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Resources for Academic Leaders

“Academic Leadership is the act of empowering members of the faculty and staff by working with them collegially to achieve common goals, build a community of scholars, and sustain a high level of morale.”

 Gmelch & Buller, Building Academic Leadership Capacity: A Guide to Best Practices

Consultation Services for Academic Leaders
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Managing Social Media Harassment: Guide for Academic Leaders

Serving your colleagues as a leader can be a wonderfully fulfilling—and challenging—role, one where you can have a significant impact on the experiences of students, on the work of your colleagues, and on the campus community at large. There are not many jobs on campus that have as broad and deep an impact on faculty, staff, and students as those of a department chair/head, program director, dean, or associate dean.

Leading and managing a department, a program, a school, or a college requires knowledge and skills that many of us do not learn in graduate school. The resources on this page are designed to provide “just-in-time” information for managing the day-to-day operations of your unit as well as some strategies and resources for leading the faculty and staff you supervise:

  • Important Calendars and Due Dates
  • Boise State’s Handbook for Department Leaders
  • Resources for New Academic Leaders
  • Resources for Managing the Department/Program

As an academic leader, you are also part of the Academic Leadership Council (ALC) which meets monthly.

Important Calendars and Due Dates

  • Managing the Department: Due Dates And Suggested Activities
  • Registrar / Schedule of Classes Calendar
  • Human Resources / Payroll Calendar
  • Letters of Appointment (AY22-23)
  • Department Deadlines for Schedule of Classes
  • PAR Timeline for Departments
Add "Academic Leaders Due Dates & Suggested Activities" to your Google Calendar

Handbook for Department Leaders

Introduction

The Office of Academic Leadership and Faculty Affairs has created a Handbook for Department Leaders. If you are a new leader, we recommend that you read through it as part of your orientation. In particular, you might begin by consulting the page “Preparing for A Change In Leadership: A Transition Guide For Outgoing And Incoming Department Chairs.” Recently we have also added resources for leading during a crisis that might prove helpful right now.

The handbook is organized around the “Position Guidelines for Department Chairs and Heads at Boise State University,” a document that was created based on yearly interviews with department leaders about their responsibilities (authored by Cindy Anson, former Director of Professional Development for Academic Affairs at Boise State University).

These categories of responsibility are common across most departments, although the nature and degree may differ. Some departments, schools, or colleges distribute the responsibilities to associate chairs, program chairs or directors, coordinators, and so on. No matter how the work is distributed, this handbook serves as a resource for anyone invested with these leadership and management responsibilities. To the extent possible, we use the term “department leader” rather than “department chair” throughout this handbook to reflect the diverse ways that traditional department chair roles have been reconfigured in some schools and colleges.

Table of Contents

  • Preface
  • For New Academic Leaders
  • Preparing for A Change In Leadership: A Transition Guide
  • Leading During a Crisis
  • Chapter 1: Roles & Responsibilities
  • Chapter 2: Responsibilities of the Dean’s Office
  • Chapter 3: Leadership, Governance and Administration
  • Chapter 4: Financial and Facility Management
  • Chapter 5: Faculty and Staff Management
  • Chapter 6: Curriculum and Program Development
  • Chapter 7: Student Relations
  • Chapter 8: Communication, Advocacy, and External
  • Chapter 9: Resources on Leading a Department
  • Appendix A: Using Meetings to Create Cohesion

Chapter 1: Roles & Responsibilities

  • Transitioning from Faculty Member to Department Leader
  • The Big Picture Perso
  • Mentoring Faculty
  • Liaison Between the Department and the Dean
  • Serve as the Face of the Department
  • Interact with Graduate Program Directors
  • Strategies for Managing These Multiple Demands
  • Help with the Big Picture
    • Section 1B: Responsibilities of Department Chairs/ Directors/ Coordinators
      • Length of Term and Transition to a New Chair
      • Preparing for A Change In Leadership: A Transition Guide
      • Leadership Styles

Chapter 2: Responsibilities of the Dean’s Office

Chapter 3: Leadership, Governance and Administration

    • Section 3A: Handling the Day-to-Day Tasks
      • Delegating
      • Department Meetings
      • Cultivation and Stewardship of Donors
    • Section 3B: Day-to-Day Tasks
    • Section 3C: Department Climate
      • Research Findings on Department Climate: An Introduction
      • The Department Chair’s Role in Improving Department Climate
      • Principles for a Positive Department Climate
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
          • DEI Resources
    • Section 3D: Department Infrastructure, Communication, and Planning
      • Department Committees
        • New Committee Chair Checklist
        • During First Committee Meeting of the Semester
        • Email vs Face-to-Face Meetings
        • Guide to Electronic Meetings
      • Department Retreats

