A Smooth Transition for the Exiting Chair at Small Colleges: The Administration's Role
When an academic year ends, preparations for a new entering class and new employees are in high gear. In some years, the year-end also may be marked by transitions in administrators at all levels, including department chairs. Having served as a department chair at three small colleges for a combined 19 years, I have witnessed chair transitions as well as commiserated with many department chairs as they transitioned out of their roles. I also have experienced three of my own transitions. The range of emotions and thoughts from outgoing chairs covers the spectrum from relief and joy to a sense of loss and uncertainty. In my own case, and speaking for the many other chairs with whom I have worked over the years, we cared deeply about the institution and wanted our departments to thrive. We also wanted our exits to be graceful, and we wanted to make the transition for the new chair as easy as possible
Perceptions of Community College Department Chairs in Connecticut
There is a triangulation of forces that impact all institutions of higher education. These influences are converging on colleges and universities in an interrelated way. Each, taken individually, can cause major disruptions in the operational efficiency of higher education institutions. However, when viewed together, they present a somewhat lugubrious picture.
Recovering from Failure
In a perfect world, academic leaders would move from one success to another, with all their calculated risks producing incredible results. In the world we actually inhabit, however, the truth is not quite this rosy. Our plans can fail; sometimes they can fail spectacularly. Administrators who have never known a colossal failure are indeed fortunate. But those who have not had even a taste of significant disappointment are probably either new to their positions or unwilling to take chances that could ultimately benefit all their stakeholders. President Kennedy's response to the Bay of Pigs disaster is deservedly famous: "There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan." But what do you do when you're responsible for one of these orphans? How do you get your career back on track after a major failure?
Time Management Reminders to Myself
The demands of academe require a thoughtful approach to time managment and setting priorities. The following techniques and advice have helped me in this area.
Transforming Meetings
Death by Meetings, a book title, might also be offered by faculty as a description of their academic lives. Unfocused, unproductive, and unruly meetings create stress, lower morale, waste time, and are generally a source of major frustration. Eliminating meetings from the academy, however, seems unlikely. More likely is putting into use one of four fairly simple strategies. These approaches have the potential to turn meetings into useful gatherings for effective decision making and advancing the priorities of a department.
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