Much has been written about academic department chairs who come into their administrative positions with no formal training and essentially must learn on the job. This oversight is particularly critical at this time, when the future shaping of higher education will depend on the leadership of academic departments to adapt and respond to change of many types. Help with chair preparation is a well-recognized need and is vigorously addressed by conferences, workshops (from nationally sponsored to institutionally generated), webinars, books, and periodicals, like this one, that can provide assistance, guidance and advice on a number of vexing challenges that chairs routinely face.
Beyond Programs: Leadership Lessons from Ireland’s Inclusive Universities
During a recent sabbatical studying inclusive postsecondary education in Ireland, I visited four universities—University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin, Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, and Mary Immaculate
Ashley Rodrigues
July 20, 2026
