Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt.1: The chair's role and career path. In the trenches -- Preparing for the chair's role -- Assessing what kind of department chair you are -- Serving as an untenured department chair -- Coexisting with a former chair -- Creating a career plan -- Returning to the faculty -- Seeking higher administrative positions -- A scenario analysis on the chair's role and career path -- Pt.2: Departmental management and politics. Understanding departmental ethics and politics -- Chairing small departments -- Chairing large departments -- Setting course rotations and schedules -- Making decisions -- Setting annual themes -- Creating departmental centers for excellence in teaching and learning -- A scenario analysis on departmental management and politics -- Pt.3: The chair's role in searches, hiring, and firing. Writing job descriptions and position announcements -- Understanding the chair's role in the search process -- Interviewing candidates -- Letting someone go -- A scenario analysis on hiring and firing -- Pt.4: Mentoring challenges and opportunities for department chairs. Helping faculty members sharpen their focus -- Coaching faculty members to increase productivity -- Promoting a more collegial department -- Coping with passive-aggressive behavior -- Resolving chronic complaints -- Addressing staff conflicts -- Overcoming conflicts -- A scenario analysis onmentoring challenges --

Pt.5: The chair's role in faculty development. Facilitating a positive first-year faculty experience -- Coaching faculty in writing effective resumes -- Creating an effective professional development plan -- Creating an effective teaching portfolio -- Creating an effective course syllabus -- Promoting creativity in teaching and learning -- A scenario analysis on faculty development -- Pt.6: Best practices in evaluation and assessment. Creating written evaluations -- Conducting oral evaluation sessions -- Writing letters of recommendation -- Doing assessment effectively -- Conducting program reviews -- Conducting posttenure reviews -- A scenario analysis on evaluation and assessment -- Pt.7: Essentials of budgeting and planning. Strategic planning -- Planning a budget -- Implementing a budget -- Fundraising -- Accounting for sponsored research -- A scenario analysis on strategic budgeting and planning.