Are you an academic department chairperson?

You probably entered academia to pursue individual intellectual pursuits. Now, as a chair, your responsibilities are much more complex, focused on mentoring and facilitating the work of your colleagues, managing tight budgets, maximizing department potential, and advancing your institutions's priorities, with ever-shrinking resources. The IDEA Center, a nonprofit organization, gives chairs like you the resources to:

• Strengthen your leadership skills
• Improve your department's culture and effectiveness
• Enhance your professional life
• Focus on individualized improvement strategies that will benefit you the most.

OPTIONS

• Use the IDEA Feedback for Department Chairs, the only nationally available instrument to guide your professional reflective practice. The system measures effectiveness by soliciting faculty input on how well the chair has used different administrative methods to meet department goals. Combined with the optional self-assessment, a gap analysis can further guide the chair's personal reflection. The report provides direction on specific areas of strength and strategies for improvement. Custom questions are available to further assess unique departmental and personal goals.
• Take advantage of Department Chair Coaching. Once the IDEA Feedback for Department Chairs instrument has been completed, the IDEA Center provides several coaching options to extend and enhance self-reflection and leadership development, through consultation with respected and experienced higher education administrators.
• Learn from the IDEA Department Chair Seminars. Offered twice each year, the IDEA Department Chair Seminars are facilitated by national practitioner-leaders who provide an in-depth, interactive examination of key topics essential to the academic chairperson's administrative roles and responsibilities.
• Attend the Academic Chairpersons Conference. Since 1983, The IDEA Center has co-sponsored the annual Academic Chairperson's Conference with Kansas State University. The conference provides practical, usable information, including research findings, in a climate of open conversation and collaborative exchange.