Education Commons^™

Embracing The Change: Personal Experience In Academic Unit Transformation, Hazem Said

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This presentation will cover personal experience and case study on how academic unit head can embrace change, build an identity for their unit, and lead their faculty and staff in transforming their unit from obscurity to prominence while under budget constraints and limited authority.

Leadership And “Followership”: Do Department Chairs Actually Have “Followers”?, Jeff Buller

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

There is a paradox in higher education: Everyone agrees that good, creative leadership is essential … but no one wants to be led. Most books on leadership or management discuss a leader's "followers" or use some other expression (such as team members, direct reports, or associates) that appears to suggest a different sort of relationship but, when examined carefully, is really just a euphemism for followers. The chair role in higher education is distinctive, however, in that, although it includes supervisory aspects, the members of our departments are also our colleagues. So, how do you lead when you don't really …

Practical Strategies For Establishing Yourself As A Responsible Leader, Butler Cain

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Establishing a reputation as a responsible leader within higher education is a practical and achievable goal. It creates opportunities for individuals and programs, it helps build trusting relationships, and it effectively positions people for professional advancement. These strategies can help establish and maintain a positive reputation for leadership.

Leadership Doesn't Have To Be Lonely: Creating Cross-Institutional Community, Jerry Schnepp, Lisa K. Hanasono, W. John Koolage, Mary-Jon Ludy, M. Elise Radina, Jolie A. Sheffer

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Presenters and participants will build communities of support through engaging in interactive co-writing surrounding shared challenges, opportunities, and solutions for academic administrators as servant leaders.

Creating An Academic Department Vision: Processes, Challenges, Rewards, Costas Spirou, Steve Mclaughlin

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Department chairs are expected to lead academic units by managing numerous aspects of the academic enterprise. Participants in this session will focus on the process of creating a department vision that is inclusive by engaging various stakeholders while considering the university/college strategic plan and other institutional initiatives.

The Culturally Intelligent Leader, Sean F. Daly

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Research has shown that a culturally intelligent (CQ) leader will have a positive impact on organizational culture, satisfaction, productivity, and retention. Moreover, data shows that CQ has a strong positive relationship with job satisfaction and perceived transformational leadership.

This training program is designed to help leaders develop a greater awareness of their motivation and understanding of cultural intelligence while also helping them to develop strategies and an action plan around improving their level of CQ. The suggested audience for this are experienced managers who have had some interaction with a culturally diverse population and want to serve their population better.

Hollywood Leadership Theory, Part 2: Examples From World Leaders, Christopher Barrick

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Following the success of last year’s presentation at the 39^th Academic Chairpersons Conference, Part 2 of the Hollywood Leadership Theory continues to demonstrate how leadership advice can be found in television and movies as readily as it is in journals and books.

Are You Blue? Personality, Communication, And Leadership, Hillary Gleason

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This workshop will identify participants' dominant personality styles utilizing the True Colors questionnaire developed by Don Lowry in 1978. To that end, there will be a discussion on each color's communication and leadership strengths, weaknesses, and stressors. This is a fun activity that requires movement and most people enjoy. Finally, participants will be paired up with rotating partners and given a departmental chair scenario wherein they need to communicate and lead by utilizing what they have learned about dealing with the personality types of the colors. This exercise will help participants develop a strategic approach to their communication in order …

Embracing The Tension: A New/Ancient Approach To Problem Solving, Rick Olsen

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This workshop will illuminate four important concepts and approaches to problem solving and problem navigation. Participants will then work individually and collectively around problems of shared interest to deepen their understanding of these concepts. The running example by the facilitator will be faculty retirements.

Focus: The Development Of A Community Of Academic Leaders, Lina Prada Angarita, Nayibe Rosado Mendinueta, Katina Katinac@Uninorte.Edu.Co

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This presentation reports the development of a community of practice for academic leaders in Colombia, South America. Document analysis from 2016 to 2020 helped to characterize the nature of the activities, the purposes, the products and gains. There is evidence of a change of purpose, agency and awareness.

