The New Department Chair - by W Benjamin Myers (Paperback)

About the Book

100 digestible daily reflections on academic department chairing that blend theory, research, and practical advice to encourage a proactive and mindful approach to the position. This volume focuses on a variety of aspects of being chair, but does so in ways that encourage reflexivity, strategic decision-making, and personal growth.

Book Synopsis

The New Department Chair: 100 Daily Reflections for Mindfully Designing Your Term, written by a chair with over a decade of experience at three universities, consists of 100 reflections about being a department chair. Using theory, personal stories, and practical advice, readers are provided with 100 opportunities to think through how they approach the complicated responsibilities of being chair. Topics include the precarious nature of academic management, the emotional labor of the position, advocacy, diversity and inclusion, budgeting, imposter syndrome, department meetings, bullies, social media, working with deans, enrollment management, and others. This collection serves as both a guide and a mentor in print for chairs as they wrestle with the complexity of their roles. It's not a manual but instead an invitation to engage the position with purposefulness and direction.

Review Quotes

Anyone who has become a department chair will find Myers' unvarnished anecdotes about his missteps, lessons learned, and solid advice resonating with their own experiences. Although many points would appear in trainings and readings, the benefit of these reflections lie in the way the author has personally navigated the paradoxes, vulnerabilities, challenges, and ambiguities of this managerial-leadership role that he says is akin to being a diplomat. Particularly insightful are sections on budgets, appeals and grievances, conflictual and productive relationships with all stakeholders, and chairs' own legal liabilities and responsibilities for those whom they supervise. Myers supplements his reflections with thoughtful questions and additional readings. This is a must read!!

As a new chair, you often don't know what you need until you need it, and this book will help any new chair anticipate what they will need. Myers offers a communication-based "field guide" to being a new chair--one that is timely, thoughtful, comprehensive and generous. The 100 reflections may be read in any order, at any time, according to frame of mind or the always-arising needs of the moment.

Myers draws on research and experience to capture the unique rewards and challenges of the department chair role. The book moves beyond equipping chairs to merely survive, and instead models a mindful approach to thriving in the role through a few minutes a day spent in purposeful reflection. Despite acknowledging that all departments and institutions are different, I found the anecdotes highly relatable. I wish I had this book when I was starting out in the role.

Stepping into an academic administrative position as chair or director? Do yourself a favor and buy this book! The short day-by-day format will help you create excellence in your faculty and students, manage stress, see the forest through the trees, mindfully reflect, and remember your core values - all one bite at a time.

About the Author

W. Benjamin Myers is professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Toledo.