The role of the English department chair was studied through a national survey of departments in universities with student enrollments between 5,000 and 12,000. Attention was directed to: academic rank, length of term, how selected, number of teachers in the department, salary, fringe benefits, teaching load, and duties. Of the 150 questionnaires mailed, 64% of the chairs responded. Nearly 100 responses were reported and analyzed. Findings include: chairs tended to administer departments ranging in size from 8 to 61 faculty members during the academic year; the term of office tended to run for a 3-year period and in most situations, chairs may be reelected an unlimited number of times; 71% of the department chairs were professors and 23% were associate professors; the average salary of an English department chair was $42,985 with a range of $21,200 to $56,000; all chairs reported that they received a reduction in teaching load ranging from 25% to 100%; additional salary was provided to about 56% of the department chairs on the basis of faculty size; and while almost half of the chairs received some supplemental compensation for performing chair duties, in most cases the supplement was less than $4,000. Recommendations concerning workload and compensation of chairs are offered. (SW)