College Reconfiguration: Building Faculty Support, Maureen E. Wilson, Dawn M. Shinew, Tracy L. Huziak-Clark, Deborah Wooldridge

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Following a year-long discussion, deliberation, and feedback process, faculty and staff in the College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University voted overwhelmingly in support of reconfiguring from five schools and one department to three schools. We discuss our journey and outline the initial benefits, challenges, and lessons of this new configuration.

The First 100 Days As An Academic Department Chair, Dr. Sara Rutledge

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This session will highlight lessons learned from the presenter’s first 100 days as an academic department chairperson. Topics covered will include: daily operations, faculty, students, alumni, enrollment, retention, academic planning, assessment, accreditation, compliance, governmental relations, articulations, technology, communications, marketing, community engagement, data management, budgeting, reporting, event planning, and initiatives.

How Covid-19 Clarified My Role As Chair, Mark Urtel

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Presenter and participants will reflect on and share their academic chair experiences and subsequent yet significant leadership alterations due directly to COVID-19. These transformations may be long- or short-term but are exclusive to being a department chair.

A Chairpersons Guide To Managing Time And Stress, Christian K. Hansen

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

In this interactive workshop we discuss time and stress management specifically from the perspective of a department chairperson responsible for leading an academic department through numerous internal and external challenges. The focus will be on practical strategies for effective use of time, not only at a personal level, but also at a department wide level.

Fighting For Resources: Using Data To Effectively Advocate For Your Department, Craig D. Hlavac

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

The Department chairperson is the primary spokesperson and advocate for the academic department. As many institutions continue to see enrollment declines and shrinking revenues, the ability for chairpersons to advocate effectively for limited resources has become even more important. Operating budgets, reassigned time, course offerings, and tenure-track faculty lines are all scrutinized with a focus on finding efficiencies. Today’s department chairperson must be adept at advocating for their department using data-based arguments. This session will review the most common data metrics used by deans to assess academic departments, and provide participants with clear, concise methods for using this data to …

New Way To Be A Chair Via Distributed Shared Model, Dennis Anderson

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Being a chair in today's higher education is more stressful due to various issues related to enrollment, administration demands, and limited and shrinking resources. Chairs have to manage and juggle demands from all stakeholders including students, faculty, staff, and administration. This presentation is about how to meet these challenges by creating a shared management system that enables and empowers faculty in the department by giving them portfolios. This model moves away from chair centric model that one person holds all decision making power by controlling resources. Since my department moved to shared distributed chair model, the department productivity is higher …

Embracing The Change: Personal Experience In Academic Unit Transformation, Hazem Said

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This presentation will cover personal experience and case study on how academic unit heads can embrace change, build an identity for their unit, and lead their faculty and staff in transforming their unit from obscurity to prominence while under budget constraints and limited authority.

The session will draw from personal experience establishing an academic unit and transforming it from a small unknown teaching unit to one of the largest teaching and research units on the campus of a research one university. Over ten years, the grassroots transformation included the hiring of 24 new faculty and 20 new staff and sustaining …

The Impact Covid-19 Is Having On Freedom Of Speech And Expression On Campuses: From Issues To Solutions, Renee Marine

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

At a time of complete uncertainty, one thing remains consistent, the right the American people to freedom of speech and expression. What comes into question, is the cost of expressing that freedom. As stated in the First Amendment (1789):

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for the redress of grievances. (p. 1)

Right now, while millions of people are fighting for their lives, hundreds of thousands …

Navigating Leadership In Academia Through A Crisis, Domenick J. Pinto

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Academic leadership is a fast-paced ever changing entity. When you add an unexpected global pandemic to the mix, it changes academic life beyond anyone's wildest dreams. In this workshop I hope to share how I and my colleagues handled the pandemic and invite the participants to share their experiences. Let's learn from one another!

Managing Uncertainty Through Values-Centric Leadership, Kimberly Miloch, Chris Ray, Abigail Tilton

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Crises force leaders to think in the short-term to address immediate needs. In navigating emergencies like COVID-19, it is vital that leaders remain values-focused, especially when considering short-term solutions that inevitably have long-term impact. This presentation examines values-centric leadership in the context of crisis communication, budget reductions, and strategic planning.

