In This Issue Current Issue Archives

July, 2006

Academic Leader - July, 2006 - Full Issue PDF
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Understand Change Theory, Persuasion to Manage Change
When faced with yet another change initiative, faculty and staff will inevitably ask, “Why do we need to change?” To bring about change successfully, you need to be prepared to answer this question and offer a compelling vision and a process that encourages input from those affected by the proposed change.

Workload and Compensation Considerations for Online Faculty
Does teaching online take more or less time than teaching face to face? It’s an important question that academic leaders should consider in determining faculty workload and compensation. There is very little research that has addressed this issue; most of it does not compare the same instructor teaching the same course online and face to face in the same term. One study that does was conducted by Joseph Cavanaugh, associate professor of economics at Wright State University.

Creating Successful Interdisciplinary Programs
The University of Oklahoma’s (OU) College of Arts and Sciences has a long history of successful interdisciplinary programs. Each was created under different circumstances without a standard process, but they all share several characteristics that have helped them thrive. Academic Leader recently spoke with Paul B. Bell, Jr., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and vice provost for instruction, about what makes these interdisciplinary programs successful.

Resource Guide Helps Faculty Help First-Year Students
Recognizing that faculty members who teach first-year students play a crucial role in their students’ success, Illinois State University has developed its Resource Guide for Faculty Teaching First-Year Students, a brief, online document intended.

Factors That Affect Department Chairs’ Performance
Department chairs need an accurate description of what the position entails, adequate release time, professional development, and orientation, according to a recent survey of experienced community college chairs.

Recruiting, Developing, Retaining Adjuncts
Each time an adjunct faculty member teaches a course, your program’s reputation is on the line. But how much do you know about this instructor? What have you done to ensure that his or her teaching methods are aligned with your program? If the instructor is good, what are you doing to encourage him or her to return semester after semester?

Parting Shot - Rising Above Principle
By John N. McDaniel, PhD
In an academic arena of diminishing resources, decision makers sometimes find themselves in difficult ethical binds. Department chairs, especially, find themselves pinched by uncomfortable choices: “cabin’d, cribb’d, confin’d, bound in / To saucy doubts and fears,” as the ethically challenged Macbeth put it. What to do when there are not enough travel dollars to send equally deserving tenure-track faculty to conferences?