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…

In this article, author Veronica House interviews David Joliffe, who retired from the Brown Chair of English Literacy at the University of Arkansas in 2018. The two discuss how to find funding and support for community-engaged projects.

Post-secondary mathematics faculty members have an important role to play in the preparation of future mathematics teachers at all levels and in the support and professional development of in-service mathematics teachers. This work can be demanding and time-consuming and constitute a significant professional contribution. Some departments now…

Colleges and universities looking to recruit leaders from within the faculty ranks will face more and more difficulty. From their respective positions--as a provost (Janel) and a search consultant (Dennis)--they often hear senior executives in higher education say that building a new generation of faculty leaders will be a major challenge in the…

Many teachers have known of (or been members of) departments in which all of the potentially successful chairs--after having proven themselves by running subunits or graduate programs--have decided to devote themselves solely to research or teaching, and to leave department administration to whoever is willing to do it or whoever can be talked…

Sociology exists in a dynamic academic environment that influences how students view and evaluate the discipline. This essay explores the changing academic context of sociology through the author's experience as a professor and department chair over a span of four decades. Increased co-curricular programming, changing student goals, and more…

Discusses faculty development and the role of the English department chairperson in that area. (FL)

Notes that the question of whether English departments had a future was asked 17 years ago when the author first became a department chair as it is asked now upon her retirement. Discusses things about the profession that have changed, for good or ill. Suggests that the profession's penchant for self-examination has not changed. (RS)

Discusses the responsibilities of serving as English department head. Two main duties identified are (1) to preserve and expand knowledge and (2) to ensure the success of the educational mission of the department. The administrator is encouraged to maintain scholarly activities while being a student of departmental and institutional affairs. (DF)

Briefly reviews personal experiences as an English department chair and compares the relative advantages of two systems of department administration: long-standing and short-term headships. (AEA)

Describes seven things the author would do, were he chairing an English department, to solve some of the problems that go with the post. (DD)

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)…

Considers the position of the subject area supervisor. Reports on a survey of the characteristics of these positions as they are found in the school districts of Pennsylvania. Assesses the potential for the continuation of the positions in the districts surveyed. (HB)

Describes the joys and frustrations of serving as head of a university English department. (AEA)

Traces the history of the author's experience as the chair of an English department and discusses the leadership required of an effective chair. (DD)