Roles and Responsibilities of Department Chair

Taken from ACE - Department Chair Online Resource Center. "Constructing the Role of Department Chair." By Steven Graham.

Administrative Roles

Fiscal Overseer
1. Monitor budget for proper allocation and management of funds
2. Schedule coordinator
3. Courses, times, rooms, who teaches
4. Scheduling to facilitate graduation and fulfillment of requirements
5. Scheduling to help faculty manage time efficiently and balance teaching loads across the department.
Report Generator
1. Annual department report
2. Personal January Report
3. Reports as requested
Staff/Student Worker Supervisor
1. Coordinate the hire of and provide support for faculty
2. Hire and manage administrative assistant
3. Manage student labor

4. Building and Equipment Upkeep Supervisor

Leadership Roles

     1. Visionary
         a. Transformational leadership
         b. Create space for change
         c. Generate consensus among faculty
         d. Place department at cutting edge
         e. Additional to "caretaking" responsibilities

2. Internal Advocate and Intermediary

     3. Educate and persuade administration of the department qualities and
         needs
         a. Explain administrative actions to faculty

     4. External liaison
         a. Alumni relations
         b. Advocating departmental mission outside the university
                i. Alumni relations
               ii. Potential employers for students
              iii. Prospective students
              iv. Community granting agencies
              vi. Donors

5. Curriculum leader
a. Planning, revising, and implementing changes in undergraduate/graduate programs.

6. Role Model
a. Model in teaching and research and lead by example

Interpersonal Roles

     1. Counselor
         a. Being accessible, establishing relationships, willing to listen
         b. Problem fixer

     2. Coach
         a. Encourage, motivate, and inspire faculty/staff/students to greater
             excellence
         b. Motivate faculty to be successful researchers and to obtain externally
             funded research

     3. Mediator
         a. Work with difficult people who have petty and/or real problems
         b. Hear and attempt to resolve compalitns from faculty/staff/students/parents/administrators
         c. Useful skills include interpersonal conflict negotiation and problem solving

     4. Climate Regulator
         a. Create a climate that encourages productivity
         b. Give faculty freedom, encourage them, and remove their frustrations

Resource Development Roles

1. Faculty Recruiter
a. Chair has primary role even if there is a search committee

     2. Faculty Evaluator
         a. Evaluations requires for faculty hiring, annual review, retention, promotion, and tenure decisions
         b. Coordinate evaluation and mentoring

     3. Faculty Mentor
         a. Providing faculty with professional development opportunities
         b. Answer questions, provide advice and information to encourage professional success
         c. Mentor all faculty needing promotion
         d. Enhancing teaching effectiveness

     4. Resource Warrior
         a. Find resources necessary for faculty to do their jobs
         b. Wage never ending battles for increasingly scarce resources