A literature review, the experiences of the authors, and the results of the Project To Improve and Reward Teaching (PIRT) at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, are used to derive suggestions for change in academic departments. A qualitative study of change in eight PIRT departments has provided data to support the suggestions. Assessing the pressures for change is a first step for practitioners who are planning change in an academic department. Seeking the greatest possible understanding of how departments work and how departmental structures and cultures suggest avenues for change is a necessary second step. Implementing change strategies adapted to the local situation must follow. A final step is considering what the department should be. Departments in the future must build on their own particular qualities, structures, and cultures to fulfill their crucial roles. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Assessing the Pressures for Departmental Change"; (3) "Examining Values in the Department"; (4) "The Discipline and the Department"; (5) "Departmental Relations with Central Administration"; (6) "Departmental Organization, Decision Making, and Interaction"; (7) "Departmental Leadership"; (8) "Departmental Work, Faculty Roles, and Rewards"; and (8) "Conclusions: Departmental Change." An appendix summarizes departmental characteristics and avenues for change. (Contains 1 table and 278 references.) (SLD)