From local manager to strategic partner: Evolve and elevate the department chair role

Academic unit leaders have a uniquely challenging dual role on campus, as both an institutional leader and a representative of their particular discipline. On the one hand, provosts need chairs to align decisions with a budget model or strategic plan they have little authority over. On the other, chairs are charged by the faculty who elect them with advocating for the discipline’s needs, should they come in conflict with the institution.

When we spoke with academic leaders for our Academic Vital Signs research study, many chairs and former chairs told us they struggled with balancing the two aspects of their role. It is not difficult to understand why. According to a recent survey of 336 department chairs, 67% received no formal training, and of those who did, 66% say the training did not prepare them for their role.

The short-term, rotating model of chair leadership also discourages chairs from making unpopular-but-necessary strategic decisions. These choices may be held against them (if not simply reversed) when they return to the faculty. Departments are also just as likely to select a chair who prefers uncontroversial stances over asking difficult questions of their peers.

Amidst today’s difficult budget climate and the changing demand for higher education, department chairs are increasingly responsible for aligning unit strategy with institutional goals in cost efficiency, enrollment growth, student outcomes, scholarship, and fostering diversity and inclusion on campus.