Despite changing demographics in the United States, students of color have remained woefully underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. While African American, Native Americans, and Latinos make up over 30 percent of the undergraduate student population in this country, less than 12 percent of…

The growing literature on academic departments and their chairmen is evaluated from both a theoretical and a research perspective. Issues deserving greater attention are identified, and specific research is proposed to assess the viability of the departmental structure. (LBH)

A strategy is proposed for using student assessment to support the role of colleges and universities as learning-centered communities. It reframes the practice of formal, internal academic program review to focus on student learning and provides examples of data needed to support this process, some generated by the institutional researcher and…

Variations in the role behaviors of chairmen are examined within the context of Biglan's model and suggestions are offered to enhance the selection, development, and evaluation of these academic administrators. (LBH)

Management information needs vary as a function of departmental complexity, goals, and services. A model is proposed to enable institutional researchers to serve better the distinctive information needs of academic departments and their chairmen. (LBH)

A former department chairman briefly critiques the salient issues addressed in preceding articles. Specific insights into the concept of power in academic departments and the style of departmental management are provided, based upon his experiences as a chairman. (LBH)

To help college and university administrators become more conscious of the legal implications of their actions, this article explores the emerging legal constraints on the management of academic departments and the administrative roles of their chairmen. (LBH)

Deans and department chairs can help faculty members experiencing conflicting expectations cope with role ambiguities about research and teaching, encourage communication among faculty in diverse scholarly fields, and help students place faculty research activities in perspective. (Author/MSE)

A model from the occupational sociology literature is used to examine how the interactions of the environmental characteristics of academic departments and the personal characteristics of chairmen are related to the job satisfaction and career intentions of chairmen. (LBH)

Literature about the roles of college deans and department heads is reviewed, issues confronting these administrators are discussed, and their information needs are examined. A guide to the categories, types, and sources of useful information is provided. (MSE)

Information about students needed by college deans and department heads is identified, including data on cultural diversity, gender and age distributions, work and community experiences, educational experience, the extent to which programs serve students who are not majors, employment and continued education patterns, employer evaluation of…

Analysis of responses of 36 academic departments in a research university to a newly-implemented program review process after its first 6-year cycle, and to the 236 specific recommendations emerging from it indicated departments were most likely to act on recommendations if action was explicitly assigned and that most department chairs felt the…

A discussion of college faculty cultures and climates explains both conceptual notions and how institutional researchers, deans, and department heads can assess and understand them. It is proposed that this information can be useful to administrators committed to understanding, supporting, and leading the faculty of their units. (Author/MSE)

This article proposes that the task of providing useful information for deans and department heads has major implications for the role and preparation of college and university institutional researchers. Six areas for consideration are examined: local needs assessment, data integrity and interpretation, collaboration, skills and knowledge bases,…

A process of planned change is proposed for redefining college faculty work. Legitimate faculty work is defined in broad terms, and information sources and methods for collecting information to support redefinition are identified. The final step in the redefinition process is the development of new mission statements for the institution and its…