Chapter 4: Financial and Facility Management

    • Section 4B: Bronco Budget 2.0
    • Section 4C: Expenses and Accounting
    • Section 4D: University Budget Development
    • Section 4E: Advocating for Your Department
    • Section 4F: Finance and Administration Resources
    • Section 4G: Sponsored Projects or Research Grants
    • Section 4H: Facilities Management
Chapter 5: Faculty and Staff Management
    • Section 5A: Faculty Orientation & Onboarding
    • Section 5 B: Faculty Development
      • Pre-Tenure Faculty
      • Tenured Faculty
      • Non-Tenure Track Faculty
      • “Helping Faculty Members Sharpen Their Focus”
      • Facilitating Intentional Career Planning for Faculty
        • Retirement
      • Sabbaticals and Leaves
      • Resources on Recruiting and Retaining Faculty
    • Section 5C: Faculty Evaluation
      • Overview and Best Practices
        • Questions to Guide Faculty Performance
        • Crucial Steps in Managing Faculty Performance
        • Confronting Continued Performance Issues
        • Side Tracks: Be Prepared for these Defenses
      • Annual Review Process
      • Tenure and Promotion Processes
        • Resources for Candidates and Committees
      • Periodic Review of Tenured Faculty
      • Evaluation of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
      • Resources: Faculty Evaluation
    • Section 5D: Academic Personnel Issues
      • Resources
    • Section 5E: Faculty Hiring Processes
    • Section 5F: Administrative Staff and Support Personnel
      • Resources

Chapter 6: Curriculum and Program Development

    • Section 6B: Curriculum Change Request
    • Section 6C: Curriculum Change Process
    • Section 6D: Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Review
    • Section 6E: General Education Curriculum Review
    • Section 6F: Graduate Council Curriculum Review
    • Section 6G: Resources for Curriculum Development, Changes, Policies
    • Section 6H: Scheduling and Timetable
    • Section 6I: Enrollment Management
    • Section 6J: Academic Program Review
      • Assessment

Chapter 7: Student Relations

    • Section 7A: Majors and Minors
    • Section 7B: Student Complaints
    • Section 7C: Student Appeals
    • Section 7D: Resources

Chapter 8: Communication, Advocacy, and External

    • Section 8A: Communication and Marketing
    • Section 8B: Campus Safety and Security Policies

Chapter 9: Resources on Leading a Department

Appendix A: Using Meetings to Create Cohesion

Resources and professional development for new academic leaders

New Academic Leaders

New Academic Leaders Program

Handbook for Department Leaders

Handbook for Department Leaders

Handbook for Department Leaders

Position Guidelines

Position Guidelines

Position Guidelines

Roles & Responsibilities

Roles & Responsibilities

Roles & Responsibilities

Academic Leadership & Professional Development Grant Application

Academic Leadership & Professional Development Grant Application

Academic Leadership & Professional Development Grant Application

Resources for Managing the Department/Program

Jump to section:

  • Financial & Facility Management
  • Hiring
  • Leave Administration
  • Retirement

Financial & Facility Management

Handbook for Department Leaders: Chapter on Financial and Facility Management

Faculty Dual-Career Program

Lecturer & Adjunct Compensation

Supplemental Pay

Special Course or Program Fees

Hiring

Faculty & Staff

Handbook for Department Leaders: Faculty Hiring Processes

Tenure and Promotion Eligibility Calculator

New Administrative Employee Resources and Onboarding

Mandatory Trainings

Hiring Guides from Human Resource Services

Before you Begin

PageUp Training Materials

Leave Administration

FMLA

Resources for Family and Medical Leave

Sabbatical Leave

Sabbatical Leave Overview

Sabbatical Leave Funds Request

Retirement

Phased Retirement

Phased Retirement Guidelines

Emeritus Status

Emeritus Status Guidelines

General Information

Human Resource Services information

End-of-Employment Compensation information

Office of the Provost

provost@boisestate.edu
(208) 426-1202
Administration Building, ADM 202

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