Creating a Strong Chair-Dean Partnership: What Deans Can Do, Part 1

In two recent articles, we outlined several ways that chairs can lighten their general workloads and facilitate the work of their deans, thereby strengthening their partnership. Chairs contribute to the partnership by making student success and satisfaction a priority; by enhancing the productivity and value of the faculty, an institution’s greatest investment; by creating an environment in which faculty, staff, and students can do their best work; and by developing a sense of advocacy that goes beyond the department. Chairs also make the dean’s life easier when they meet critical deadlines and alert the dean to problems headed the latter’s way. It is now time to turn this concept around and discuss how deans can optimize this critically important collaborative relationship in higher education.