The Academic Department Chair: The Logic of Appeasement

Abstract

How does the department chair cope with the numerous, often contradictory roles that he or she must invariably assume? And how does a department chair allocate resources among faculty members and simultaneously maintain collegiality? This article was developed through interviews with 23 current and former department chairs and through the authors' experience as chairs, and it seeks to answer these questions. One of the authors has served as a department chair in two departments and one interdisciplinary program; the other has recently become a department chair. The numerous and often contra-