Look Before You Leap: Transitions from Faculty to Administration

A discussion of 10 issues which are often stumbling blocks in the transition from faculty to administration.

  • 惊喜的频率 -计划经常被打断和改变. 这使得你的工作日程难以预测. 灵活性是关键，无论是智力上还是情感上. 你能忍受吗??
  • Multitasking - Administrators need to be able to "turn on a dime" in terms of priorities, 转移工作负载, 应付意想不到的最后期限. There is never the luxury of working on only one project at a time. A good administrator can shift full concentration from one thing to another instantly, 但还是要让一切都向前推进. 这就像在多条战线上作战一样. 你准备好了吗?
  • Voice changes - The administrator is no longer heard as a faculty member (first big lesson), 而是作为组织的代言人. Even a raw, brainstorming idea may be taken as new policy if not properly packaged (second big lesson). 个人的声音常常被遗忘. 没有说出来的和说出来的一样重要.

系主任的角色和职责

While many institutions still stipulate that department chairs have a record of scholarship and publication, all institutions expect chairs to be more than a role model or figurehead. 系里的教职员工寻求一位强有力的倡导者, 建立共识的人, a budget wizard, 一个出色的经理. Academic deans and provosts seek department chairs who have superb managerial and communication skills, 并且能够执行学校的政策和指令.

  • The lengthy list of department chair responsibilities can be organized into the following categories: department governance and office management; curriculum and program development; faculty matters; student matters; communication with external publics; financial and facilities management; data management; and institutional support.
  • Chairs often experience conflict over whether they are primarily a faculty person with some administrative responsibilities or an administrator with some faculty responsibilities. Nonetheless, chairs are not without power and it is valuable to understand the sources of power at their command. 一般来说, the power of higher education administrators can be categorized into three types, 这取决于它是如何以及从哪里获得的, 来自权威的权力, position power, 以及个人权力.

过渡和转变:系主任的制作

Examines the theory behind leadership and applies to it models that are aligned with the leadership skills needed for successful chair leadership.

  • The first transition model we have is that offered by John Bennett in 1983. Bennett suggested that there were three major transformations that would face anyone upon becoming a department chair. 一个是从专才到通才的转变. The second is moving from being an individualist to being a person running a collective. The last transition Bennett points to is the refocusing of loyalty from one’s discipline to the institution.
  • The most stressful change chairs face is the sheer volume of tasks they are expected to execute. We know this from questionnaires administered at the American Council on Education chair workshops. The expanded task list which all chairs struggle with makes time management seem like the key to peace and sanity. And there is no doubt that on becoming a chair, the incumbent will need to organize time differently.
  • Perhaps the most shocking change for any department chair is the alteration that takes place in human relationships. A powerful lament on the part of chairs concerns the shift that takes place in their relationships with department colleagues. 这可能是新椅子最大的压力来源.

高等教育编年史-“真的那么难吗?”

托德·A的观点专栏. Diacon, former Chairman of the History Department at the  University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

  • The toughest part of the department head's job comes from the fact that you encounter every day the people most affected by your decisions.
  • The tension comes from the narratives that faculty members develop to explain decisions and policies made above them. 大多数时候, those narratives interpret actions and policies as the products of arrogance, 误解, 甚至无能. Such conclusions are easy to reach because professors do not have the information that a dean has with which to understand the challenges of the moment, and they are not under pressure from others (in the central administration) to make changes.
  • The best reason to be a department head is because it provides a unique opportunity for learning. 作为顾问、教练和知己，你会学到新的技能. 你懂得了筹款的重要性, and, in the process, 结识来自校外的有趣的人.

高等教育纪事-“把工作做得更好”

观点专栏作者:Michael C. Munger, Chair of the Political Science Department at Duke University.

  • 你永远不会有比现在更多的朋友. 当你第一次接任主席时, you should connect with members of the department you may not know well, 或者被认为冷漠甚至不友好. 不要因为假设他们不是朋友而树敌. 一旦你失去了一个朋友，就很难再让他回来了. Above all, never choose short-run gains at the cost of making enemies.
  • How can I help? 问问题，听答案. 一些回应将是简单的抱怨, but even there your faculty will appreciate the fact that you listened. After you listen, ask, "What one thing could I do to make your work better, and your life easier?" There are lots of little problems that you as chair can fix in less than five minutes. There is a reason why successful politicians spend resources on constituency service.
  • We should talk. 停止电子邮件的战火. Somebody has to be the grown-up; why not you? 有时我会收到250封新邮件. More than a few of them make me angry, and I often type an angry response. 然后我把它删掉，写:“我们应该谈谈." This is an invitation, as well as a demonstration of authority. Few people will say in person the horrible things they say in an e-mail message. 此外，愤怒的电子邮件是你错误的书面记录. 不要陷入愤怒之中, poorly thought-out response you will regret two minutes after you hit send.