Synopses & Reviews
This book is a practical guide to developing the survival skills that chairs need in order to function as leaders and build cohesive teams in departments.Those who become department chairs for the first time often find that their experience as faculty members does not equip them for the transition. The conflicts inherent in representing administration to faculty colleagues as well as taking the concerns of the faculty back to administration can leave department chairs feeling alone, overwhelmed by paperwork, and unsupported. Strengthening Departmental Leadership is a practical guide to developing the survival skills chairs need to function as leaders and build cohesive teams in departments.Drawing on her experience working with over 6,000 department chairs at more than 125 campuses in the United States and abroad, Ann F. Lucas presents specific practical techniques for overcoming the most common problems that chairs must struggle with, including:
- team-building with members of the department
- creating a supportive communication climate
- facilitating faculty development
- motivating faculty--particularly difficult colleagues, poor teachers, and mid-career faculty
- handling faculty evaluation and making feedback interviews meaningful
- managing conflict
- developing an effective relationship with the
- developing coping mechanisms to ensure their own survival.
Synopsis
"A first-rate book, well worth reading. Ann Lucas has taken years of research and reflection and distilled them into an easily understood, useful volume designed to help department chairs develop their leadership skills." --William E. Cashin, director, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State UniversityThis book is a practical guide to developing the survival skills that chairs need in order to function as leaders and build cohesive teams in departments.
Synopsis
A first-rate book, well worth reading. Ann Lucas has taken years of research and reflection and distilled them into an easily understood, useful volume designed to help department chairs develop their leadership skills.
--William E. Cashin, director, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University
A practical guide to developing the survival skills that chairs need in order to function as leaders and build cohesive teams in departments.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-287) and index.
About the Author
ANN F. LUCAS is professor of organization development and former campus chair in the Department of Management at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she is founder and former director of the Office of Professional and Organizational Development. She is the author of The Department Chair's Role in Enhancing College Teaching (Jossey-Bass, 1989).
Table of Contents
1. Strengthening Leadership at the Departmental Level.
2. Roles and Responsibilities of Chairs.
3. Leading the Academic Department.
4. Motivating, Evaluating, and Rewarding Faculty Members.
5. Supporting Effective Teaching in the Department.
6. Providing Feedback on Classroom Teaching.
7. Enhancing Commitments to Scholarship and Service.
8. Team Building Through Supportive Communication.
9. Managing Conflict.
10. Using Feedback from the Department.
11. The Dean's Role in Developing Departmental Leadership.
12. Survival Skills for Department Chairs.
13. Personal Strategies for Strengthening Leadership Effectiveness.