The evolution from new faculty to department chair, through tenure and promotion, has been widely studied, yielding ideas for success. The move from department chair back to faculty status is less studied, with fewer insights in the literature. This article offers a brief review of literature related to becoming and stepping down from the role of…

Leadership plays an important role in an educational establishment as they help to manage the day-to-day activities. Instructional leadership has always played a distinct role in higher education as the role of instructional leadership was always to influence on effective teaching and learning processes. The purpose of this research is intended to…

Department chairs play a key role in efforts to diversify higher education, particularly in fields like computer science that face long-standing gender and racial/ethnic gaps. This study considers the role of computer science department chairs in guiding broadening participation efforts and how they make sense of external dynamics that influence…

Department chairs serve a vital function at community colleges. They are middle managers, mid-level leaders, and faculty members. They serve a unique position within the organization because they interact with nearly every unit: academics affairs, student affairs, senior administrators and students. At a time when professional organizations are…

This paper provides a small-scale exploration of the evolvement of leadership roles in higher education academic units (AUs), namely Departments, Schools & Faculties. A literature review provides theoretical examples of the evolution of professional services (PS) staff. Changes in PS leadership roles are also explored alongside the emergence…

The academic department is a key administrative unit in universities, and so heading, or chairing, a department is a key role. However, it is also known to be a challenging role and academics are often reluctant assume this position. Despite its importance, the head's role has not received sufficient academic attention and needs further…

College leadership in the 21st century is incredibly difficult, and leadership in Kinesiology can be rather complex in some departments. Mentoring is an important part of success in any leadership role, and individuals who receive mentoring typically outperform those who do not receive it. The National Association of Kinesiology in Higher…

As excellence in teaching and learning, in combination with a focus on student performance rates, are guiding the demands placed on higher education institutions, modern universities are attributing strategic importance to leadership of teaching and learning. Previous studies on educational leadership have, nevertheless, identified significant…

The purpose of this study was to understand the extent to which novice department leaders believe they have been supported in their roles. Previous research has suggested that department leaders have unique needs due to the lack of clarity in their roles and responsibilities. The literature further reflected the inconsistent support provided to…

Knowledge management is one of the valuable dimensions essential for the educational institution to support teachers' performance. Therefore, the role of leaders in encouraging teachers to create and share knowledge is vital to earn a competitive advantage. This research was planned to find the relationship among leadership styles…

This article takes the author's personal experience of being a Head of Department (HOD) in an English University, and frames this experience as a transition narrative. The format draws on the work of Sandra Acker, who framed her own experience as a Head of Department in Canada, in three areas. Utilising literature both on Higher Education…

The research presented here contributes to research and practice focused on faculty leadership development by examining the leadership pipeline for mid-career faculty in a consortium of 13 liberal arts colleges. Research findings revealed that mid-career faculty members are in the leadership pipeline, with the department chair position serving as…

The role of faculty in gathering, analyzing and using student learning data is growing and changing, but still underrepresented in the higher education research literature. While faculty are often expected and required to participate in assessment work, some faculty go beyond assessment work as service to take leadership roles. Using data…

This doctoral dissertation explores the perceptions of diversity leadership by department chairs in engineering and computing in higher education and their role in creating social change. Using a qualitative research design, this study explores the lived experiences of department chairs who are tasked with leading diversity and inclusion efforts…

In the present phenomenological qualitative research study, we conducted interviews with 14 professors whom returned to full-time faculty positions after having served in department chair positions at a Midwest, comprehensive, private university. Interviews explored the professors' experiences as they reflected on their time working as chair, and…