Your Career: How small actions can spark big changes

A department head’s locus of authority is more far-reaching than many people in the job seem to realize. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can now read The Chronicle on [Apple News]( [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. A department head’s locus of authority is more far-reaching than many people in the job seem to realize. The department-chair position is, as [a recent trend piece]( in The Chronicle put it, “the faculty job (almost) no one wants.” For years, many department heads have criticized the lack of preparation they receive for the job. As midlevel managers, they are rarely encouraged or sufficiently prepared to see themselves as leaders capable of initiating and sustaining meaningful change. Yet department chairs — positioned directly between frontline faculty members and senior administrators — may be our last, best hope to improve our institutions from the inside out. But to do so requires those of us in higher ed to evolve our conceptions of what midlevel leadership can be. A good model of that kind of evolution in action is the character of Evelyn Quan Wang (Michelle Yeoh) in the 2022 Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once. Evelyn’s first instinct in the face of trouble is to lock herself in the broom closet and hope for the uproar to subside (a not-unfamiliar strategy in academe). But eventually, Evelyn realizes she needs to act. No one else is coming to save her. Likewise, to make change as a department chair, you must first accept that you are an academic leader with the positional authority to influence your department’s climate, culture, and operations — to a far greater degree than you may think. Continue reading: “[5 Lessons for Higher Ed’s Least Powerful Administrators]( by Lisa Jasinski Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here.]( ADVERTISEMENT UPCOMING PROGRAM [The Chronicle's Strategic-Leadership Program for Department Chairs] [Join us in June]( for a virtual professional development program which will provide the space, time, and tools to help department chairs take on the challenges and opportunities of the role. Through workshops, high-level seminars, and individual development plans, chairs will think strategically about their departmental and institutional impact. [Register today!]( NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. LATEST CAREER ADVICE, OPINION, AND NEWS ADVICE [Multitasking Is the Enemy of Academic Productivity]( By Gloria Mark [STORY IMAGE]( Faculty members pay a price for all that juggling of research, teaching, and service. ADVERTISEMENT ADVICE [Why Is There No Training on How to Teach Graduate Students?]( By Leonard Cassuto [STORY IMAGE]( When you follow the graduate-school money, it leads to faculty offices, not student needs. ADVICE [Ask the Chair: ‘How Do You Get Professors to Respond in the Summer?’]( By Kevin Dettmar [STORY IMAGE]( A timely question this month as department heads eagerly anticipate the “summer break.” HUNDREDS OF WITNESSES [Tenure and DEI Changes Loom Large in Texas. Here Are 3 Takeaways From a Marathon Hearing.]( By Eva Surovell [STORY IMAGE]( A Texas House of Representatives committee heard more than 10 hours of testimony on Monday. THE REVIEW | ESSAY [Administrators’ Hysterical Response to Campus Controversy]( By Elise Archias and Blake Stimson [STORY IMAGE]( When leaders usurp faculty expertise with kitsch social justice, students suffer. UNSHARED GOVERNANCE [‘As Bizarre as It Sounds’: At Ohio State, Trustees Will Do the President’s Job]( By David Jesse [STORY IMAGE]( The unusual plan, in which the board will oversee administrators until a new leader is chosen, may violate the university’s bylaws and create unforeseen problems. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [The New Learning Partnerships - The Chronicle Store]( [The New Learning Partnerships]( Colleges are now tapping outside companies for academic-related services including managing online and experiential-learning programs. [Order your copy]( to explore key strategies for how leaders can build successful partnerships. SPONSOR CONTENT | University of Miami [University of Miami’s Julio Frenk, Donna Shalala Examine Education and Health Care]( Dive into a new approach to health care that can solve current issues while preparing us for the future. What we’re reading. Here’s more on career issues and trends from around the web. See something we should include? [Let me know](mailto:denise.magner@chronicle.com?subject=Your Career feedback). - A report in Fortune magazine says worker productivity is “[declining at the fastest rate in 75 years]( while [an essay]( on Vox argues that bosses aren’t clear what productivity means. - [Advice]( in the Harvard Business Review on “how to disagree productively.” - A [profile]( in Science magazine tells the story of a top Parkinson’s researcher who was recently diagnosed with the disease. MORE CAREER RESOURCES [The Talent Crisis in Higher Education]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING: May 15, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET. Qualified job candidates today want more flexibility and higher pay than higher education offers. How can colleges remain competitive? With Support From LinkedIn. [Register here.]( [Academic Integrity and AI]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING: May 16, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET. With AI tools like ChatGPT allowing students to pass off seemingly original work as their own, academic integrity has become a major issue. What do instructors and administrators need to know to thwart such cheating? With Support From Honorlock. [Register here.]( [The Data-Driven Institution: The Role of the Chief Innovation Officer]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING: May 18, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET. Join us for a discussion of CIOs and their role in pushing higher-ed innovation forward. With Support From AWS. [Register here.]( POLITICS AND RACE [DEI Legislation Tracker]( By Adrienne Lu, Jacquelyn Elias, Audrey Williams June, J. Brian Charles, Kate Marijolovic, Julian Roberts-Grmela, and Eva Surovell [STORY IMAGE]( Legislators, mostly Republicans, want to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices; end anti-bias trainings; and banish diversity statements. JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Vice President of Advancement and President]( University of Florida Foundation [Assistant Professor in Exceptional Education]( SUNY Buffalo State [Search other jobs.]( CAREER RESOURCES [Man sitting at a laptop computer.] Explore [Career Resources]( a new online destination to find career-related articles, advice, reports, events, and more designed to help you advance in your career. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2023 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. 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