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[bevo98]

This is a premature question in some respects since the search is not yet completed but, I may have the opportunity to chair in my department, which I am very interested in.  However, I really do love my research and writing and am wondering if it is unrealistic of me to think that I can maintain my research, albeit at a reduced level, while chairing?

[tee_bee]

This is a premature question in some respects since the search is not yet completed but, I may have the opportunity to chair in my department, which I am very interested in.  However, I really do love my research and writing and am wondering if it is unrealistic of me to think that I can maintain my research, albeit at a reduced level, while chairing?

Like everything else, it depends. It depends on the size of your faculty, your discipline (humanities, social science, bench science with a huge lab?), whether your research is done at a bench, a desk, or in the field, availability of graduate assistants, the overall admin load, and so on. Sorry to be so vague.

But, yes, I have seen department chairs (and even deans and associate deans) maintain a research agenda. I think you're very realistic, because you do note that your research would be at a reduced level. It's doable, but you have to be really good at organizing your time. I am learning this, in my admin role, the hard way.

[bevo98]

Thanks tee-bee, I too have seen people do it, I guess I also need to ask, how you do it?

[deadcatbounce]

I became the chair of my department (humanities, 40+ faculty, R1) this past year. I had previously been a very productive researcher, with multiple grants and books. Since taking over as chair, I have been able to keep up my research at a reduced level, but only with great effort.

In a midsize department like my own the chair's schedule is very inflexible. A typical day has an average of about four meetings - committees, faculty members with issues to be addressed, classroom visits, etc., and crises erupt every week (the university wants feedback on their new strategic plan, please write a report in the next seven days, and please consult widely with your colleagues to do so; or, worse, a faculty member falls down the stairs and you're dealing with staff wellness while looking for an adjunct to take over a specialized course mid-term), plus routine admin work. All this leaves me maybe an hour a day to pursue my own interests, two if I'm lucky.

What I've found is that I have to be hyper-disciplined. A lot of the things that I used to do as a faculty member I just don't do any more (CHE fora, Facebook, any kind of time waster). What works for me is breaking down large projects into lots and lots of small projects. A journal article means writing one paragraph a day for a month, for example.

A lot of people will say to block off certain times to be out of the office and unavailable to get work done. I've found that I don't really have that option, but I sure wish that I did. I haven't been through a summer as chair yet, so I can't say how much time I'll have to work on my own projects. I'm optimistic that it will be a great deal. I've found that the new role has really helped me to prioritize effectively, so when I do have some time (over the Christmas break, for example), I turned out a lot of work.

The one thing that has been most difficult has been travel. I need to travel for some of my research, or to conferences, or to research network meetings, and that is tough because it means getting things done in advance or catching up when I get back. Recently I had an all day meeting on a Monday morning when I'd just traveled twenty-two hours door to door to get back from a research network meeting. As a faculty member I'd have likely stayed home on that Monday and recuperated, but as chair that was just not an option.

[bevo98]

This is so helpful.  I am in a pretty small department, less than 20 t/tt, in a small university, but, still, I know there will be more work than I have even tried to imagine.  I expected to slow down on my research, but I know you are right, it is about priorities.  I also have the option of taking off the summer or working one or both of the summer terms.  I think if I can do as you suggest and just write one paragraph a day, I can keep moving forward, at a snail's pace for now, but still, I can move.  I have only begun wasting time, as you say, during this sabbatical and am actually looking forward to tightening up the ship a bit although I have found these forums most helpful.  I am pretty disciplined and highly organized and, the best news, this is only a three year position at which point I hope to pass it on to one of my junior colleagues. 

[bevo98]

deadcatbounce, did you have a lot of administrative experience prior to your chairship?  Also, what, if any, is your teaching load? 

Thanks!

[deadcatbounce]

I didn't have a really extensive background in admin prior to becoming chair. I'd never been undergrad or grad chair, for instance. Served on a normal number of committees, maybe slightly above average number.

Our teaching load is 2:2 and this year I'm teaching 0:1. The one right now is a graduate course, and it has been a bit of a struggle because it is a popular course and I'm still trying to provide my students with a lot of feedback and guidance on their work, but I don't have the time for that that I used to. It's also harder to find time to meet with the students one on one as much as I would like. Next year I'm teaching 0:1 again, but my one will be a massive course for non-majors - big lecture hall with a few hundred students and marking assistants, so I think the work load will be more manageable.

