Based on his dozen years of chairing departments, Kevin Dettmar provides invaluable advice on: hiring tenure-track and visiting faculty; mentoring faculty colleagues at every stage of their careers; working with staff and other departmental administrators; managing department resources and budgets; meeting the needs of students; dealing with stress and conflict; connecting the department to the larger university or college as a whole; overseeing the department's curricula; maintaining a scholarly or creative profile; preparing for career moves after chairing a departmentHow to Chair a Department demystifies this important faculty position and argues that the role of chair, though sometimes seen as a burden, can prove to be a genuine opportunity for personal and professional growth.
