Part 1 of this series dealt with what you as a department head should consider before you embark on a new project. Why? It’s easy to have a great idea. You may be bursting with ...
How and under what conditions should department heads embark on new initiatives and create new projects? In this article, I offer important considerations for the earliest phase of project development. Department heads have it tough. Betwixt ...
If you are reading this, you believe in higher education and are committed to making your program and unit as dynamic as possible. This requires hard work every day: creating, maintaining, updating, and adapting. So ...
The Facebook post showed three smiling young faculty members standing next to a departmental banner. The caption ready simply “We are recruiting!” What did this post tell us? So little. What was missing? So much. Faculty ...
A former department head of mine closed many of their emails with “Thanks for all you do.” It was nice the first time I read it. The second and third time, not so much. I ...
“Stop thinking,” the petite Vietnamese nun instructed the small group of retreatants. We sat cross-legged in a circle on the floor in the enormous meditation hall at Magnolia Grove Monastery in Batesville, Mississippi. Our minds ...
In the first two articles in this series, I focused on building on faculty strengths and improving the curriculum as core areas to which a new department head should devote attention. In this final part, ...
Last month I discussed ways to build on faculty strengths. This month, I take a close look at questions that new and continuing department heads will want to ask about the curriculum. The goal here ...
In this series, I share some of the most useful questions I asked—or wish I had asked—when I became department head. If the things I describe seem obvious, here’s the reason to read on. You ...
If you are a new department head, you are likely focused on doing an excellent job. And you may believe that the work you do speaks for itself. It is important, however, to also cultivate ...