Thriving in the midst of liminality: perspectives from department chairs in the USA
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Thriving in the midst of liminality: perspectives from department chairs in the USA Sydney Freeman Jr. 1 & Ibrahim M. Karkouti 2 & Kelly Ward 3 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract
The chair position is essential for implementing progressive changes in higher education institutions. However, the position has been unattractive to many faculties due to its ambiguity and the limited training chairs receive prior to assuming the office. Chairs must balance the dual responsibilities of managing faculty and student affairs who they support and evaluate as they implement the mandates from higher administration. Similarly, they shuttle between their managerial roles and faculty roles while balancing work-life demands. Hence, the purpose of this paper was to explore the managerial approaches of chairs in the USA who were serving in departments in the field of educational leadership to learn how they balance their various responsibilities. Fifteen chairs who are members of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) were interviewed for this study. The theory of liminality was used to understand how chairs serve and manage multiple dimensions of their role and beyond. Overall, the performance of chairs in the study was enhanced by four themes including (a) managing the molecule, (b) people work vs. paperwork, (c) leadership qualities enhance performance, and (d) possessing academic seniority. Based on the findings, we recommend three major support areas for chairs that include providing mentorship opportunities for chairs, advancing leadership role models for chairs, and initiating formal trainings for leadership development. Keywords Department chairs . Education management . Faculty . Liminality
* Sydney Freeman, Jr. [email protected] Ibrahim M. Karkouti [email protected] Kelly Ward [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
Higher Education
Introduction The role of leaders within academic departments is critical to their advancement and success (Bryman 2007). Those who occupy such positions often have various titles, such as head of department, department head, department chair, professor in charge, etc., depending on institutional policies, regional prerogatives, or preferences (Bryman and Lilley 2009; Moses and Roe 1990; Pennsylvania State University 2020). For the sake of this study, we will use the title chair to represent the position of academic departmental leadership, which is often viewed as the middle management or leadership positions within the academy (Smith 2002, 2005). Chairs occupy the front lines of leadership within most constituencies in higher education—students, faculty, outside communities, other departments, and central administration (Berdrow 2010; Higgerson and Joyce 2007; Straley et al. 2005). The chair is the “person who sees that the work gets done” (Brann and Emmet 1972, p. 5). As a mediator between faculty in the department and university administration, the chair, in connection with the dean, implements institut
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