This Executive Position Paper examined the reported preparation of Delaware Tech Stanton/Wilmington Campus department chairpersons at the time of their appointments and what strategies and training methods they report will more quickly prepare and develop new appointees into successful department chairs. Two surveys were utilized; one was sent to 169 faculty and one to 27 department chairpersons, both current and past who are still employed at Delaware Tech. The response rates were 69.2% and 77.8%, respectfully. A comprehensive review of literature on the role and function of department chairperson was completed, indicating that the department chairperson position is important, complex, and requires a diverse and different set of skills than faculty have in the performance of their faculty duties. Current training programs at other colleges, universities, and academic organizations were also explored to determine best practices. The surveys showed that a small number of department chairpersons and faculty report that they are prepared to fulfill Delaware Tech's chairpersons' duties and responsibilities, but a large number reported that they are not prepared or only somewhat prepared. Based on these results, I make seven recommendations that I think will decrease the time it takes faculty to transition from the classroom to the management of the day-to-day and long term operations of the department, and to fully assume the department chair duties and responsibilities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]