Chairs Wisdom Collaborative
Leading without Supervising
Facilitators: Dale Buske, Michael Mills, Lalita Subrahmanyan
December 7, 2011 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Activity: Think about one success you have had during your tenure as chair in your department. Share the nature of the
success and the factors you believed helped you be successful.
Discussion: Factors that help make chairs successful.
General Philosophy: The chair’s position is that of ultimate service. “The chair is there to make the lives of students and
faculty easier.”

Communication
o One-on-one and email communication.
o Listening carefully without judgment.
o Knowing what is possible. Understanding the dean’s philosophy.
o Open. Build trust. Respect all.
o Acting collaboratively.
o Responding to students in a professional and timely manner.
 Policy Setting
o Facilitate brainstorming.
o Propose specifics.
o Be proactive.
o Know the contract well.
o Serve at the institutional level (e.g. Senate, Strategic Planning).
 Department Culture
o Dealing with bullies and intimidation.
o Knowing what people feel, not just what they think.
o Understanding which issues need thorough discussion and which likely do not.
 Managing Staff
o Being sensitive to their needs.
o Understanding differences in perspective.
 Student Concerns
o Chair should be the last stop for a student.
o Get to know the “go to” people around campus – Business Office, Financial Aid Office, Advising Center.
Being an academic leader:
 Learn and share data: E.g. How much time do professors spend on teaching, how does that affect their
happiness/satisfaction?
 Share information: New information about cognitive science research, how students learn, how teaching can be
research.
 Create a departmental culture of scholarship: Create forums or colloquia and encourage department members to
share new information and research in the field and in teaching.
 Be a role model: Model research based best practices in your teaching, invite others to come to your class.
 Honor and reward faculty with responsibility, with recognition, while holding them “accountable.”
Success story and thought for the day:
“…we’re talking about a position that many academics never take on in the course of their careers, and it’s a transition
that many academics don’t ever want to make. Rarely do people go into graduate school thinking, “Gee, I can’t wait until
I’m a department chair.” And yet, at most academic institutions, having an effective department chair is incredibly
important for the functioning of a healthy department and school, and the actions of a chair can significantly affect the
experiences of the people…”
From Open Letter to 2010-2011′s New Department Chairs, By Jeffrey W. McClurken, The Chronicle of Higher Education,
June 3, 2010.
Notes from the Meeting:
Members Present: Dale Buske, Michael Mills, Brenda Lenz, Joe Melcher, Vicky Williams, Lakshmaiah Sreerama, Chris
Inkster, David Wall, Roseanna Ross, Mark Jaede.
The above ideas in the handout were discussed and examples were shared from various disciplines. Additional ideas
included:
Communication: Do not try to fix everything. Find out through questions what the problem is, whether it needs fixing by
chair or whether the person needs an opinion on their idea, or whether the person simply needs a friendly ear.
Leading through facilitation: As presiding officer at a meeting, a chairperson can exercise his or her authority in making
sure everyone has a voice, that the process is used fairly, and all perspectives have an opportunity to be presented and
heard.
Academic Leader: The chair should not get bogged down merely in managerial duties. Chairs can share teaching ideas
learned from others or in other settings, may collaborate on research with faculty members, use cutting edge information
on discipline gathered in various settings and lead program change or development, propose and lead curriculum
initiatives, etc.
Meeting adjourned: 4:10 pm