Over the last decade, and in the context of the fiscal crisis in the nation in general and in higher education in particular, a debate has raged over the value of humanities research. Various commentators have argued that unlike nonhumanities disciplines, fields such as English studies and other humanistic disciplines bring very little into their…

Promoting academic departmental productivity requires vision, passion, and sensitivity while coping with the rapid pace of change. This paper presents 10 proven strategies for managing some common challenges faced by academic department chairs: (1) building a sense of family purpose; (2) establishing mechanisms to assure accountability; (3)…

Reviews the roles the department chairperson is expected to fill and offers a firstline defense against burnout. (PD)

Identifies issues related to the scope and content of bargaining at three levels of state government: statewide negotiations, departmental negotiations, and delivery system negotiations. The aim of the approach is to facilitate governmental innovation and productivity. (Author/IRT)

Resources available to department chairs from the following sources are described: the department's discipline; the national higher education community; the local institution; and the chair's own skills, background, roles, and structural placement within the organization. The use of these resources to deal with common problems faced by chairs is…

Deans and department chairs can help faculty members experiencing conflicting expectations cope with role ambiguities about research and teaching, encourage communication among faculty in diverse scholarly fields, and help students place faculty research activities in perspective. (Author/MSE)

When institutional personnel assess faculty research performance, they should consider the extent to which the institution rewards research, ways to encourage faculty to be productive, criteria for evaluating research performance, and the specific steps useful in reviewing research performance within academic units. (Author/MSE)

The role and attributes of deans of nursing as scholars in charge of baccalaureate or higher degree programs are considered by six deans who contributed to a continuing education workshop series. Among the topics addressed by Olga Andruskiw are: problems facing women deans, including stereotypic attitudes, difficulties in ascendancy in…

Offers observations on the changing role of the department chair and the issues communication departments will face in the future, including more diverse, non-traditional student populations, smaller budgets, and faculty replacement. (MS)

Limitations on governmental taxing and/or spending, exemplified by the "Proposition 13" initiative in California, have been instituted or proposed in a large number of states. As the movement spreads, state education agencies (SEAs) and, especially, chief state school officers have fundamental policy decisions to make. Areas where the…

This monograph examines issues in faculty and departmental collaboration in colleges and universities, focusing on structures and environments that support collaboration and reward productivity and progress toward institutional and disciplinary goals. An introductory chapter outlines four key issues: how colleges and universities can develop a…

Key features of the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan in 1976 and actions that were taken in light of these features over the subsequent two-year period are considered by the College's dean, who began the appointment in 1976. Three major objectives established by the dean were to: increase the institution's productivity in all…