Office of Faculty Diversity

Roles and Responsibilities of Department Chairs

These resources focus on aiding chairs in understanding what a chair is and how to best serve their departments.

ACE Department Chair Online Resource Center

This resource center is designed for those heading departments or programs and for administrators who work with department leaders.

Chairs, Supervisors, and Managers as Mediators

From the Office of Quality Improvement & Office of Human Resource Development of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/onlinetraining/resolution/index.asp (Word, 34 kb)

Constructing the Role of Department Chair

By Steven Graham, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Presidents Academic Leadership Institute; and Pam Benoit, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School and Professor, Department of Communication, University of Missouri System. Written specifically for the ACE Department Chair Online Resource Center, 2004. (PDF, 48 kb)

Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty

Based on courses held in 2002 and 2005 by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and HHMI, this book is a collection of practical advice and experiences from seasoned biomedical investigators. The second edition contains three new chapters on laboratory leadership, project management, and teaching and course design.

Roles and Responsibilities of Department Chairs

By Irene W. D. Hecht, Mary Lou Higgerson, Walter H. Gmelch, and Allan Tucker. The Department Chair as Academic Leader (Phoenix, AZ: ACE Oryx Press, 1999). Chapter 2. From the Department Chair Online Resource Center. (PDF, 239 kb)