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[almond]

I'm teaching at a mid-size private school in an interdisciplinary humanities program that started a few years ago. The Chair was hired young, a whippersnapper from an ivy who was supposed to shape up the curriculum and push the program into a full department with the Dean's blessing. The key distinction here is that it is not a true department, but rather, a "program".

A couple years into the Chair's gig, the Dean decided to plunk the Chair into a tenure-track line in the English department because the Dean likes the Chair. There was no national search et al, just a decision from the Dean.

Now the Chair has lost all interest in developing the program, and worries only about how his words and actions look to the Dean. This sucking up is really preventing him from doing anything useful. I think the Chair spends most of his time in his office working on finessing his dissertation into a book (of course it's an obscure topic that is not taught at our school). Of course all of this makes a lot of sense because he needs to watch his own ass so he can get tenure.

In addition to his admin duties, the Chair used to teach a class in our program, but now teaches a class in English instead.

My questions:
Is it common practice for a Chair to be on a TT line?
Isn't this putting him in a very difficult position?
Is this a sign that the program is doomed?

My motivation for these questions is concern about my own position as a contractual instructor in a tenuous program (only real departments can have TT lines). Our Chair is too compromised to advocate for us, and I want to know if I should be focusing my disappointment on him, or the Dean who put him in this position.

I don't want to focus on me because I am just a lowly instructor. I want to understand whether having a Chair on the tenure-track is ethical.

[niceday]

Frankly, the chair is doing what any sane person would do. Ask around for horror stories of people developing programs pre-tenure only to be given the boot.

I think the Dean doesn't have that much interest in your program. Your best bet might be to wait till "Chair" gets tenured and hope he then has interest. Maybe, maybe not. Probably not.

You should focus your disappointment on getting a t-t job. I suggest spending your time in your office finessing your dissertation into a book or something.

[digger]

You may be set up a bit differently than us, but, all of our Chairs (& Deans for that matter) are in tenure track lines. We are, by and large tenured, but the lines are considered TT as opposed to staff/administrative or part time ETC. IMHO, it is a really bad idea to have a chair that is not a tenured Full professor. I have seen faculty and administrations cut good people off at the knees when they have to make an unpopular decision.  I am not sure what ethics has to do with any of this – it sounds like a business decision and a shift in administrative priorities. Any Dean should understand the position they are putting your whippersnapper in – It appears the Dean is covering his friends bases while allowing the program to quietly go to sleep.  YMMV.

[zharkov]

Chairs can certainly be TT, that seems like a red herring.

The real issues concern the future of the program and the feelings of your colleagues.  Is there an actual plan for making the program a department?  Or just some vague hope?  As the saying goes, Hope is not a plan.

If you colleagues are gung ho about making the program into something more permanent, then an all hands  planning meeting with the chair AND dean seems like a good start.