Discusses the role of English department chairmen, the increased unionization of college faculty, and the advantages of collective bargaining in higher education. (RB)

Exposes the myth of the department chairperson as omnipotent. Demonstrates that by identifying the common interest of the myriad components of an English department, a chairperson can unify them into a successful, dynamic department by power of the faculty members themselves. (HTH)

Maintains that one of the most difficult problems faced by English department chairpersons arises from the widely divergent theoretical or ideological positions of faculty members. Argues for faculty to stop abusing one another and illustrates departmental discord in an imaginative fiction involving "Roger" and "Rose." (HB)

Reviews five years' experience as an English department chairperson to show how a chairperson teeters between administration and faculty, constantly addressing questions of identity and allegiance. ( GW)

Develops several perspectives of the discipline of college English teaching that include local, state, regional, and national levels of involvement as well as viewpoints of others outside the discipline. (AEA)

Suggests that the most important piece of advice for the survival of English departments is that all faculty members, especially chairs, learn to collaborate effectively. Discusses the kinds of collaboration required for the retention of faculty lines. (RS)

Lists guidelines to help department administrators reduce their liability and strengthen their position when faced with grievances or lawsuits. (AEA)

Advocates a "trust relation" between English department chairpersons and the English teaching profession, examined in light of the composition-literature tension, cultural appreciation, literacy, student diversity, meetings and associations, English teacher education, course improvement, graduate education, reentering adult students, English…

Suggests two principles for successful evaluation of college faculty members: chairs should know their departments; and "always, always pay attention." Describes how the chair of the English department at Michigan State University developed and implemented these suggestions. (RS)

Calls attention to some of the psychological dimensions of English department chairs' responsibilities to mentor and evaluate faculty members. Notes an estrangement effect between chairs and faculty; the importance of making the right initial appointments; usefulness of written performance evaluations; and the importance of mentoring junior…

Describes tactics and approaches used by an English department chair in dealing with faculty, administration, and internal faculty strife. (SR)

Offers a practical voice from an English department chair in the trenches at Arizona State University where posttenure review was mandated. Focuses on how the chair's job was transformed by this new personnel process in terms of workload and university support or lack of it. (RS)

Discusses Recommendation No. 20 of the report of the Commission on Academic Tenure headed by W. Rea Keast and John Macy. It recommends establishing ratios for tenured and nontenured faculty. (TO)

Describes three criteria used by a college administrator to allocate faculty positions. Discusses ways for English departments to enhance their chances for faculty positions. Suggests that departments that can significantly enhance undergraduate education have the best claim on faculty positions. (RS)

Presents 10 concrete strategies for retaining faculty lines, strategies that respond to the new economic realities shaping institutions and at the same time preserve the vital heart of the academy. (RS)