There is a severe shortage of Black scientists in the United States. Amid the recent national movement to dismantle systemic racism and racial injustices, many scientists publicly highlighted the prevalence of racist learning environments in STEM, contributing to the underrepresentation of Black students in STEM fields. Acknowledging this…

After serving multiple terms as department chair at a small, liberal arts college, we have had the opportunity to develop some insights in a variety of circumstances. Through these experiences, we have formulated some advice for current and future unit leaders. We have included some general transition advice and a "top ten list" of…

The chair position is essential for implementing progressive changes in higher education institutions. However, the position has been unattractive to many faculties due to its ambiguity and the limited training chairs receive prior to assuming the office. Chairs must balance the dual responsibilities of managing faculty and student affairs who…

The XXVth Anniversary of CercleS brings back memories not only of the CercleS Association and its development, but also of the role of Language Centres in European universities. This article presents the Centre of Languages and Communication (CLC) at Poznan University of Technology (PUT) in Poland. It focuses on the main challenges the CLC has…

The leadership, management, and academic concerns of deans and provosts are addressed in this casebook based on 25 original case studies on issues related to finance, personnel, organizational structure, curriculum, and academic freedom and standards. Two or more practical options for action accompany each presentation of a challenging problem.…

This book addresses the administration of music programs in institutions of higher education and the roles, responsibilities, and interactions of students, faculty and administrators. Chapter I looks at music departments and music education as a bureaucratic enterprise. It reviews trends in American higher education and its forms and argues for…

A small departmental survey revealed significant differences in perception among faculty and students of the chairperson's role as departmental executive officer. Although styles of leadership vary, the chairperson's role in higher education requires further investigation and clarification. (MSE)

Advances a conceptual model for viewing the influence of the administrative behaviors of chairpersons of academic departments, positing four propositions that depict the influence of administrative behaviors on college student learning: student evaluations of teaching, student advisement, cooperative instructional activities, and faculty…

By helping faculty collaborate to enrich their teaching abilities and by supporting them when faculty/student relationships occasionally fail, the department chair models leadership skills that faculty themselves can use. The skills of leadership correspond very closely to good teaching skills, and can be combined with the skills of principled…

Department chairs are in a position to help shape a culture where student learning is the central focus of faculty, staff, and students (Gmelch & Schuh, 2004). They hire, socialize, and evaluate faculty members' performance, guide curriculum development, and maintain the quality of academic programs. At the same time, department chairs typically…

Written for deans in colleges and universities of all sizes and types, this book examines a number of management issues and provides advice on recognizing and solving problems that face academic administrators who have several departments or divisions under their jurisdiction. The book is divided into ten chapters: (1) The Perfect Dean; (2)…