An amazing metamorphosis sometimes affects academic leaders between the time they interview for the job and the time they begin their position. As candidates for the position, prospective administrators are
According to organizational life cycle theory, institutions and units within institutions progress through a sequence of stages—inception, growth, maturity, and decline or revitalization. Understanding the challenges specific to each stage
When Jeffrey Yergler became chair of the undergraduate management department at Golden Gate University, one of his priorities was to establish a values-driven department that emphasized improving faculty members’ well-being,
If recent responses to the STEM fad by many academic leaders from liberal arts disciplines—i.e., claiming that admissions offices just aren’t working hard enough to recruit students in the arts
Significant change within higher education institutions requires the input and cooperation of a wide variety of stakeholders. You can’t simply compel change. Successful change requires careful preparation and effective communication.
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
In the view of legislators, governing boards, and certain administrators, higher education needs to assign a much greater emphasis to the STEM disciplines. That’s where the jobs are, the argument
There is much conversation nationally about declining faculty engagement in shared governance and leadership. At the same time there is a clear need for a stronger faculty voice as higher
Department chairs can play a significant role in promoting collaboration and cooperation for the benefit of individual faculty members and the unit. In an interview with Academic Leader, Patrick Lawrence,
Shortly after Kristi Menear became chair of the department of human studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, department chairs gained budgetary control of their programs, and three departments
