Abstract
As strategic middle managers, department chairs are at the nexus between their academic unit and college, and they must contend with the competing priorities of these different domains. These leaders are not only change agents but also fiscal agents tasked with budget and personnel responsibilities that can be turned into opportunities for ensuring the best return on investment, even in financially lean times.
This workshop will focus on how to capitalize on financial opportunities that extend beyond one’s operating account and other allocations. How can we maximize opportunities to support and develop faculty, students and staff, given the inevitable constraints within public state institutions? One way is to produce greater efficiencies within the academic unit and identify resources from an array of campus constituents and extramurally with community partners and funding agents.
Discussions will focus on promoting faculty development using targeted incentives and strategies. Examples include mining institutional support, networking with fiscal agents, proposing matched funding, creating faculty development grants, providing seed funding, negotiating hiring packages, collaborating with development officers, fostering strategic graduate assistantships, rewarding faculty productivity and sponsoring revenue-generating courses. Initiatives such as faculty development grant programs that build upon the procurement of funds, grants and contracts will make connections evident among funds, initiatives and outcomes.
The presenter will use specific examples from her experiences of leading a department and school. Question prompts and case scenarios will be provided and dialogue will be a goal.
Keywords
resources, financial opportunities, efficiencies, support
Recommended Citation
Mullen, Dr. Carol A. (2015). "Mining From the Middle: Making Resources Count at Work," Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings. https://newprairiepress.org/accp/2015/Plenary/1
Mining From the Middle: Making Resources Count at Work
As strategic middle managers, department chairs are at the nexus between their academic unit and college, and they must contend with the competing priorities of these different domains. These leaders are not only change agents but also fiscal agents tasked with budget and personnel responsibilities that can be turned into opportunities for ensuring the best return on investment, even in financially lean times.
This workshop will focus on how to capitalize on financial opportunities that extend beyond one’s operating account and other allocations. How can we maximize opportunities to support and develop faculty, students and staff, given the inevitable constraints within public state institutions? One way is to produce greater efficiencies within the academic unit and identify resources from an array of campus constituents and extramurally with community partners and funding agents.
Discussions will focus on promoting faculty development using targeted incentives and strategies. Examples include mining institutional support, networking with fiscal agents, proposing matched funding, creating faculty development grants, providing seed funding, negotiating hiring packages, collaborating with development officers, fostering strategic graduate assistantships, rewarding faculty productivity and sponsoring revenue-generating courses. Initiatives such as faculty development grant programs that build upon the procurement of funds, grants and contracts will make connections evident among funds, initiatives and outcomes.
The presenter will use specific examples from her experiences of leading a department and school. Question prompts and case scenarios will be provided and dialogue will be a goal.
