ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Department chairs are essential faculty leadership roles that influence and shape the institutional mission and student success. This year-long program will leverage a consortial approach to professional development and build community among participants while providing essential guidance, opportunities for self-reflection, and sharing of useful practices for effective leadership as a department chair.
The target audience is new or emerging department chairs, although experienced chairs may also benefit. The program is scaffolded to connect sessions and build community among participants who can provide peer-peer support (“co-mentoring”) throughout and after the program. Chairs are encouraged to participate in all sessions, as much as their busy schedules allow.
Facilitators are experienced department chairs or other administrative leaders at ACS institutions who are committed to the program’s goals. All group sessions will be planned and delivered by two co-facilitators, providing different insights and perspectives.
FACILITATORS
Linda Boland, Professor of Biology (University of Richmond)
January Haile, Chair of Science and Mathematics Division and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Centre College)
Fred LaRiviere, Associate Dean of the College and Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Washington and Lee University)
Fuji Lozada, Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Anthropology (Davidson College)
Aditi Pai, Interim Vice Provost and Professor Biology (Spelman College)
Rashna Richards, Associate Provost & Professor of English (Rhodes College)
Leslie Templeton, Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Professor of Psychology (Hendrix College)
GOALS
In seven sequenced core sessions, department chairs will improve their ability to:
- Identify and reflect on their personal leadership styles, strengths, and areas for growth.
- Identify principles and action steps to becoming an equitable and inclusive leader.
- Identify potential sources of stress and burnout and develop proactive self-care strategies.
- Gain strategies to navigate difficult conversations and deliver meaningful feedback.
- Use data to advance departmental goals and maintain a functional department.
- Work effectively with senior administrators.
- Identify key components of maintaining a functional and collegial department and how their leadership contributes to departmental success.
FORMAT
Workshop participants will meet for 75 minutes once a month from September through April.
Pre-session homework will help participants prepare for meaningful engagement. Participants will be encouraged to do the homework but may participate even if their schedule did not allow completion of the pre-session work.
SESSIONS
Sessions will take place on Thursdays from 3:30PM to 4:45PM EST on Zoom. Dates to be announced shortly.
Please pre-register below to receive more information on the following sessions:
September 19, 2024: Me, as department chair
Who am I as a leader and how do I apply my leadership strengths to the role of department chair?
- Understanding my preferred style and how it impacts communication with others
- Adapting my leadership to fit particular situations
- Asking for feedback from peers and mentors to support continuous leadership growth and self-awareness
October 10, 2024: Establishing an inclusive and collaborative departmental culture.
How do you foster and maintain an inclusive departmental environment?
- Faculty mentoring
- Onboarding new faculty
- Leading meetings
- Making decisions as a department
- Staffing introductory courses
- Attending to student concerns
- Connecting back to my preferred leadership style (Session 1)
October – November 2024: Chair Connections (Dates and time TBD by participating voting.)
Chair Connections provides discipline-specific learning communities that offer peer support and timely guidance, helping department chairs address challenges unique to their fields while fostering a strong professional network.
November 14, 2024: Navigating a difficult conversation and delivering feedback to others: The good and the bad.
How does a chair deliver meaningful feedback with empathy and effectiveness?
- Performance reviews (including performance reviews of full professors if you are an associate professor)
- Tenure letters
- Inheriting prior information
- Being the designated grown-up in difficult conversations
- Documenting areas of improvement and helping faculty navigate a plan to address them
- Asking for feedback
January 16, 2025: Me, as department chair
Who is taking care of me?
- Self-care
- Avoiding burnout/exhaustion
- How to maintain my own professional development as chair and as scholar
- Identifying my needs for a mentor
- Setting boundaries
- Connecting back to the many responsibilities and challenges for a department chair (sessions 2 & 3)
February 13, 2025: Using Data/Telling the Story
What data is useful to collect and how do I use it to advance departmental goals?
- Collection and use of departmental data for external reviews; assessment; internal requests for positions, funding
- Understanding and using institutional data
- Relating data to goals for equity and inclusion – are all students successfully navigating courses, major, etc? Is any particular group of faculty or students being left behind and do we know why?
- Connecting back to establishing an inclusive culture (session 2) and laying groundwork for working with other administrators (session 6) and maintaining a functional department (session 7)
February- March 2025: Chair Connections (Dates and time TBD by participating voting.)
Discipline-specific learning communities.
- Arts: Music, Theatre & Dance, Studio Arts
- STEM disciplines
- Social Sciences & Humanities
March 6, 2025: Working effectively with senior administrators
How does a chair gain support for departmental goals and work effectively with senior administrators?
- Understanding organizational structure and roles of other leaders
- Understanding campus operating procedures for facilities/maintenance, budgets/purchasing, technology, institutional effectiveness/assessment, and other college business processes
- Understanding accountability and supporting an institutional perspective on policies -Connecting back to the use of data (session 6) and navigating difficult conversations (session 3)
April 3, 2025: Maintaining a healthy department
What is my role in promoting student success and maintaining a healthy and thriving department?
- Ensuring a relevant, updated, and innovative curriculum
- Managing student complaints
- Supporting faculty and staff (special emphasis on support for new faculty)
- Supporting students
- Strategic planning for the department
- Being the designated grown up
- Knowing when to ask and what to ask for help on Connecting back to using data (session 5)
REGISTRATION FORM
Please pre-register to receive more information on sessions.