Heads and Chairs
"I have always found it fascinating that an institution dedicated to training professionals to assume positions of leadership in society does absolutely nothing to train its own leaders in the essential skills." (Feiss, 2005)
When you find yourself in a position of leadership for which you have received no training, the following resources may help you navigate the waters.
General Resources
- Read the 2001 Report on the Status of Geoscience Departments from the American Geological Institute to learn about geoscience enrollments and degrees granted, employment trends of recent graduates, faculty ranks, faculty teaching specialties, geoscience theses and dissertation topics, research funding support, and geoscience employment by employer category, age distribution, and gender distribution.
- The Department Chair Online Resource Center is a treasure trove of information and advice.
- You may also want to subscribe to the Academic Leader, an online newsletter for academic deans and department chairs.
Strategic Planning
A strong department has a unified vision and a plan for achieving it. Here's why and how to lead your department in developing a vision and implementing a plan.
Program Assessment & Review
How do you know whether your geoscience program is working, or even which parts are working best and which could be more effective? With so many demands on your time and energy, you want to be sure that the time and energy you put into your program is achieving your departmental goals.
Recruiting and Retaining Faculty
Finding and keeping high quality faculty is a major concern for every department. Here are resources describing successful strategies.
Managing a Department
As the head or chair of a department, it is your job to prepare budgets, allocate resources, help resolve problems, evaluate your colleagues, and more. The resources here can help.
