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[wombat]

I have a campus interview next week for a position as department chair, and I have a few questions.

(1) I have been asked to give a research presentation of 30 minutes, with 30 minutes for questions. I've never been asked to give a research talk with this balance - not much time for information about my research, lots of time for questions. Is this usual? 

(2) I have also been told that there will be a one hour interview with all of the faculty on my administrative/ leadership goals. I was told that I should present briefly, but then it will mostly be an informal question and answer session. That's all I've been told, though, and I'm not sure what I should present. They have already read a 2 page statement on my administrative experience as part of my application materials, and there was a fair bit of discussion of this in the initial telephone interview, so they presumably already know about my previous experience. When I gave a talk this once before at an interview for a chair position, I talked about how I might help the department achieve its goals, but that department had sent me a copy of an external review, so I knew a lot about what they wanted to achieve in future. In this case I have not been given anything like this, although I have asked if they had a strategic plan or anything like that (they don't). So what should I put in this talk? I've already asked the chair of the search committee about this twice without being given any further information, so I hate to ask again.

(3) The job was advertised as Associate or Full Professor position with the possibility of tenure. At what point should I ask about the level and tenure? I assume this would only come up if I were made an offer, but I know that I will be meeting with two deans as part of the interview (the dean of the college that the department is in, and the dean of faculty affairs). Should I ask one of the deans about this, and if so, which one?

     Thanks - any advice is welcome. This is only my second interview for a chair position, and I've never worked in a US university.

[sibyl]

First of all, congratulations on the interview.

1.  Just prepare a 30-minute talk, and don't worry about the "balance."  People will ask you questions about your research until they run out of them, at which time they will start asking you questions about what you would do as chair.  This will probably be the only chance that some people have to meet you and they will want to ask those questions.

2.  Obviously it's easier to do this if they have already given you the destination and you just have to figure out the route.  Without it, though, they are probably looking for your take on the department and its future.  You should definitely say that you don't know for sure and you would want to consult extensively with colleagues, but you should have a couple of points to make.  Is there a university-wide mandate or departmental goal to increase research?  Improve the graduate program?  Reduce faculty turnover?  Focus the curriculum better?  Even if there is no mandate, do you think there ought to be one?

3.  One indirect way to do this is to ask about tenure procedures in the department and the role of the chair.  Do you mentor new faculty?  Do you have to attend classes of untenured faculty or do tenured faculty share this responsibility?  Is there an established set of criteria for rank and tenure, or is it developed anew each time?  By the way, what are those criteria?  That way you can figure out where you land on the scale, and you can prepare yourself for those negotiations ("I believe that I should be hired at the rank of professor because...").  The negotiations might happen while you are there, by the way; just be ready to make your best case.

Good luck!

[mellonia]

I agree with sibyl on most points.  I'd add, though, regarding #2:you should plan on reiterating your experience and why you'd be good for the position. Never assume everyone has read your statement, or that they remember the specifics.  With limited knowledge of departmental direction (though you may gain some prior to giving this presentation), one thing to do is talk about positioning the dept within the field, both research and education wise. It will give them an idea of your leadership potential.  (a good time to demonstrate or mention how you plan to lead).

And if being hired at a particular rank or with tenure matters to you (the latter should), then you should bring it up with the dean.  I'd probably look for an opportunity to bring it up with each of them--perhaps while asking about the university's culture regarding tenure and your role in it, as sibyl suggests.

Good luck

[svenc]

(3) The job was advertised as Associate or Full Professor position with the possibility of tenure. At what point should I ask about the level and tenure? I assume this would only come up if I were made an offer, but I know that I will be meeting with two deans as part of the interview (the dean of the college that the department is in, and the dean of faculty affairs). Should I ask one of the deans about this, and if so, which one?

I am freshly tenured myself and am not likely to be considered for a department chair position anytime soon (nor would I want to be!), but from my point of view: I would never, ever consider being a department chair at any U.S. university without tenure.  You should not have to worry about the potential politics of the latter when you are specifically being hired to do a job that is inherently political in nature.

I can also imagine that few administrations would really relish the idea of having an untenured department head.  If I were you, I would definitely ask about it during the interview (i.e., not wait for an offer).  I would think the Dean of the College is the right person to talk with first, but I am sure others can weigh in with better informed opinions on this point.

[drangie]

 

I would never, ever consider being a department chair at any U.S. university without tenure.  You should not have to worry about the potential politics of the latter when you are specifically being hired to do a job that is inherently political in nature.

Absolutely right!  I urge you not to even think about taking on a chair position without tenure.

[wombat]

     Thanks for all of the replies - they were very helpful. I've just arrived here on campus and have tomorrow to recover from jetlag before the interview starts on Monday. The advice on tenure was particularly useful, but I'm still not entirely sure what things are appropriate to ask now and what things are only appropriate if they make an offer.

     Just to complicate the issue, I got an email just before I got on the plane inviting me for a campus visit for another interview for a department chair job. (I'd already had a first interview via video-conference before university A invited me for the campus visit.) The timing isn't ideal, as the interview at university B is three weeks after the department at university A will start their discussions. (I'm the last of 4 candidates to be interviewed at university A.) Before the visits, of course I can't tell which I'd prefer if I were to be in the happy position of receiving 2 offers, but my initial feeling is that university A would be a better place to live, but the department at university B is a better department. For example, university B has already asked me to be prepared to talk about be prepared to talk about salary, start-up needs, space, expectations, etc whereas university A hasn't mentioned any of that. The department at university B is bigger and more research oriented and is an exciting interdisciplinary mix. However, all of my impressions of both departments so far are positive, and I know it's too soon to start wondering what to do if I received 2 offers, but .....

      Any further advice?

[sibyl]

The advice for chairs is similar to the advice for new assistant profs: don't bother comparing the one to the other until after you have two offers in hand.  If they are both good jobs then you should be happy with either one; if you get an offer from A, you can immediately call B and say you've been offered another job and can they tell you anything about their timetable.  You have only a limited degree of control over this situation; don't make yourself crazy thinking about it.  Put your best foot forward on both campuses.

Good luck.