Resources for Department Chairs

The following is a list of print and Web resources for department chairs.

• Web Resources
• Center for Teaching Library Resources

Web Resources

• Good Practice in Tenure Evaluation: Advice for Tenured Faculty, Department Chairs, and Academic Administrators. A Joint Project of The American Council on Education, The American Association of University Professors, and United Educators Insurance Risk Retention Group. From the introduction: "This report provides guidance on conducting tenure evaluations that are thoughtful and just. Flawed tenure processes can exact a heavy toll on the unsuccessful candidate, his or her colleagues, and the institution. Our hope is that the good practices offered here may lessen the frequency and impact of disputes over tenure. We seek not to debate the merits of tenure in American higher education, but rather we seek to examine the tenure process and offer some suggestions to those responsible for conducting it."

• Site of an initiative of the American Council on Education on "Chairing the Academic Department: Workshops for Division and Department Chairs and Deans." These are three national annual conferences with workshops on a variety of topics, including evaluating college teaching, conflict management, time management, shaping mission and leading change, and legal issues for chairs.

• Section on Management and Administration (with topics of Time Management, Maintaining Department Records, Facilitating Meetings, and Managing Conflict) from the Department Heads Guidebook at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

• Olmstead, M. (1993). Mentoring new faculty: Advice to department chairs. Committee on the Status of Women in Physics Gazette, 13(1), 1.

• Transitions: What's Love Got to Do with It?: Kathleen T. Brinko, Appalachian State University, writes about the importance of collegiality in helping new faculty make the transition onto campus.

CFT Library Resources

The following books are located in the CFT Library and are available for check-out. You can check Acorn, the Vanderbilt Library's online catalog, for availability.

Department Leadership / Department Chair Roles

Creswell, John W. et al. The Academic Chairperson's Handbook . Lincoln: U. of Nebraska Press, 1990.

Leaming, Deryl R. Academic Leadership: A Practical Guide to Chairing the Department . Bolton, MA: Anker, 1998.

Lucas, Ann F. Strengthening Departmental Leadership: A Team-Building Guide in Colleges and Universities . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994.

Lucas, Ann F. and Associates. Leading Academic Change: Essential Roles for Department Chairs . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Mentoring Junior Faculty

Bensimon, Estela M., et al. Department Chair's Role in Developing New Faculty Into Teachers and Scholars. Bolton, MA: Anker, 2000.

Boice, Robert. Advice for New Faculty Members . Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Daloz, Laurent A. Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999.

Jarvis, Donald K. Junior Faculty Development: A Handbook . NY: Modern Language Association, 1991.

Menges, Robert J. Faculty in New Jobs : A Guide to Settling In, Becoming Established, and Building Institutional Support . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999

Zachary, Lois J. The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Evaluating Faculty Work

Diamond, Robert M. Aligning Faculty Rewards with Institutional Mission: Statements, Policies, and Guidelines . Bolton, MA: Anker, 1999.

Diamond, Robert M. Preparing for Promotion and Tenure Review . Bolton, MA: Anker, 1995.

Hutchings, Pat. Making Teaching Community Property: A Menu for Peer Collaboration and Peer Review . American Association for Higher Education, 1996.

Seldin, Peter and Associates. Changing Practices in Evaluating Teaching: A Practical Guide to Improved Faculty Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions . Bolton, MA: Anker, 1999.

Seldin, Peter and Associates. How Administrators Can Improve Teaching . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.

Mentoring Graduate Students

Goldman, Charles A. and William F. Massy. T he Ph.D. Factor: Training and Employment of Science and Engineering Doctorates in the United States . Bolton, MA: Anker, 2001.

Marincovich, Michele et al., eds. The Professional Development of Graduate Teaching Assistants . Bolton, MA: Anker, 1998.

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