University of Missouri System's President's Academic Leadership Institute
PALI focuses on qualities that all department chairs should possess and they relate to three domains of knowledge: (1) University Organization, Operations and Environment, (2) Departmental Leadership and Management, and (3) Interpersonal Effectiveness. These themes are all inter-related and can be used to guide programs designed to enhance academic leadership. http://www.umsystem.edu/ums/departments/aa/pali/resources/resourceslink3.shtml

University of North Carolina Professional Development Portal
This portal is designed to provide access to an increasingly broad range of professional development materials that will be of relevance to administrators, faculty and staff throughout UNC, but it is also an easily accessible resource for anyone with an internet connection. http://www.unctlt.org/pdp/

The University of Washington's ADVANCE program
The program was designed for department chair professional development. Although it is focused on science engineering and mathematics departments, the lessons learned are more general. http://www.engr.washington.edu/advance/workshops/WEPAN_paper_UW_Leadership_Workshop.pdf Also worth checking out is the ADVANCE program's Web page. It contains examples of toolkits for faculty recruitment and faculty retention. http://www.engr.washington.edu/advance/ Conferences and Training

The Academic Chairpersons Conference is a biennial gathering run by the Division of Continuing Education at Kansas State University.  Their next conference is in Orlando Florida from February 7-9, 2007. For more information see: http://www.dce.ksu.edu/academicchairpersons/.

The Department Chairs Workshop is offered by the American Council on Education (ACE) and is scheduled in multiple locations around the country each year. The program aims to develop the leadership capacities of newly appointed department, division, and program heads, and to renew the skills and enthusiasm of experienced heads. The workshop format emphasizes exploration, experimentation, and networking.  Program details can be found at http://www.acenet.edu/programs/dlp/.

ACE also maintains the Department Chair Online Resource. It has resources that address the chair as leader; faculty recruitment, development and evaluation; resource management and legal issues. http://www.acenet.edu/resources/chairs/.

The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) Seminar For Department Chairs provides a forum in which chairs can examine the art of departmental administration through close interaction with colleagues from other institutions and other disciplines.  Presentations by experienced department chairs will focus upon actual techniques these administrators use, as well as ideal models of administration. The seminars are scheduled during the summer months, typically in two different locations. For more information check http://www.ccas.net/public/articles/index.cfm?cat=2.

The IDEA Center operated by Kansas State University offers an assessment tool for department chairs called the IDEA Feedback for Department Chairs. Their description of this product is: The IDEA Feedback for Department Chairs system is the only nationally available tool for evaluating and developing department chairpersons. It provides a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of academic chairpersons or department heads. This instrument is intended for use early in one's appointment to provide formative feedback (at the conclusion of the third or beginning of the fourth semester), as well as later to develop an overall summary evaluation. It is unique in higher education today and provides national comparative information. Both the Chair Information Form and the Faculty Survey are administered through the Internet for convenience, speed, efficiency, and confidentiality. More information is available at http://www.idea.ksu.edu/DC/index.html

Electronic Publications

Perspectives on Leading an Academic Department is an April, 1997 interview with Max Carbon, Professor Emeritus and retired chair of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1962 to 1992 that is posted on the university website.  It has a very personal feel to it from a long-term pro in the departmental leadership role.
http://www.wisc.edu/improve/strplan/perspective.html

In search of academic leadership by Stephen Marshall, Moya Adams and Alison Cameron by the Centre for Professional Development, Macquarie University is a useful research-based article that points out the lack of consensus on what constitutes academic leadership. It raises questions of ambiguity that need resolution at the highest levels of a university to avoid unfocused professional development activities for department chairs.

Using Supportive Communication to Foster the Department Head/Junior Faculty Relationship by David A. Latif, PhD, MBA, an on-line publication, is a good review of planned and empathetic communication written in a readily accessible how-to style. http://www.ajpe.org/aj6704/aj6704112/aj6704112.pdf

Print Publications

The Academic Chairperson's Handbook by John W. Creswell, Daniel W. Wheeler, Alan T. Seagren, Nancy J. Egly, and Kirk D. Beyer. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.

This handbook draws on interviews with 200 successful academic chairpersons from 70 campuses, who discuss their solutions to typical problems that occur in bridging the relations between faculty, administration, students, and the public. Each chapter is arranged as case studies with an array of possible solutions. The chapters conclude with an annotated list of additional resources. The first of its two parts presents 15 strategies for developing a department, exercising leadership and reaching out to faculty. The second part applies these strategies to the everyday business of improving teaching performance and promoting scholarship, hiring, and dealing with personnel conflicts. Of particular note is the appendix headed "Topical Index to Strategies" which provides a quick reference to specific problems and the corresponding section of the book

Academic Leadership: A Practical Guide to Chairing the Department by Deryl R. Leaming. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing, 1998.

This well-written, current and practical guide to managing an academic department covers all the many responsibilities of a department chair, including some of the newest and trickiest. Based on 20 years of experience as a department chair, the author offers a comprehensive and uniformly practical resource for effectively managing an academic department. It is filled with helpful summaries, checklists, tables and sample forms. Invaluable for new chairpersons and a handy resource for experienced chairpersons as well, all will find this a friendly mentor, always there for consultation, advice and suggestions.

The Administrative Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Administrative Performance and Personnel Decisions by Peter Seldin and Mary Lou Higgerson. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Co., Inc., 2002

This is a guide to creating a document that evidences performance. Contents include: --What the administrative portfolio is and how it can be used. --Steps to creating a portfolio and how to choose items for the portfolio --Answers to common questions about the administrative portfolio --Serving as an administrative portfolio mentor --13 sample portfolios from a wide range of administrative positions

Building a campus model for leadership development by Walter Gmelch, B. Allen and J. Melsa The Department Chair Vol. 13( 2), 13-15, 2002

The Building of Chairs by Walter Gmelch The Department Chair Vol. 12( 3), 7-9, 2002

Chairing an Academic Department by Walter Gmelch and Val Miskin Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, 2004

Coping with Faculty Stress by Walter Gmelch Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1993

Higher Education Administration: A Guide to Legal, Ethical and Practical Issues by Norma M. Goonen and Rachel S. Blechman. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.

Provides an analysis useful as a desk reference or as a text for practicing and prospective administrators and university counsel. They examine the legal points, ethical questions, and practical steps an administrator or university counsel should be aware of in dealing with some of the most frequently encountered issues in the administration of a college, university, or other postsecondary institution. Each chapter targets a selected area of academic affairs, and the format includes four sections--legal parameters, ethical considerations, practical suggestions, and an illustrative case. Content can be used and understood by those without specific prior training in the law or in higher education administration.

Leading Academic Change: Essential Roles for Department Chairpersons by Ann F. Lucas & Associates.   Jossey Bass, 2000

Managing People: A Guide for Department Chairs and Deans, ed. by Deryl R. Leaming, MA: Anker Publishing, 1993.

A guide about dealing with faculty. A few of the useful chapters include: Establishing a Positive Leadership Approach; Using Meetings to Create Cohesion; Winning Over Your Detractors; and Putting All the Pieces Together to Be a Better People Manager and Leader.

On Being a Department Head: A Personal View, by John B. Conway, American Mathematical Society, 1996.

A very personal view of being a department head. Although this was written by the head of a mathematics department, it contains information of value for any academic department chair. Among the interesting chapters are: Making Decisions; Lean Years and Plus Years; Paperwork; and How to Form a Committee.

Strengthening Departmental Leadership: A Team-Building Guide for Chairs in Colleges and Universities by Lucas, A. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994

Thriving on Stress for Success by Walter Gmelch Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1993