Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-336) and index.

The position of academic department chair -- The department chair: then, now, and soon to be -- Characteristics of effective chairs -- Remaining professionally viable while chair -- The chair as keeper of information -- Quality assurance -- Staying legal -- Staying sane -- Working with internal constituents -- Communication -- Working with faculty -- Working with the dean and other administrators -- Interacting with students -- Working with faculty -- Staffing the academic department -- Recruiting and retaining faculty -- Faculty culture -- Guiding faculty careers -- Faculty evaluation -- The challenge of change -- Fiscal constraints in higher education -- Strategic planning -- The chair as campus entrepreneur -- The chair as external entrepreneur -- Preparing to lead change -- Understanding and overcoming resistance to change -- Next steps -- Chair selection and development -- Exiting the chair position -- The benefits to serving as chair.