We thought it would be interesting to determine strategies that chairs thought would work when dealing with a non-collegial faculty member. We mailed 1,700 surveys to chairs throughout the U.S. A total of 549 chairs responded, a 32.3 percent return rate. The survey had a total of 21 suggestions as to what a chair would do with a non-collegial faculty member, broken into four themes: positive, punitive, proactive, or just doing nothing. Positive items suggested approaches such as mentoring and legacy building, while proactive measures would take the support a step further, from having a one-on-one, forthright discussion with the individual to contacting appropriate upper-level administrators or human resources. Punitive options included more frequent teaching evaluations, unpopular course scheduling options, and more intense examination of the individual’s sick/personal time.
Connections Are Everything: Putting Relationships at the Heart of Higher Ed
As academic leaders, we are under so much pressure to deliver—enrollment targets, strategic plans, graduation rates, AI policies, and on and on—that we can lose sight of what our students
Isis Artze-Vega, Leo M. Lambert, and Peter Felten
March 4, 2024
