Leaders new to academic departments that possess dysfunctional histories due to ineffective "management" face many difficulties in the transformation of department dynamics. Indeed, the challenge for transformational department leaders is fostering positive and proactive attitudes among faculty where previous management was hostile, manipulative, or abusive. To engage in rehabilitative--or transformational--methodologies to reinstitute trust and confidence, and to move the department healthily forward, new chairs must find the means to lead through dialogue and through responsiveness to the emotional tenor of the department. This research explores practices wherein the chair may collaborate and partner with faculty to reclaim their professional milieu. Methodologies advancing this exploration include self-study and field study narratives, interviews, and surveys of faculty as these may aid development of transformational strategies. Specifically, the research may help new department chairs meet these objectives: *Convert negative and resistant faculty attitudes into energies useful to change and growth; Inspire and empower faculty, thus fostering collaboration and partnerships for change; Coach, mentor, and model; as a participant-leader, being the example of action; Enable faculty to regard change as deliverable and desirable. The research is significant as new chairs often do not understand the dynamics of the organization they are entering, nor do they know how to solicit useful information from organization members. A faculty scarred by the past is naturally suspicious and, thus, not helpful to new chairs; hence, old disabling behaviors will persist. However, finding ways to dialogue with faculty about prior interactions with department chairs may remedy nonproductive attitudes and behaviors while setting aside incorrect assumptions about new leadership. The intent for this study is to aid academic chairs toward relieving their faculty of past grievances and toward the purposive growing of the department and its programs. Because departmental dysfunction is often the broken mechanism of communication and emotion, a chair, who transforms those concerns, may lead a renewed and repaired organization to change and subsequent growth. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]