Hi Patrick I just finished my first year as chair (also a 3 year rotation) in a dept. of the same size. I had 4 reviews incl. a tenure review, we hired a new person, we revised our curriculum, and in the spring one staff person (a technician) unexpected quit with 2 weeks notice and the following week our secretary got a brain tumor (and was out for the rest of the semester although thankfully completely recovered now and back to work) - thus we had no staff for part of the spring semester. I also run a full lab. Saying I was very busy would be an understatement.
So here are my morsels of advice 1. Ask/negotiate to get a course release. If you have a choice between money and time off always take the time off (I had neither) 2. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Other senior faculty members can serve as the chair of a search committee, write the first draft of a contract renewal, be in charge of dept. advising issues, etc. Work with your senior colleagues to share the work. If necessary get the support of the dean if your senior colleagues resist helping. 3. Use your staff effectively - I find many faculty members underutilize their secretaries and other staff on campus who can help with practical stuff (for a search, for example). 4. Have low expectations for what changes you will make in the dept. Departments don't change much over time and it is unlikely that you're going to completely overhaul something. Set limited and realistic goals (e.g., improve the honor's thesis expectations in year 1, create better teaching mentoring for junior psych faculty in year 2, etc). 5. Work effectively behind the scenes. A lot of the work as chair happens before dept. meeting and before formal proposals are made for this or that. Float ideas by key faculty, get agreement before the issues comes up in a dept. meeting, soothe ruffled feathers privately, etc. 6. Before you begin as chair meet privately with each faculty member (at least senior folks) and ask them what is important to them in a chair and what is important to you as chair (one of mine: I never want to be surprised). 7. There are actually a great many books about how to be an effective dept. chair (look on amazon). Of course I never had time to read any of them, but there is lots of advise to be had there (as well as from trusted colleagues in other dept). OK. That's it. Good luck. Marie -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Dolan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 30, 2008 10:50 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] chair advice Hi folks- I'm looking for advice on being a department chair. I take over in July a 3-year rotating position. It is my first time (I'll be starting my 8th year here) and would like to be as effective as possible without it killing me. As background, the dept. has 9 1/2 full time members, with about 60 majors graduating each year (one of the largest majors on campus). The dept. gets along very well and is fortunate to have decent administrative support. In my first year as chair though I'll be facing a resignation, a 4th year contract renewal, a promotion and tenure decision, a position search, and a self-study. A the same time, my research program is as busy as ever with a full lab, several lines going and several manuscripts under review or awaiting revision (oh, and I'm having a baby in September). Thoughts? Advice? Suggestions? Thanks kindly, Patrick -- Patrick O. Dolan, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology Drew University Madison, NJ 07940 973-408-3558 [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
