WHAT IS A
DEPARTMENT
CHAIR?
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
chairs and directors orientation
31 August 2015
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
But first, who is
your new dean
and why is she
here?
Dean Ann E. Cudd
Day 31
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
WHAT IS A DEPARTMENT
CHAIR?
 Leader
 Manager
 Decision-maker and authority
 Bridge and liaison
 Communicator
 Educator/mentor/role model
 Colleague
 Confidante
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Department Chair as Middle
Manager
 Relationships with colleagues
 Relationships with administrators
 Opportunity to make a difference
 Challenge of negotiating rules and
constraints
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Relationships
 As a manager, relationships matter more than
ever to your effectiveness
• Job satisfaction and department climate
• Negotiations with faculty, staff, deans
 Relationships change with changes in status
 Formal relationships require formalities that
can be learned
 You are already pretty good at this!
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Seize the Opportunity to
make a Difference
 Move your department forward on its strategic plan
 Support and enhance the excellence and diversity
of the faculty
 Enhance the quality and standing of your academic
programs
 Increase the quality and prominence of your
research programs
 Transform the working climate of your department
 Keep your personal goals in mind and use this as an
opportunity for growth: learn, develop, make a
difference
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Seize the Opportunity to
make a Difference
 Move your department forward on its strategic
plan
• The plan has been agreed to within your
department.
• Your strategic plan is a road map that is
common knowledge with the dean’s office.
• Refer to it in discussions about hiring and
curriculum and in proposals you bring forward
to our office.
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Seize the Opportunity to
make a Difference
 Support and enhance the excellence and diversity of the
faculty
• Facilitate great faculty recruitment, paying attention to
building a pool of diverse applicants.
• Help junior faculty become successful scholars, teachers,
and academic leaders.
• Guide processes of tenure, promotion, merit review,
awards.
• Help senior faculty continue to develop professionally.
• Gather and apply the resources necessary to support
quality teaching, research, and professional success.
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Seize the Opportunity to
make a Difference
 Enhance the quality and standing of your academic
programs
• Examine your degree programs, and curriculum, and student academic
experience and make necessary improvements: What is the state of the
art? What is possible here?
• Realign the distribution of teaching & student support duties to match
the needs of the curriculum and students.
• Improve the quality of teaching and mentoring; expand the repertoire
of pedagogies.
• Seek collaboration with other programs/departments for mutual benefit.
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Seize the Opportunity to
make a Difference
 Increase the quality and prominence of your research programs
• Mentor the newest scholars and demand the highest
standards.
• Support and encourage promising new research clusters and
projects.
• Pursue publicity for research accomplishments.
• Seek ways to assist faculty who are not sufficiently research
active or seek alternatives for them.
• Encourage collaboration with other programs/departments for
mutual benefit.
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Seize the Opportunity to
make a Difference
 Transform the working climate of your
department (if necessary!)
 Listen carefully for overlooked needs
 Look at other models
 Respect but don’t be confined by the past
 Do the difficult internal work
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Some tactical advice
 Set goals, plan, and check your progress
 Attend to the big picture and the critical details
 Seek information from others with experience
 Respect but don’t be confined by the past
 Know your strengths and weaknesses
 Demonstrate appropriate ethical, professional & personal
qualities
 Don’t be afraid to fail sometimes (exception: see previous
point)
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Working within constraints
 Limits on your time, financial resources,
faculty/staff resources require prioritization
 What is your department’s mission, highest priorities,
goals?
 Do the tactics to achieve them make sense given
your constraints?
 Which goals cannot be achieved within the
constraints?
 Prioritization decisions are hard but necessary
 In the longer term, work to change the
constraints
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Obstacles to Success
 Lack of a plan
 Hostile climate
 Defensive or defeatist mentalities
 Us vs. them thinking
 Acceptance of toxic individuals
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
What does the Dean need
from you?
 Your energy and will to accomplish the collective
goals of your department
 Communication about needs: let us know what
you and your department need and how we can
help you achieve these goals
 Communication to your department about CAS
and University goals and processes
 Critical engagement with us as we set priorities,
develop funding streams, and allocate resources
 Promotion of your department faculty and
student successes
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Good Luck and
Enjoy the Ride!
Discussion
CAS BOSTON UNIVERSITY