July, 2005

Academic Leader - July 2005 - Full Issue
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Integrating Adjuncts into the Community through Professional Development, Support
When Johnson County Community College Assistant Dean of Sciences Joseph Gadberry is hiring a part-time instructor, he seeks candidates with similar qualifications to his full-time instructors because hiring an adjunct is not necessarily a short-term staffing solution. The goal is to integrate adjuncts into the college community by having them serve on major committees, attend department meetings, and participate in the same professional development activities as full-time faculty members.

The Flexible Sabbatical: An Alternative for Academic Administrators
By Sara E. Quay, Ph.D.
In the move from full-time faculty member to full-time academic administrator, much is gained … and much is at risk for being lost. There is simply not enough time in the day, and the summer months—once a time to dedicate to scholarship—take on a new shape with 12-month administrative positions. Yet remaining active in our fields is a critical part of our leadership role, keeping us current in the field, able to engage with faculty, and lead our programs in vibrant directions.

Translating Teaching Skills to Leadership Roles
On the surface, the skills it takes to be a good professor would not seem to translate very well to academic leadership positions. But the similarities between a good seminar teacher and a good department chair or committee head are striking, says Elizabeth Boylan, provost and dean of the faculty at Barnard College. Faculty need to recognize this, and institutions need to be more intentional about developing these skills in their faculty.

Making Time for Big-Picture Thinking
A major challenge of being a department chair is maintaining your focus on strategic thinking while handling all the details of day-to-day operations. It’s a difficult balance, but integrating big-picture thinking into your daily schedule can make the strategic planning more manageable and can help maintain momentum.

Exchange Program Links Two Complementary Institutions
When Martin Bressler was developing the curriculum for an international business major at Thomas College in Maine, he began looking into international exchange to enhance student learning, a process that in a few years would result in a formal student and faculty exchange program with an institution in France.

Faculty Assessment Serves Institutional, Individual Needs
The challenge of faculty evaluation is to simultaneously foster faculty development and fulfill the institution’s goals and mission, according to Larry Braskamp, professor of education at Loyola University Chicago and advocate of a humanistic approach to faculty evaluation.