While all would agree that intra-department tasks (assigning teaching, hiring adjuncts, recruiting new faculty, completing reports and other paperwork, evaluating faculty and staff, mentoring, advocating, etc.) are important and need to be done well, there is much more to effectively chairing academic departments at this point and a good deal of this work is enhanced or made possible by external exposure and collaboration across units.
Reciprocity over Hierarchy: Designing and Implementing a Student-Led Reverse Mentoring Program
Many academic leaders, including administrators and faculty members, participate in traditional mentoring programs that prioritize hierarchy. But these programs typically don’t foster engagement and connection between students and faculty or
Marquita Lyons-Smith and Keva Suitte
October 19, 2026
