development

A Proactive Approach

Advising

Chapter Thirteen: Strategic Positioning

Positioning Your Department Politically

Staying Close to Decision Making and Decision Makers

Chapter Fourteen: Understanding Your Institution and Your Role as Department Chair

Resources

References

The Author

Jossey-Bass Department Chair Leadership Institute Online Seminar Series

Jossey-Bass Resources for Department Chairs

Books

Jeffrey L. Buller, Academic Leadership Day by Day: Small Steps That Lead to Great Success

Jeffrey L. Buller, The Essential Department Chair: A Comprehensive Desk Reference, Second Edition

Don Chu, The Department Chair Primer: What Chairs Need to Know and Do to Make a Difference, Second Edition

Robert E. Cipriano, Facilitating a Collegial Department in Higher Education: Strategies for Success

Christian K. Hansen, Time Management for Department Chairs

Mary Lou Higgerson, Communication Skills for Department Chairs

Mary Lou Higgerson and Teddi A. Joyce, Effective Leadership Communication: A Guide for Department Chairs and Deans for Managing Difficult Situations and People

Deryl Leaming, Academic Leadership: A Practical Guide to Chairing the Department, Second Edition

Deryl Leaming, Managing People: A Guide for Department Chairs and Deans

N. Douglas Lees, Chairing Academic Departments: Traditional and Emerging Expectations

Darla J. Twale and Barbara M. De Luca, Faculty Incivility: The Rise of the Academic Bully Culture and What to Do About It

Jon Wergin, Departments That Work: Building and Sustaining Cultures of Excellence in Academic Programs

Daniel W. Wheeler et al., The Department Chair's Handbook, Second Edition

Daniel W. Wheeler, Servant Leadership for Higher Education: Principles and Practices

Journal

The Department Chair

Online Resources

Visit www.departmentchairs.org for information on online seminars, articles, book excerpts, and other resources tailored especially for department chairs.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chu, Donald. date.

The department chair primer : what chairs need to know and do to make a difference / Don Chu.—2nd ed.

p. cm.—(Jossey-Bass resources for department chairs)

Includes references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-07744-3 (pbk.); 978-1-118-17343-5 (ebk); 978-1-118-17344-2 (ebk); 978-1-118-17345-9 (ebk)

1. College department heads. 2. Universities and colleges—Departments. I. Title.

LB2341.C543 2012

378.1'11—dc23

23 2011038827

Preface to the New Edition

This is a book for academic leaders who are almost certainly too busy to read it—new department chairs. Chairs tell researchers that when they make the switch from faculty member to administrator, this transition into a brand new role takes up so much of their daily focus that they don't have the time or energy for much of anything else. Most say it takes them a year or even two before they feel that their feet are on the ground. Having been a department chair myself, I understand how important it is to get up to speed quickly and start doing the job. And not just for our own sake: chairs have never been more important to our departments, to our faculty, to our students, and to the community and society we serve in higher education than we are today.

The department chair is a change agent, the critical link in leadership that can lead to significant and almost immediate positive changes in higher educational institutions. In philosophy and sociology, the concept of “agency” is the capacity of individuals to make choices, to act on the world to change it. Gone are the days when chairs could wait out their terms, just do what had always been done, and assume that staff and historical protocol will keep the ship sailing on calm seas. To be successful in challenging times such as these, chairs need to be prepared for the job.

Our roles and responsibilities have shifted away from what they have been throughout our careers. As faculty, we may spend decades immersed in the culture and norms of behavior of our disciplines. We learn to analyze and write, to prepare and teach. We learn the language and customs of our disciplinary homes. But most new chairs take on this administrative job—in addition to their teaching duties—with little or no training. No wonder that new administrators so often feel at sea.

Chairs turn over rapidly in colleges and universities. Research shows that about half of all chairs turn over every three to six years (Chu and Veregge, 2002). For higher education to fulfill its vital social mission, department leaders must be prepared for their positions by getting up to speed on the basics quickly, educating themselves about the new role, and continuing to learn on the job. Chairs can actively manage and lead to improve the quality and productivity in higher education. The role of chair can be learned.

What's New in This Edition

This revision of The Department Chair Primer provides new administrators with what they need in an easily accessible form. These pages give you the context you need to get started and are full of practical ideas, examples, and possibilities for actions that you can take to make a difference. If you have the time and inclination to learn more about chairing, the Resources section at the back of the book lists some of the best of a growing list of references for theoretical and conceptual enrichment.

This book is divided into two parts. Part One provides the basics that you need to know as a front-line member of your institution's leadership and management team. Part Two is an overview of steps you can take to make good things happen in your department. Chapter Fourteen provides questions that you—as an individual or as part of a team of chairs—can work through to deepen your understanding of what you face and what actions you might take, given the particulars of your department and the environment in which it operates.

The landscape of higher education is changing rapidly and dramatically. Increasingly, more and more chairs are eager to create a culture of leadership and responsibility—to make a difference. I hope you will consider this new edition of The Department Chair Primer your guide in your new role as leader and your ongoing charge to make your department the best it can be for the faculty, staff, and students we all we serve.

Don Chu

California State University, San Marcos

October 2011