Opportunities for regular dialogue between senior system leaders and campus departmental leadership need to be developed. Case studies of successful organizations point to the frequent and direct contact between the CEO and other levels of management. The president's other current initiative on performance management is both timely and potentially helpful to department chairs. It offers the likelihood that the chancellors will be encouraged and expected to engage deans in discussions about how they plan to support their chairs' efforts to improve their leadership capacity. That, in turn, will prompt discussions between deans and chairs toward shared clarity about roles, priorities and goals.
Chairs have complex roles.
They are charged with leading both programs and faculty. These require different skill sets. It is the belief of this group that effective chairs contribute positively to effective programs and productive faculty. Investments in department leadership capacity, whether through CEO time or development opportunities should yield significant returns. As a result of these deliberations, the Committee supported the notion of developing the President's Institute for Academic Leadership and Management.