What is a

Department Chair

A department chair is a faculty member in a given academic department, assigned by the dean to manage that department. A department chair’s primary role is to examine the operations of the department as a whole and the department’s relationship to their institution more broadly. The department chair has an important role in helping faculty in the department be realistic about their expectations for balancing research, teaching and administrative work. Department chairs are responsible for facilitating faculty mentorship on a formal and an informal level with the staff in their department.

Department chair refers to a faculty member in each department of an institution who is responsible for facilitating the relationship between institutional administration and individual faculty members. They provide a form for members on both sides to share opinions and hold productive conversations on how to improve or developing solutions for outstanding issues or disagreements.