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[urbino]

This year I was elected chair by my department at a small LAC.  Although our school does not offer tenure, I have found that I am being asked to do much more than I am compensated for.  In short, I receive one course reduction a year--that's it.  Our department has 21 majors and 11 faculty.  My question is: would it be career suicide to step down as chair after only one year?  As an assistant professor I feel that I cannot serve my faculty as I should.  Moreover, my scholarship has been put on the back burner.  Any advice?

[dr_strangelove]

What, you just went into the office one day and found that the faculty had met while you weren't around and elected you chair? Those bastards!

Given that it's too late to say "Thanks, but no thanks," gracefully stepping down would seem to be the most sensible choice.

[xeno_cratus]

Looks like a less than optimal deal to me.  Dunno what the atmosphere there is like, but you might consider negotiating with the dean for more release time.

[easterner]

What is the length of the term that you agreed to complete? That has a bearing here. if you're quitting one year into a four year stint (for example), don't expect that to help your career.  You could well be leaving your dean in a lurch, scrambling to find someone to replace you.

[zharkov]

Is there a "story behind the story" why the newbie out of 11 faculty is the chair?  Mostly curious, but it may reveal how politically savvy it would be to step down.

I agree with the PP about more release time.  Other options are delegating more of your admin work to other department members and -- as crass as it sounds -- lowering your standards.  To put it more nicely, revisit the amount of time and energy you devote to your chair duties, don't try to solve non important problems, and let people who come to you with problems retain the ownership of those problems.

[fannie]

With a ration of less than 2 majors per faculty member, you don't have much bargaining power.

[untenured]

I agree with the PP about more release time.  Other options are delegating more of your admin work to other department members and -- as crass as it sounds -- lowering your standards.  To put it more nicely, revisit the amount of time and energy you devote to your chair duties, don't try to solve non important problems, and let people who come to you with problems retain the ownership of those problems.

This is good advice.  You'll need to protect yourself to avoid losing any opportunity for research.

An Assistant Professor?  Chair?  Methinks OP had this position foisted upon hu.  And without tenure there's no chance of future protection against this nonsense.

The usual 'write your way out' advice applies here.  That means you will be a sub-optimal chair in exchange for being an optimal scholar and a portable CV.

One last thought - often folks that are utterly incapable of being chair are never elected so.  Perhaps you could do such an naively and benevolently  incompetent job that no one will ever elect you chair again.

Untenured

[terpsichore]

This year I was elected chair by my department at a small LAC.  Although our school does not offer tenure, I have found that I am being asked to do much more than I am compensated for.  In short, I receive one course reduction a year--that's it.  Our department has 21 majors and 11 faculty.  My question is: would it be career suicide to step down as chair after only one year?  As an assistant professor I feel that I cannot serve my faculty as I should.  Moreover, my scholarship has been put on the back burner.  Any advice?

You have to carve out time for your own scholarship. Is everything you're being asked to do necessary? Can some of it be done by other people? A lot of the stuff that lands on the Chair's desk is meant to be handed off to someone else.  But it can take a while to learn which things must be handled by you.

[aandsdean]

This year I was elected chair by my department at a small LAC.  Although our school does not offer tenure, I have found that I am being asked to do much more than I am compensated for.  In short, I receive one course reduction a year--that's it.  Our department has 21 majors and 11 faculty.  My question is: would it be career suicide to step down as chair after only one year?  As an assistant professor I feel that I cannot serve my faculty as I should.  Moreover, my scholarship has been put on the back burner.  Any advice?

You have to carve out time for your own scholarship. Is everything you're being asked to do necessary? Can some of it be done by other people? A lot of the stuff that lands on the Chair's desk is meant to be handed off to someone else.  But it can take a while to learn which things must be handled by you.

Another thing:  if you like administration and feel like you're good at it, you can hang onto this position and leverage it into a much better chair job someplace else.  I had a  no-release, no-extra-money chair job at my SLAC and turned it into an opportunity for great career options.

This will only work if you know your current work as chair won't otherwise doom you professionally, however.

Good luck.

[nottooinlovewacademe]

If you are a super star and able to be successful under these amazingly adverse conditions, then you will be searching for another position at another university that offers tenure or taking on an administrative position that provides you with a better deal. In a tenure track environment, the solution is clear, you should not do it. In a non tenure place, the rules are different. If service at your place gets faculty a promotion later on, then you may be OK. Personally, if I were in that situation, I would be checking the Chronicle employment section every Monday/Tuesday evening and figuring out who can write a good recommendation.