Responsibilities of Chairs
The following is taken from the Faculty Handbook (p23):
Within the college governance structures the department
chair acts in a unique role. The chair
is an integral link between the department and the college administration. He
or she serves both as a representative and as an executor for the department,
its program and its faculty. As a representative of the department the chair
serves as spokesperson (for recommendations, opinions and concerns of
department members) and advocate for department interests. As a departmental
administrator the chair is accountable for properly managing the department and
is responsible to the college president, the Provost, and the appropriate dean.
In addition, the chair must maintain ties to his or her discipline by teaching
courses and by being a strong advocate for the discipline within and outside
the college environment.
Expectations of
the Chair
The role of the chair includes but is not limited to these
primary responsibilities:
a. Facilitating the development and
implementation of department goals, plans, and programs;
b. Facilitating curriculum development (including timely course offerings and schedules, course change requests, new course proposals, changes in major or minor), and assuring quality of curriculum and instruction.
c. Facilitating responses to external and
internal reports for assessment documents and information;
d. Facilitating development of faculty
teaching schedules, office hours and examinations, and supervising same;
e. Advising students and acting on student
requests such as course waivers, transfer credits, course overloads, and declarations
of both majors and minors, certification of minor completion and award of
departmental honors;
f. Approving department internships,
independent studies, individual course enrollments, and grade change requests while
assuring academic quality and consistency with college policies and procedures,
including transmission of all transactions and summary reports to the
appropriate dean;
g. Preparing reports as needed, including
Annual Reports;
h. Processing external department
correspondence and requests for information;
i. Communicating department needs to the
administration in a timely fashion;
j. Maintaining appropriate liaison with other
academic departments, units, and the administration;
k. Facilitating information flow
(administrative guidelines, criteria, expectations, etc.) from the
administration to the department;
l.
Representing the department by
attending meetings and official functions as the department’s spokesperson and
representative;
m. Ensuring department representation on
College committees, and at other functions;
n. Facilitating relationships among
faculty/faculty, faculty/administration, faculty/student, and
faculty/student/administration;
o. Managing the department office, facilities
and staff;
p. Facilitating personnel actions such as
preparation of department recommendations for hiring, contract renewals,
promotions, continuing appointments, and discretionary and special awards;
q. Administering the departmental account(s);
r. Conferring with the dean regarding
designation of an acting chair to carry out the duties of the chair during
periods of planned absence;
s. Recommending approval or disapproval of
various faculty requests for travel, absence, reduced teaching loads,
sabbatical and other leaves, and reporting faculty absences to the dean; and
t. Accepting other responsibilities as assigned.