Authors Gmelch and Miskin have focused their academic careers on supporting and training chairs for one of the most challenging jobs in academia. Both have written extensively and have conducted training workshops throughout the country. Here they focus their efforts on the specific skills needed by chairs in order to effectively lead their departments. In the first chapter, authors Gmelch and Miskin, clearly assert their concern for chairs and for their work: The time of "amateur administration"--where professors play musical chairs, stepping occasionally into the role of department chair--is over. Too much is at stake in this time of change and challenge to let leadership be left to chance or taking turns. The department chair position is the most critical role in the university, and the most unique management position in America.... The search for solutions to academia's leadership dilemma leads us to realize that the academic leader is the least studied and most misunderstood management position in America. Leadership in academia has evolved into a complex array of specialized skills. For department chairs, this book becomes an individual leadership seminar, complete with strategies and exercises that will foster growth and encourage professional fulfillment.

Conflict can appear with varying degrees of intensity or hostility, but if ignored or managed ineffectively, it can slow or jeopardize an institution's success. Chairs and deans, who have leadership responsibilities to both administrators and faculty, often find a significant portion of their jobs devoted to conflict management. Their leadership success depends on their ability to effectively manage a variety of conflict-laden situations, and negotiate people’s varying needs and personalities. This book, at its core, is about communication strategies that support effective leadership. First it shows how to establish a foundation for effective leadership communication; next, it discusses developing a fair and effective leadership communication style; and finally, it shows how to employ leadership communication to manage especially difficult people, from prima donnas to pot stirrers. Each chapter contains a series of questions and prompts to guide readers through a hypothetical but realistic situation, and encourages them to cultivate and practice the first-person participant and third-person observer roles. By moving between these two perspectives, readers will gain more insight into their own style of managing conflict and understanding of leadership. This skill also permits academic leadership to have more strategic control over the communication in a particular situation, thus empowering them to feel and to be more in control in every situation.

With the imminent demographic shifts in our society and the need to prepare students for citizenship in a global, knowledge-based society, the role of the academic department chair in creating diverse and inclusive learning environments is arguably the most pivotal position in higher education today. In the United States, increasing minority student enrollment coupled with the emergence of a minority majority American nation by 2042 demands that academic institutions be responsive to these changing demographics. The isolation of the ivory tower is no longer an option. This is the first book to address the role of the department chair in diversity and addresses an unmet need by providing a research-based, systematic approach to diversity leadership in the academic department based upon survey findings and in-person interviews. The department chair represents the nexus between the faculty and the administration and is positioned uniquely to impact diversity progress. Research indicates that more than 80 percent of academic decisions regarding appointment, curriculum, tenure and promotion, classroom pedagogy, and student outcomes are made by the department chair in consultation with the faculty. This book examines the multidimensional contributions that chairs make in advancing diversity within their departments and institutions in the representation of diverse faculty and staff; in tenure and promotion; curricular change; student learning outcomes; and departmental climate. The scope and content of the book is not limited to institutions in the United States but is applicable to academic institutions globally in their efforts to address the access and success of increasingly diverse student populations. It addresses institutional power structures and the role of the dean in relation to the appointment of chairs and their impact on the success of chairs from non-dominant groups, including female, minority, and lesbian/gay/transgendered individuals who serve in predominantly white male departments. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, the book analyzes predominant structural and behavioral barriers that can impede diversity progress within the academic department. It then focuses upon the opportunities and challenges chairs face in their collaborative journey with faculty and administration toward inclusive departmental and institutional practices. Each chapter provides concrete strategies that chairs can use to strengthen diversity in the academic department.Addressed to department chairs, deans, faculty, and administrative leaders in higher education in all Western societies facing demographic change and global challenges, this book offers a critical road map to creating the successful academic institutions that will meet the needs of our changing populations.

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.

"A first-rate book, well worth reading. Ann Lucas has taken years of research and reflection and distilled them into an easily understood, useful volume designed to help department chairs develop their leadership skills." --William E. Cashin, director, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State UniversityThis book is a practical guide to developing the survival skills that chairs need in order to function as leaders and build cohesive teams in departments.

As a new department chair, you face many challenges?chief among them that you likely received little or no formal training in academic leadership. You may feel that you face these challenges alone, but in fact a wealth of information and time-tested techniques have been collected over the years from experienced academic administrators. For the first time, this booklet brings together some of the best guidance and strategies that have appeared in The Department Chair, resulting in a collection that is highly relevant to a new chair?s work. The advice contained in these pages can help you build the skills necessary to successfully lead your department. This booklet is full of practical advice that can be put to use immediately, and each article is concisely written so you won?t have to spend valuable time searching for a solution or technique. Whether you?re looking for information on how to work more effectively with your dean, how to better manage your time, how to conduct successful department meetings, or how to best facilitate change, this booklet will help?it covers all these topics and more, from the basics to the specifics. This booklet is structured to provide guidance in four critical areas: chair as leader, getting started, managing conflict, and helping faculty and students thrive. The articles were selected to provide you with timely, comprehensive information. They detail effective practice and represent the best, most innovative thinking on topics and situations you will regularly encounter. This essential resource will become your personal guide as you navigate the responsibilities of your new role as department chair.

The go-to reference for academic leaders seeking practical answers to everyday challenges The Essential Academic Dean or Provost explains the "how" of academic leadership, providing a practical, comprehensive, reality-based reference for almost any problem, challenge, or opportunity. This updated second edition includes new chapters on the difference between leadership and management in higher education, leadership in politically charged environments, effective strategies for making decisions, and working with associate deans or provosts, plus new case studies, new research, and ten additional chapters available on the companion website. Each topic deals concisely with the most important information deans and provosts need when faced with a particular situation, providing both a comprehensive guide to academic leadership as well as a ready reference to be consulted as needed. The role of a dean or provost at a modern university is extremely complex, involving budgeting, community relations, personnel decisions, management of a large enterprise, fundraising, and guiding a school, college, or entire institution toward a compelling vision of the future. The details academic leaders have to deal with are numerous and critical, and every little thing matters. This invaluable guide provides the answers you need when you need them, and gives you framework for successfully navigating your job's many competing demands. Build support for a shared vision of the future Interact effectively with different internal and external constituencies Learn decision-making techniques specific to the academic environment Set, supervise, and implement a budget that allows your programs to flourish Academic leaders need a handy, focused reference that provides authoritative answers to the many issues and questions that arise every day. With proven solutions to a multitude of challenges, The Essential Academic Dean or Provost shows academic leaders what they need to know in order to successfully guide their institutions into the future.