Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1: Your New Professional Identity
2: You Don’t Have to Be a Reluctant Chair
3: Understanding the Chair Position at Your University
4: Changing Relationships with Your Colleagues
5: The Power Paradox: Leading without Levers
6: The Slippery Slope of Accommodation
7: Chairing from a Beginner’s Mindset
8: The Art of Information Management
9: Boundary Spanning (Betwixt and Between)
10: A Chair’s Inbox
11: Department Meetings as More than Agenda Items
12: Creating an Agenda for a Department Meeting
13: Cultivating Constructive Dialogue in Department Meetings
14: Effectively Participating in College-Wide Chairs’ Meetings
15: Setting Goals
16: The Power Paradox of an Academic Middle Manager
17: Big-Picture Budgeting
18: Your University’s Budget Model and Where You Fit In
19: Budgeting Strategies and Tactics
20: Grade Appeals as Pedagogical Process
21: Becoming Privy to Department Drama
22: Informational Asymmetry, Confidentiality, and Managerial Trust
23: You Are Chair of Students, Not Just Faculty
24: Networking with Other Chairs
25: Agenda Interrupted
26: Advocacy and Influence from the Middle
27: Writing Memos for Resource Allocation Requests
28: Student Misconduct
29: Inappropriate Faculty Behavior
30: Unilateral Versus Multilateral Decision-Making
31: Focus on Where It Counts: The Pareto Principle and Demanding Faculty
32: Generous Leadership and the Power of Sharing Recognition
33: The Emotional Labor of Being Chair
34: The Visible Chair
35: When to Address Problems with Collective Policies
36: When to Address Problems with Private Conversations
37: Mentoring Junior Faculty
38: Working with Senior Faculty
39: Supporting Part-Time Faculty
40: The Art of Annual Reviews (The Big Picture)
41: Strategic Approaches to Annual Faculty Evaluations
42: Do Not Play Politics with Your Course Schedule
43: Course-Scheduling Strategies
44: The Summer Schedule
45: Your Department’s Social Media Presence
46: Digital Dilemmas
47: Academic Bullies
48: Practical Advice for Handling Academic Bullies
49: Committee Assignments
50: Classroom Teaching Observations
51: Your Department’s Approach to Online Education
52: Imposter Syndrome
53: Your Relationship with Your Dean
54: Your Relationship with Your Dean Continued
55: Your Relationship with Your Office Associate
56: Your Relationship with Your Provost
57: Supporting International Faculty
58: Assembling a Search Committee
59: Candidate Selection and Search Committee Processes
60: Your Increased Legal Liability
61: Strategies for Navigating the Legal Aspects of Being Chair
62: Hallway Diplomacy
63: Keys to Relationship Building in Your Department
64: Approaching Virtual Meetings
65: Effective Strategies for Virtual Meetings
66: Status-Based Inequality in Your Department
67: Fundraising and Interfacing with Donors
68: Departmental Culture
69: Your Blind Spots
70: Inclusivity, Diversity, and Departmental Culture
71: Enrollment Management
72: Recruiting New Students
73: Retention
74: Transfer Students
75: Students Switching Majors
76: Crisis Communication
77: Public-Facing Events and Public Speaking Anxiety
78: Your New Raise
79: Formal Discipline
80: One-on-One Meetings
81: Maintaining Your Scholarly Agenda
82: Higher Ed in Flux: Chairing through Uncertain Times
83: Your Department Website
84: Beyond Reluctance: Chairing toward Unexpected Opportunities and Growth
85: Contemplating the Pursuit of Upper Administration
86: Embracing Feedback: Learning to Listen and Adapt
87: The Value of Classroom Engagement
88: Leading Meaningful Assessment
89: Gossip, Trust, and Leadership
90: Chairing through the Tenure Process
91: Justifying Your Decisions
92: The Calculus of Change
93: Parent Complaints
94: Balancing Academic Leadership and Academic Management
95: The Academic Cycle
96: Performing as Chair
97: Summer and End-of-the-Year Planning
98: Authenticity and Pragmatism
99: Effective Communication
100: Lessons Learned and Paths Forward
Index
About the Author