I should say that for a number of reasons including sabbaticals, my supervisory load is really down this past year. Most of the previous students graduated, and I have only one supervisee, and she landed a job while ABD and so I'm just waiting for her to deposit. I'm not sure how I would have survived this year with a normal number of grad students. I agreed to take on one new MA and one new PhD for next year (if they opt to come here), and that is causing me a little bit of worry. It will be great if they turn out to be as strong as they look on paper and I can count on them as reliable research assistants, as that might actually help me to get some work done.

[tee_bee]

Thanks tee-bee, I too have seen people do it, I guess I also need to ask, how you do it?

Pretty much the way deadcatbounce described it. Although I'm so new that I haven't figured out the "one paragraph at a time" thing yet. FWIW, I did find that, last summer, the job wasn't nearly as busy as during the regular academic year, so it was possible to get some work done then.

[skeptical]

My predecessor got a lot of research done during his eight-year tenure as chair. Of course, he left the department in a mess (narrowly avoid lawsuits). I think that chairs must allocate their time wisely.

[bevo98]

Thanks all!  skeptical, that too is a good point.  I do not want to do that.  I have a very supportive group, a few PIA, but mostly supportive and I think, together, we can move things forward.  tee-bee, thanks for the summer advice, that is what everyone is telling me: take the summer gig to get a little extra in the bank and work on research.  It's just that I have made some significant progress on the manuscript and would hate to abandon it; it take so long to recover after a hiatus.  But, I think between a paragraph a day and summers, I might be able to churn it out in the next three or four years, that is my hope.

My dean said that no matter what I think I know about this job, there is a lot more to it than anyone realizes.  I think I know it will be very time consuming, challenging in terms of patience, and deadly as far as meetings go.  I am prepared to deal with irate parents, confused/irate colleagues, I can fill in for an instructor if need be and am even up to vacuuming my own office.  But, it is keeping me up at nights trying to imagine what I am not covering!

[skeptical]

Is the dean willing to give you a a reduced teaching load? That can be a big help. And, as far as forgetting things, my experience is that there are always a lot of people around to remind the chair what he or she is supposed to be doing.

[bevo98]

Is the dean willing to give you a a reduced teaching load? That can be a big help. And, as far as forgetting things, my experience is that there are always a lot of people around to remind the chair what he or she is supposed to be doing.

That is a good question and when the time comes I will ask. I have a growing list of "things to ask for" and expect to only get one or two but will give it my best shot. 

[itried]

bevo98, I agree with others here that you should ask for the teaching and time releases you need to keep up with your research and writing. At my uni, chairs get six credits of teaching release. By my experience, the workload is much heavier than it appears from the outside; I had no idea how much would be coming at me. What I didn't expect was so much work on student grievances, academic probation plans, and personnel issues; of course, as a faculty member before becoming Chair, I couldn't have known about all of this going on behind the scenes because it's confidential.

In short, if you like challenge and variety, I think you should go for it! 

[bevo98]

Thanks itried, I am going to do just that as far releases and support goes.  I have been reading a lot about effective chairs and even if we are minimally still engaged with our research we tend to do better at mentoring faculty and, just generally, having something else going on that we CAN control.  If I can just keep one toe in the water the first year, I will feel good.  I also found out that summers are optional for me, which means I can take one or both of those sessions off and I will. 

As you can probably tell from this, I am going for it.  In fact, I am in the process of writing my Statement of Administrative Philosophy and Vision. I know this is going to be a lot of work, especially the first year, but I am no stranger to hard work or challenge.  I do not want to do this the rest of my career but the idea that I can help to keep our department on track and bring up some future chairs in the process is very appealing. 

itried, your words about what you did not expect ring so true!  My dean said something similar.  Fun!?

[itried]

Good for you bevo98! I hope you like the work. What are you reading about effective Chairs? I'd really like to read some of that material.

In my case, one other aspect of this that surprised me is how much I like the work. I've always identified as a teacher first and foremost, so when I took the Chair position, I expected to tolerate it at best and resent it at worst. Instead, I've really enjoyed the challenge and stimulation, and the job is pushing me into new professional territory that I value. To my surprise, I now envision potentially taking on other administrative positions later in my career, as long as I can retain some teaching.

Have fun and keep us posted!