Thursday, September 15
4:00-6:00pm
Dimond Library Room 343

Managing Conflict 
Department chairs can prevent many issues from mushrooming into major problems through early intervention. Sometimes chairs delay difficult conversations with colleagues because they lack expertise to tactfully encourage change or to deliver bad news. What skills and strategies might chairs develop to facilitate difficult conversations? What strategies can motivate and support faculty members to become more productive? Participants will explore how to have a frank conversation with a colleague and have an opportunity to discuss strategies, techniques, and resources.

Thursday, October 27
4:00-6:00pm
MUB Room 302

How to Position Your Department Within Your College 
What do academic deans expect of department chairs?  What types of support and mentoring can the chair expect from the dean?  What are the dos and don’ts for department chairs in fostering an effective working relationship with the dean?  A panel of deans will share their ideas about the role of the department chairs.  Participants will use small-group discussions to discover effective communication tools and strategies for working with the dean.

Thursday, November 17
4:00-6:00pm
MUB Room 302 

Faculty Evaluations
The seminar will focus on the chair’s role in faculty evaluation for reappointment, tenure, and promotion with particular attention to documenting professional performance, use of student evaluations of instruction, peer review of teaching and scholarly activities, and maintaining the dossier.

Thursday, February 9
4:00-6:00pm
Trustee Board Room
1st Floor, Thompson Hall

Legal Issues in Higher Education
As University administrators, chairs are responsible for understanding and adhering to institutional policies and procedures as well as state and federal laws that regulate functions of the academic unit. Noncompliance has far-reaching implications for individuals, the academic unit and the University.

Thursday, March 8
4:00-6:00pm
Trustee Board Room
1st Floor, Thompson Hall

Understanding the Department/Divisional Budget
The department operating budget is often viewed as a set of inflexible line item allocations. Chairs will learn how their budgets fit into the larger institutional picture, how to make an effective case for their units, and how to prepare requests for additional funding.

The University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) Theatre Program, will perform The Faculty Meeting. Players present provocative performances built on a strong foundation of research concerning the experience of faculty and students.  The performance/workshop involves a short dramatic sketch followed by a facilitated discussion between the audience and the characters from the sketch.  Unlike a video vignette or traditional theatre “skit,” the interactive format draws the audience into genuine dialogue with the characters and each other.  This exchange of ideas is invaluable for prompting reflection – rather than defensiveness – on issues of climate change in classrooms and departments. This workshop is open to all faculty.

The University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) Theatre Program, will perform The Fence that focuses on a tenure meeting discussion at the executive committee level of a science department. The sketch poses questions regarding the fairness of some common issues and dynamics in tenure discussions and portrays the subtle ways that the gender can affect a committee's interpretation of the candidate's scholarship and productivity.The performance/workshop involves a short dramatic sketch followed by a facilitated discussion between the audience and the characters from the sketch. This sketch was commissioned by the Univ of NH Advance Grant and is open to Department Chairs and those in positions of academic leadership in their departments.

Managing Our Human Resources
The workshop will focus on hiring procedures (staff and faculty), drafting position descriptions/announcements, appointing the search committee, managing candidate files, checking references, and interviewing candidates. Participants will also discuss the evaluation of staff, job reclassification, and working with under-performing staff