Faculty Reopening Committee: A Study Of Chair And Faculty Collaboration, Jeffrey Ward

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

The presenter will share experiences with a self-selected group of volunteer faculty to form a Reopening Committee, offering conclusions not only about the committee but also about also how it more broadly illustrates principles of faculty governance and collegial relationships among faculty and between the faculty and the department head.

Faculty Reopening Committee: A Study Of Chair And Faculty Collaboration, Jeffrey Ward

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

The presenter will share experiences with a self-selected group of volunteer faculty to form a Reopening Committee, offering conclusions not only about the committee but also about also how it more broadly illustrates principles of faculty governance and collegial relationships among faculty and between the faculty and the department head.

Navigating The Realm Of Faculty Evaluation, Sonal Dekhane, Patrice Bell, Neelam Khan

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

In this presentation the presenters will discuss annual evaluation process followed at a young, liberal arts institution. Chairs from three different STEM disciplines will provide an overview of the annual evaluation process and share strategies to ensure successful and consistent evaluation in departments of various sizes.

Do Academic Supervisors Know What Their Employees Want From Work?, John C. Griffith Ph.D.

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Presenter will discuss the results of a survey which included respondents from the 2020 Academic Chairperson’s Conference on what employees want from work. Results were compared between what employees valued and what supervisors thought employees wanted from work. Conference participants will be asked to consider how the 10 work factors evaluated in this study impact their employees to include faculty. Additionally, we will discuss strategies focusing on key work factors to improve motivation.

Academic Leadership In The New Normal, Jeff Buller

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

The COVID-19 pandemic. The assault on the U.S. capitol. Global warming. Toxic polarization. These and other factors have created what many in higher education now refer to as “the New Normal.” It's a period when many of our former assumptions about higher education—including the reason for going to college itself—are increasingly being called into question. How can department chairs lead most effectively in this altered landscape of higher education? What has really changed, and what has remained relatively untouched by recent events? In this workshop, participants will explore how to plan and guide their programs when the only thing they …

Women In Leadership: They Persist, Marilyn J. Amey, Kristi L. Haik, Maria Alm, Christina Lunceford, C. Casey Ozaki, Royce Smith

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This Spotlight Presentation features the expertise of higher education leaders at different stages of their career. These individuals pursued unique professional pathways within different educational contexts and been exposed to opportunities and challenges calling for a range of problem-solving skills. They will share experiences, what it means to advocate for oneself as a leader, for others, and how to create conditions for sustainable change supporting inclusivity within the complex, shifting landscape of higher education.

Step Right Up: Walking The Work-Life Balance Tightrope In The Circus Of Higher Education, Krystal Brue, Shaun Calix, Jennifer Dennis

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Most professionals experience demanding obstacles when balancing on the work-life tightrope. Managing highly demanding occupational and life challenges may not come naturally. This presentation’s purpose is to examine work-life imbalance, review movements for finding harmony between work and non-work, and recommend strategies for improving work-life balance in high impact positions.

Assessment Basics: How To Implement An Effective Student Learning Assessment Process, Frederick Burrack

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Assessment Basics is a workshop focused on understanding the purpose behind student learning assessment, strategies to guide curricular integration, and techniques to use data for program improvement. Participants will be involved in leadership techniques to transfer into their own context. Experience with assessment processes will enable academic chairpersons with skills to guide faculty involvement and promote self-review of data that leads to continual program improvement. Assessments in higher education are crucial in providing indicators of the educational effectiveness and quality of its educational offerings. Assessments help students, instructors, and administrators answer various questions about student development, the value of specific …

Establishing A Faculty Mentoring Program, Joshua Schulte

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Presenter will discuss the establishment and conductance of a college-wide faculty mentoring program. The program entails connecting a new faculty member with a mentor and includes regular meetings, observations, and discussions of pedagogy.

Not Your Typical Administrator, Shaunda French-Collins, James F. Koehn, Wendy Waugh

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Presenters will examine the trend of “wearing many hats” in higher education leadership. For example, being both a department chair and faculty member. In addition, the notion of successfully managing up, the importance of understanding each role you have, and understanding your situational role and the communication we use will be discussed. Lastly, participants will engage in case study scenarios challenging participants to consider various administrative situations and identifying reasonable approaches based on which “hat” you are wearing.