Change in higher education is inevitable (Wergin, 2007). One prominent change is related to faculty composition. Studies have shown increased hiring of full-time non-tenure-track faculty compared to tenure-track faculty (AAUP, 2018; National Center on Educational Statistics, 2018). The department chair plays a critical role in the lives of…

This essay revisits and expands on Gary A. Olson and Joseph M. Moxley's 1989 article "Directing Freshman Composition: The Limits of Authority" by looking at revised notions of writing program administrators' work and authority in 2012. Whereas the original essay surveyed only department chairs, our study includes data from both…

Universities generally have clear expectations for teaching and scholarship, and often a faculty member's publications, research and scholarship are the primary factors in tenure and promotion decisions. Many universities do include service as one component in annual reviews as well as in assessing progress toward tenure and promotion.…

Addresses the "community" within an English department. Considers what image of the department the author can have that allows the possibility of forgiving one another. Discusses what metaphors describe the department: a lifeboat; a hive; a monastery; an ecosystem; or a minefield. Considers how metaphors account for the best and the worst things…

Information about deans that may be helpful to department chairs is presented, based on the findings of four national surveys of deans. The surveys of social science, graduate, continuing education, and arts and sciences deans covered the deans' role in resource allocation to departments, teaching and research support for faculty, tenure and…

A handbook to assist newly appointed department heads at Colorado State University is presented. Topics include: the organization of the university, departmental organization, faculty personnel matters, staff personnel administration, fiscal operation, and research administration. The majority of departments operate under departmental codes…

Examines the role of the English department chairman as a spokeman for his faculty and a representative of the university. (RB)

Examines the responsibilities of the foreign language department chair. Discusses complications that arise in tenure and other personnel decisions and raises questions about how to apply criteria for advancement that vary from one dean to the next, among other issues. (Author/VWL)

Information obtained from department heads as well as from staff highlight the difficulties of heads who have to make evaluative statements on departmental staff that may further or slow down their career. Heads may have positional authority, but academic conventions often prevent heads from exercising it. (Author/MLW)

A study examined college faculty (n=485) perceptions about the role the department head should and does play in awarding of tenure. Of 19 roles played by department heads, 13 were seen by respondents as facilitating tenure acquisition. Almost half of those roles were administrative; research roles were also seen as important. (MSE)

Focuses on a single type of faculty member, the language program director, giving an account of the responsibilities involved, credentials, and status in the tenure system. As cultural and textual content become more important in introductory courses, and as attention to language learning is emphasized throughout the upper levels of the…

The role of the speech communication department chairperson in faculty evaluation has become increasingly crucial. Since many schools are at or near their prescribed tenure limits, the chairperson must become more and more definitive in evaluating faculty candidates for tenure and promotion. One solution would be to provide annual faculty reviews.…

Discusses the variety of language centers on college and university campuses, ranging from the rationale for the center to questions and objections about its existence on campus. Discusses relation of the center to the foreign language department, the parameters of the position of center director, the role of the less commonly taught languages,…

The purpose of this paper was to determine faculty perceptions about the role a department chair does and should play in a faculty member's movement toward tenure. A group of 485 full-time, tenured, and tenure-track faculty from 13 U.S. doctorate-granting universities participated in the study. Answers to the following questions were solicited:…

In the last two decades a number of studies, State, regional and nation-wide, have been made of the academic and professional training, the educational experience, and the social and economic status of elementary and secondary school teachers. Three notable studies have been made of the city superintendent of schools. The status of the high-school…