Books about Chairmen from Amazon.com

Challenging times demand dynamic leadership. Schools rely on teachers to assume a variety of leadership roles, both formal and informal, including department chair, peer coach, faculty representative, and Web page curator. With little or no leadership training, however, many teachers are unprepared to take advantage of such opportunities.

In How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader, John G. Gabriel explores the responsibilities and rewards of teacher leadership, offering practical, positive advice on

* identifying leadership qualities and building a team,
* enhancing communication and earning respect,
* overcoming obstacles and implementing change,
* energizing colleagues and strengthening morale, and
* improving student and teacher achievement.

From setting goals to mediating conflicts, from mentoring colleagues to motivating students, Gabriel provides clear strategies--grounded in experience and illustrated by examples--for becoming an effective teacher leader. A generous resource section, including sample letters, surveys, and checklists, enables readers to quickly put these techniques into practice.

Whether you aspire to a leadership position or are in a position to inspire future leaders, this insightful and informative book will help you lead the way to success.

John G. Gabriel, a former English teacher and department chair, is an administrator at Park View High School in Loudoun County, Virginia..
Price: $14.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"To ensure its continued validity, higher education needs to change, something it cannot do without the participation of department chairs. In this book, Ann Lucas has assembled some of the most thoughtful people in higher education to provide the 'line leaders' of higher education with the essential knowledge they need to bring those changes about."

--Margaret A. Miller, president, American Association for Higher Education

"Department chairs are typically amateurs, entering upon their position for a limited time with no formal training to prepare them for the many roles and responsibilities that the job requires. Both new chairs and more experienced ones will find in Leading Academic Change help in dealing with problems they are facing as well as inspiration and insights to go beyond minimum expectations and provide leadership for the future."

--W.J. McKeachie, professor of psychology, University of Michigan

"With practical advice and a platform of sound social science, Lucas offers a promising paradigm for chairs to move their departments from a federation of islands to a decision-making team."

--Carla B. Howery, deputy executive officer, American Sociological Association

For the 80,000 department chairs working on campuses across the nation, this visionary yet practical book shows how to manage academic change at the department level. It provides useful ideas and strategies on handling resistance to change, transforming departments into productive learning communities, and improving educational quality for students. In twelve incisive chapters, top academic scholars, authors, and consultants address topics and trAnds as diverse as service learning, technological change, curriculum renewal, faculty reward systems, and post-tenure review. They offer effective models to help department chairs and administrators work through the change process, including recommAndations based on real-world experiences. They also integrate the latest research with examples of best practices into a readable, accessible format. Whether you are a department chair, administrator, or a faculty member aspiring to improve your department, Leading Academic Change is the expert's guide to mobilizing faculty energy towards academic success..
Price: $30.82 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Academic leaders may be in the least studied and most misunderstood management position in the world," authors Gmelch and Miskin state. Although chairs come to the position for varied reasons, few come with any specific leadership training. Once in the position, they are critiqued, judged, and evaluated by both their faculty and administrators—groups which frequently have conflicting criteria.

Based upon their extensive study of the demands on and needs of chairs, the authors have distilled their findings into a practical and highly accessible volume to guide chairs in their growth. Despite the varied paths to the position, the authors state that all chairs find themselves in an environment distinct from their former facultly situation.

One of the most dramatic changes is that chairs need the ability to switch from one task or situation to another very quickly, and must develop a facility for refocusing. As chairs, individuals assume four basic roles: faculty developer, manager, leader, and scholar. Because of these roles and the need to quickly refocus, Gmelch and Miskin advocate becoming a swivel chair. They state: "To balance their roles, chairs must learn to swivel without appearing dizzy, schizophrenic, or `two-faced.'".
Price: $25.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $41.63 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Department chairs are both faculty and administrators, but neither the skills of a faculty member nor the stature of an administrator can alone make an effective department chair. Because department chairs occupy a dual role, it is imperative that they establish and maintain credibility with both the faculty and the central administration. Such a challenge requires strong communication skills.

Communication Skills for Department Chairs is designed as a resource for practicing department chairs. Developed from the author's experience in organizational communication, chairing a department, and conducting workshops for department chairs, this book presents essential communication strategies for successfully managing a department. Each chapter first describes communication skills that are useful in handling administrative tasks and then uses real-life case studies to demonstrate their application in typical situations. Every case study is followed by a series of questions that invite readers to consider alternatives and make decisions that would benefit their own departments.

The book teaches communication skills as well as offers prescriptive guidelines on fulfilling the administrative duties for which department chairs are typically responsible. It helps chairs to

• Structure a department mission
• Enhance the department climate and culture
• Define a code of ethics for the department
• Conduct performance counseling
• Manage conflict among faculty
• Implement departmental change
• Work with the dean
• Build important alliances
• Promote the department

Useful for self-directed professional development or in seminar and workshop settings, this book is a practical and engaging resource for anyone who wants to communicate more effectively with multiple constituents..
Price: $30.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This well-written and practical guide to managing an academic department covers all the many responsibilities of a department chair, including some of the newest and trickiest. Based on his 20 years of experience as a department chair, the author offers a comprehensive and uniformly practical resource for effectively managing an academic department. It is filled with helpful summaries, checklists, tables, and sample forms. Invaluable for new chairpersons, and a handy resource for experienced chairpersons as well, all will find this a friendly mentor, always there for consultation, advice, and suggestions..
Price: $29.16 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book is primarily aimed at those who have, or will have, a role in leading departments or teams in higher education institutions. It examines the ways in which mainstream leadership thinking does - and does not - apply to departments and teams in HEIs and suggests that departmental leadership is critical to institutional well-being. A series of substantive chapters explores assessment, learning and teaching, research and scholarship, administration and continuing professional development, and the final chapter discusses the ways in which individuals learn how to lead. The book offers a way of looking at the practice of leading rather than presenting a selection of tips or tools for leadership, but is studded with fascinating views from departmental leaders and extensive practical advice..
Price: $43.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A first-rate book, well worth reading. Ann Lucas has taken years of research and reflection and distilled them into an easily understood, useful volume designed to help department chairs develop their leadership skills.
--William E. Cashin, director, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University

A practical guide to developing the survival skills that chairs need in order to function as leaders and build cohesive teams in departments..
Price: $12.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]