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[anthroid]

Anthroid, will you be my chair?

(although, I suppose, as a good chair, you'd tell me to stop messing around on the forum and get back to work...)

If I did that, I'd have to do it too, so it'll be our little secret.

[anthroid]

Do not give in to department bullies.  Sometimes they yell "shared governance" because they don't realize that just because you are smart enough to discount their opinion doesn't mean you discount everyone's opinion.  Of 20 people, I have a couple who are real doozies.  I consult with their colleagues before consulting with them so my back can be even straighter than usual.

Was it hard to figure out who these folks are?  How long did it take for you to get the lay of the land?

With one, it was quite a shock, as I had thought this person was really pleased to have me here.  It turns out that this person's vision of strong leadership, which is what everyone claimed that they wanted after decades of no leadership, was meant to be a direction to me to "do what I tell you to do."  This bully was quite taken aback when I didn't (and, I do have to say, in that particular process I gained some serious allies of people who I never thought would see my point of view.  Turns out this bully was bullying lots of people all along, and having someone stand up to the bully was a refreshing and encouraging thing!).  It took me several months to realize I could not count on this person to do ANYTHING without complaining about it and wanting extra pay for it.

With the other, yeah, I knew she'd be trouble from the start when, during the interview, she drove me around town and gossiped viciously about everyone in the department she didn't like (PS that's everyone).

I should say as well that the job can be very challenging, as I've already said, but its rewards are many.  It really is great to be able to come into a department that has struggled and be able to actually fix things and make the majority of the people happy and productive and focused on their teaching and scholarship instead of having to fight tooth and nail over scarce resources.  It really is wonderful to see people lose the hangdog look and tell me, with some wonder, that they actually look forward to coming into the office and even--gasp!--to department meetings.  I have been able to begin to change this department's culture--with the help of significant allies within the department and outside of it, I must strongly point out--and that is incredibly gratifying.

Being a chair is very hard, probably the hardest job at a university.  It's also one of the best, since you see the results right there in front of you.

[case_insensitive]

Yea anthroid!

[harry]

Regarding meetings--I second the idea of having monthly meetings at a *set* time, with the caveat that if there isn't something to talk about, you make the executive decision to cancel the meeting. No one will hate you for it, many will love you.

But the set times really are a must--I've had one chair who tended to go by the "meeting only when major items come up," which was fine except that they'd come up randomly, and the meeting times would be similar (and announced about a week in advance at best). It caused no end of difficulty for some people and enabled others to have a perfect excuse not to go.

[dr_strangelove]

Lots of good advice here, I just wanted to add one thing: make sure that you have good office staff. If you don't already, you may have to fire someone or "suggest" that they look for a position elsewhere in the university. This is one of the more unpleasant parts of being chair, but it's one thing you shouldn't neglect.

[anthroid]

Lots of good advice here, I just wanted to add one thing: make sure that you have good office staff. If you don't already, you may have to fire someone or "suggest" that they look for a position elsewhere in the university. This is one of the more unpleasant parts of being chair, but it's one thing you shouldn't neglect.

Yes indeed.  I have wonderful administrative assistants, and they make me look great.  Without them I'd be completely mediocre.

[j_source]

Do not give in to department bullies.  Sometimes they yell "shared governance" because they don't realize that just because you are smart enough to discount their opinion doesn't mean you discount everyone's opinion.  Of 20 people, I have a couple who are real doozies.  I consult with their colleagues before consulting with them so my back can be even straighter than usual.

Was it hard to figure out who these folks are?  How long did it take for you to get the lay of the land?

I recognized the bulllies, the malcontents, the shiftless, and the angry within weeks. This was a SERIOUSLY dysfunctional group and I followed a spectacularly inept and more than a little crazy predecessor. It took the better part of 3 hideous years before I could get the VPAA to back some of the personnel changes I thought were essential.  One retirement, 2 voluntary nonrenewals (they could see the blade poised to fall,) and one eventual termination and it's improved about 10000%.  I'm still waiting for the angry to retire but have managed to insulate most of the other folks from the worst of the flaming.

[patio_chair]

This is a great thread, as I just inherited a 16-person humanities department at a research university and came here looking for advice.

Our last chair was great, which means I have less to fix.  However, I also have less to build and some difficult decisions (decision she didn't have to make or preside over) may be looming in my future.  I already read _The Academic Administrators' Handbook_ but I'd appreciate any other reading suggestions.  Just like when I started teaching all those years ago, I feel like I'm being thrown in there with no training and high expectations.

If there's a chairs' discussion group (anthroid, you mentioned something like that), I'd love to join it.

[case_insensitive]

If there's a chairs' discussion group (anthroid, you mentioned something like that), I'd love to join it.

In some fields, a group of dept chair types meets regularly. in my field, there's a group like this that my dept head belongs to. you might investigate to see if that sort of thing happens in your field.

[anthroid]

If there's a chairs' discussion group (anthroid, you mentioned something like that), I'd love to join it.

In some fields, a group of dept chair types meets regularly. in my field, there's a group like this that my dept head belongs to. you might investigate to see if that sort of thing happens in your field.

Actually, I was referring to all the chairs in my college.  We have bimonthly meetings, convened by the dean, except when they're cancelled (which next week's has been).  Our interim dean has a tendency to talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk, so I fear the resumption of the summer's meetings.

[mssdoc]

Don't be surprised when people--perhaps, or especially, those who were your staunchest supporters at the outset--turn on you.  Those who claim to want strong leadership actually only want strong leadership when it agrees with them.  The ones who have been sitting back watching will likely be your go-to people; the loudmouths will fume about your tyranny (and get all dramatic about it) but since no one listens to them it won't matter.  If you are consistent and fair, you will do well by everyone, and most of your colleagues will see this.

