June, 2008

Academic Leader - June, 2008 - Full Issue PDF
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Taking Control of Your Time—A Guide to Effective Time Management
By Christian K. Hansen, PhD
About three years ago, I began studying and practicing time management techniques, after having served four years as department chair and having gone through the typical headaches that people in my job go through; always putting out fires while battling to meet another deadline, getting overwhelmed with the volume of work piling up, and struggling with pressures to take on more and more even though my instinct was telling me to say no.

Teaching Philosophy Statements Prepared by Faculty Candidates
Typically, teaching philosophy statements are prepared as part of promotion and tenure dossiers or for teaching awards. However, increasingly they are being requested by those interviewing for open faculty positions. The article referenced below documents the extent to which that is happening in one particular discipline.

Faculty Collegiality and Dispositions in the Tenure and Promotion Process: Developing a Performance Rubric
By B. Ann Boyce, PhD; Richard H. Oates, EdD; Jacalyn Lund, PhD; and Leah H. Fiorentino, EdD
Decisions related to the tenure and promotion of colleagues are of vital importance to the successful continuation of the professoriate. Within the academy, promotion and tenure policies and job descriptions have historically been framed around teaching, scholarship, and service. Trends reveal the emergence of a fourth category that’s playing an increasingly important role in the formal assessment and evaluation of university faculty. “Dispositions” and “collegiality” are appearing in promotion and tenure guidelines and position announcements as characteristics of successful professors and job candidates.

Why Is There Tension with the Faculty?
By Harry Peterson, PhD
This is an excerpt from the book Leading a Small College or University: A Conversation That Never Ends (forthcoming from Atwood Publishing, www.atwoodpublishing.com). Many faculty members never acquire a broad, conceptual understanding of their institution, even when they are exposed to it. They lack interest; experience; and, sometimes, aptitude to see more broadly than their classroom or department. Indeed, the traditional university is organized to accommodate people who focus on their jobs, not the larger organization. The loosely coupled structure of a university often creates a great social and psychological distance between a faculty member and the president.