Roles and Responsibilities of Academic Leaders

1
Roles and Responsibilities of Academic Leaders

• Carole Anderson
• Vice Provost for Academic Policy and Faculty
  Resources
• Interim Dean of the Graduate School
• August 25, 2005
• Anderson.32_at_osu.edu

2
General Considerations

• Time of Transition from colleague to
  administrator
• Friends and Colleague relationships change
• Middle management
• Use first few months to
• Observe
• Get acquainted in new role
• Think more collectivelyOverall goal is to move
  the department forward

3
General considerations contd

• Balance between being an advocate for meeting
  department goals and also meeting college and
  university goals and expectations
• Needed Skills
• Interpersonal
• Change management
• Resource allocation

4
Broad Responsibilities

• Provide Leadership for
• Upholding High Academic Standards
• Contemporary academic programming
• Assisting faculty/staff in reaching potential
• Faculty have different strengths/weaknesseslet
  each play to strengths
• Managing Resources effectively and being
  accountable

5
Broad Responsibilities contd

• Creating a positive work environment
• Work-Life Survey
• Creating a healthy work place
• Creating civil, productive meetings
• Dealing with destructive behaviors in
  constructive ways

6
Important Findings of Work/Life Survey

• Career Development very important
• Integrating work and family life important
• Support from chair is needed
• Associate Professors, male and female most
  unhappy
• Faculty do not take advantage of leave
  opportunities

7
Broad responsibilities contd

• Manage problems quickly and effectively
• Most troubling problem is non-productive faculty
• Wont get better without interventionhuman
  nature to want to avoid confronting especially
  with colleague
• Difficult to donot part of training
• Others look to the chair to solve
• no-win situation if left to fester

8
Responsibilities -- Faculty

• Teaching Assignments and Assigning Courses
• Student needs 1 priority
• Meet departments expectations
• Low enrollment, Cancel if not needed for
  graduation
• Alternate Scheduling ok but faculty need to be on
  campus

9
Faculty contd

• Encourage and Support Quality Teaching
• Need peer and student evaluations consistent with
  OAA guidelines
• Support professional development for improving
  teaching
• Encourage departmental discussion on teaching
• Reward outstanding teaching

10
Faculty contd

• Expect Quality Research and Scholarship
• Hold and communicate high expectations
• Mentor junior facultydo not delegate
• Assist in finding collaborators as appropriate
• Identify declining productivity and intervene
• Provide resources

11
Faculty contd

• Expect faculty to contribute to department,
  college, university and profession appropriate to
  rank and talent
• Ensure compliance with university policies
• Financial conflict of interest
• Conflict of commitment
• IRB regulations
• Ohio Ethics laws, OSU spending policies
• Sexual Harassment etc.
• FERPA

12
Faculty contd

• Oversee promotion and tenure process and provide
  independent evaluation and recommendation
• Ensure that assistant professors begin to build
  dossier and teaching portfolio immediately
• Oversee recruitment and retention of faculty
  mindful of the need for diversity

13
What Faculty Can Expect

• Copy of dept. and college p and t criteria
• Candid explanation of ways criteria are
  operationalized e.g. high quality journals
• Annual performance review
• Assesses performance against criteria
• Future plans to achieve standards
• Face to face meeting with chair with input from
  senior faculty

14
Expectations contd

• Assessments that reflect criteria
• Clear, unequivocal suggestions for improvement
• Opportunity for faculty development to improve
  performance
• Availability of personnel folder
• Opportunity to provide written comment

15
Responsibilities--Staff

• Hire high quality staff
• Know university policies
• Do annual performance reviews
• Good staff are important to fulfilling dept.
  mission, so treat them as such
• Manage staff effectively
• Give them a voice and committee assignments

16
ResponsibilitiesStudents

• Quality instruction given at times and frequency
  to provide for timely graduation
• Deal promptly with student concerns
• Assure students are treated appropriately
• Know federal law protecting student records from
  disclosure and ensure it is enforced by all
  department personnel

17
General Managerial Responsibilities

• Review, Revise , Reaffirm Pattern of
  Administration (POA)
• Consistent with Faculty Rules
• Prepare in consultation with faculty
• Suggested prototype is in OAA Handbook
• Make sure it is workablemust be followed

18
Managerial contd

• Positive Climate
• Dont tolerate disrespectful treatment
• Manage conflict promptly
• Maintain positive attitude

19
Managerial contd

• Managing Resources
• Prioritize
• Recognize address conflicting goals e.g.
  individual, dept., college etc.
• Spend what you have to provide for needs
• No deficit spending

20
Managerial contd

• Faculty/Staff Development
• Hire the best
• Set mutual goals
• High expectations
• Provide assistance, encouragement
• Know policies
• Performance Compensation

21
Sources of Assistance

• College Office
• OAA
• Office of Human ResourcesConsulting Services
• Office of Human Resources
• OHRD
• Office of Legal Affairs

22
Tips for Success

• Be open, honest and a good listenerIf you get
  caught in a lie, you will never regain trust
• Establish a climate of transparencythere are no
  secrets
• Communicate often and well
• Be organized
• Consult , Consult and then move
• Never lose your temper

23
Tips contd

• Remain actively involved in your discipline
• Manage time
• Sense of Humor helps in all things
• Never lose your temper and dont bring your
  concerns home and vice-versa
• Remain actively involved in your discipline