I cannot agree more, Anthroid!  I took over as Chair of a department with 30+ faculty five years ago, after 27 years of one totally ineffectual, don't-bother-me-I'm sleeping-at-my-desk, give 'em all "A"s chair.  (Just as an example, the previous chair had not had the faculty update any curriculum in 6 years, and when I took over, we were within one week of losing our General Education certification for our Intro classes. And of course, I was supposed to be the "fix-it" person....)

Not too surprisingly, I was encouraged by nearly all faculty members to, and I quote, "bring our standards up."  Um, yeah, right.  Too bad the low standards that needed to be raised were being promoted by some of the very people who wanted them raised. (wow, that was a confusing sentence!) Some balked. And at the end of the last term, I had just about had it with the whole bunch of them, bullies and complainers all. Or so I thought.  Then, after consulting with the quieter faculty, I realized that the people who were complaining amounted to approximately 6% of the faculty. The two complainers were asked to help with the problems, and when put on the spot, they tried to help out.  (Well, as well as they could and still complain about it.) If you find yourself fielding complaints and whines, make sure you understand from where the complaints are coming, and respond accordingly. 

In my situation, I spent a great deal of time trying to iron out what problems had been growing for over two decades.  So much time, in fact that my husband mentions it frequently (some sense of humor he has!). The department not only had internal issues, the public perception of the department on the part of campus governance was deplorable--we hadn't had any representation on any campus committees for seven years. What a MESS.  I will say, however, we're really turning it around; we've hired five new faculty in seven years, increased our course sections by 20 percent, increased retention rates; are building a new building for our department only, and in general, we think things are looking up for us. 

One really good thing about taking over a foundering department is when the department manages to keep afloat.  If everyone pulls together, for a common cause, it can actually work out pretty well.  Good Luck!

[la_jupe]

The department not only had internal issues, the public perception of the department on the part of campus governance was deplorable--we hadn't had any representation on any campus committees for seven years.

This is similar to the situation I find myself in now.  According to one colleague, our department is perceived across campus as "a joke."  I don't entirely trust that colleague's information, though.  Hu is a known agitator and always ready to start a fight. (Hu is also very angry at being passed over for the chair position.)

Nevertheless, I know I have my work cut out for me.  People are used to letting the chair do all the work, or in this case used to letting the work go undone, since the previous chair did so little of anything.  No one is going to be happy when it becomes clear how much work we all need to do in order to turn things around and develop some kind of departmental identity and standards.

Again, I appreciate all the advice here.  I'm still taking notes.


   

[anthroid]

Nevertheless, I know I have my work cut out for me.  People are used to letting the chair do all the work, or in this case used to letting the work go undone, since the previous chair did so little of anything.  No one is going to be happy when it becomes clear how much work we all need to do in order to turn things around and develop some kind of departmental identity and standards.

This part is especially true.  Since you're coming from the inside, it may actually be harder for you than those of us who hired in from the outside.  I can say, "look, this isn't the way every other college for which I've worked has done it.  We need to update X, Y, and Z if we want to be taken seriously."  You'll have a harder time, though you certainly can rely on your chair colleagues at your current institutions as well as us here (I call this forum a listserv to my colleagues, and it is an important, though not the only, form of information for me).  It can be very hard to figure out how to motivate people who already think (usually wrongly) that they are overworked...ask for lots of advice, and go to whatever workshops and conferences are available to you.

[engineer_adrift]

Cultivate good relationsips with your dean and fellow chairs. 

Hire only the best people.  Go without if necessary until you can hire well.

Keep good notes, especially of coaching and counseling.  I had to fire someone, who in turn filed a discrimination complaint, and my notes were invaluable.

Try to continue to teach.  It helps you stay close to students. 

When following the excellent advice to talk to faculty by walking around, don't forget to talk to students.

Try to sit in one class of each faculty member at least once a year (better if you can do it once a quarter). 

Master your school's budget processes.

And finally,  consult with (at least) your tenured faculty prior to making any big decisions, even if you must go against the consensus.

Good luck!

[ccchair]

I'm nearing the end of a second term as chair, with a break in between the two terms.  Taking over both times was really difficult.  Here's what I see as things to avoid and things to do:

Avoid:

• taking the job for the wrong reasons: extra money, lighter teaching load, perception of power.  Your colleagues are smart people.  They'll figure you out very quickly and it'll make life miserable for all.
• staying on too long. Better yet, say up front you'll do it for only one term. This eliminates the possibility that your actions will be questioned in terms of campaigning for a 2nd term.
• threatening or bullying untenured colleagues.  Oh no, you say, I would never do that. Well, I've seen it happen by people who swear they'd never do such a thing and rail against such behavior to others.  What does this mean in reality?  It means, for example, choosing to be inconvenienced to find an adjunct to teach a section rather than pressuring an untenured faculty member to take on an overload or section at an undesirable time. It means avoiding dumping important but difficult and unglamorous committee work on new faculty.
• anything that might even be remotely seen as favoritism
• thinking you can fix everything. You can't. In a dysfunctional department, you're better off spending your initial efforts making faculty feel safe and valued.
  

Do:

• focus on a few specific goals for your department that you reach by consensus and lead the department to accomplishing those goals
• hold only as many department meetings as you need. This varies per department and institution.
• mentor new faculty and know what's going on with senior faculty
• hire colleagues who are not only good teachers/scholars but also good people and potential leaders
• take student complaints seriously.  Don't be dismissive.  Don't be afraid to have difficult conversations with faculty.
• make the choice to do the right thing.  It seems simple, but it's not.  Start with "What's best for the department, the program, and the students?" and you'll always be on the right track.