Enhancing Department Climate: Resources for Chairs
Tools for Effective Leaders
The Campus Climate Networking Group identified leadership as one of four areas to address at its November 5, 2002 meeting. Jeffrey Hamm and Gary Mitchell, members of the group, developed a list of actions and strategies leaders could implement to improve climate. This list continues to be useful for leaders striving to improve climate.
Engaging Everyone in the Life of the Department
The former Office of Quality Improvement (now the Office for Strategic Consulting) developed this chart that department chairs can use or customize when assigning departmental members to committees and roles in order to ensure that opportunities are well-distributed.
Campus Resources
The UW-Madison campus offers an abundance of excellent programs and a host of talented and helpful people who can assist you in your efforts to help make our campus a "positive, supportive place to work, learn, and live." The menu below provides information about and links to the many programs and people you can rely on for assistance and advice. Please click on each item in this menu to view the resources.
- Campus Strategic Framework, 2015-2019: For Wisconsin and the World
- Creating Community: Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement/Vice Provost for Diversity & Climate
- Diversity Framework at UW-Madison
- Learning Communities for Institutional Change & Excellence (LCICE)
- Vice Provost for Diversity & Climate
- Office of Compliance
- Equal Opportunity Discrimination/Harassment Complaints
- Discrimination, Discriminatory Harassment, and Retaliation
- Sexual Harassment
- Title IX
- Office for Equity and Diversity (OED)
- Employee Disability Accommodation and Divisional Disability Representatives (DDR)
- Office for Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee
- Office of Human Resources
- Cultural and Linguistics Services
- Employee Assistance Office
- International Faculty and Staff Services/Office of Human Resources
- Office of Workforce Relations
- Office of the Secretary of the Faculty
- Campus Diversity and Climate Committee — for details and membership click here
- Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People in the University — for details and membership click here
- Committee on Women in the University — for details and membership click here
- Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff
- Department Chair Boot Camp and Chairs Chats
- Dual Career Couple Assistance Program
- Faculty Diversity Initiative
- Onboarding and Performance Management for Faculty Supervisors
- Pay Equity and Salary Compression Policies and Resources
- Strategic Hiring Initiative
- Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff
- Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI)
- Academic Staff Policies and Procedures
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Equal Opportunity Discrimination/Harassment Complaints
- Consensual Relationships (UW-Madison Faculty Legislation)
- Consensual Relationships (UW Board of Regents Policy)
- Discrimination, Discriminatory Harassment, and Retaliation
- Faculty Policies and Procedures & Faculty Legislation
- Family related leave policies Note: Family related leave policies are currently under review due to changes in state law in effect since January 1, 2015. Until further notice, refer to the following existing UW-Madison policies:
- Balancing Family and Work: UW-Madison Family-Related Leave Policies for Faculty, Academic Staff, and Limited Appointees
- For University Staff, see: Leave without Pay Provisions, FMLA, ADA and Leave of Absence without Pay
- Information about the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior
- Letters & Sciences Climate Committee - Principles of Community for L&S
- Faculty Tenure Guidelines
- Mentoring Requirements for Assistant Professors
- Arts & Humanities Divisional Committee
- Biological Sciences Divisional Committee
- Physical Sciences Divisional Committee
- Social Sciences Divisional Committee
- Standard Salary Equity Review (faculty)
- Creating and Maintaining a Safe Learning and Work Environment at UW-Madison: Responsibilities, Resources and Reporting Requirements
- Title IX — UW-Madison policies
- Title IX — Mandatory Employee Training: Preventing Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence at UW-Madison
- Wisconsin Open Meetings Law
- Wisconsin Public Records Law
- Consensual Relationships (UW Board of Regents Policy)
- Campus Accessibility Resources
- Campus Childcare and Family Resources
- Campus Diversity and Climate Committee — for details and membership click here
- Creating Community: Divison of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement
- Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People in the University — for details and membership click here
- Committee on Women in the University — for details and membership click here
- DELTA Program/Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL)
- Faculty Strategic Hiring Initiative
- Dual-Career Couple Assistance Program
- Mentoring Programs and Requirements
- Academic Staff Mentoring Resources
- CIMER–Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research
- Mentoring Requirements for Assistant Professors
- Mid-Career Faculty Mentoring Program
- Women Faculty Mentoring Program
- STEM Diversity Network — networking and online resources
- Study of Faculty Worklife at UW-Madison (WISELI)
- Consultation about student mental health concerns (University Health Services)
- UW Women in IT (UW-WIT)
- Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI)
Black Graduate & Professional Student Association
Campus Women's Center (student organization)
Center for Academic Excellence (College of Letters and Science)
Center for Educational Opportunity
Chancellor's and Powers-Knapp Scholarship Programs
Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society
Graduate Assistants' Equity Workshops (OED)
Graduate Research Scholar Communities (GRS)
International Student Services
McBurney Disability Resource Center
Multicultural Graduate Network (MGN)
Multicultural Student Center (MSC)
Office of Campus Childcare and Family Resources
Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives
Seeking Educational Equity Through Diversity (SEED)
The Pride Society (student organization)
University Health Services (UHS)
University Housing: Center for Cultural Enrichment (CCE)
Wisconsin Involvement Network (Student Organizations)
WISELI's links to organizations for Women in Science & Engineering
External Resources for Department Chairs
The Department Chair - Newsletter (published four times per year; UW-Madison NetID required)
American Council on Education (ACE) Leadership Academy for Department Chairs
Association of American Colleges and University (AACU) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence
Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA): Academic Leadership Programs: ALP and DEO UW-Madsion BTAA contacts: Mo Noonan Bischof, Associate Vice Provost, 265-4413 Michael Bernard-Donals, Vice Provost, 262-5246
Suggested Readings
Bensimon, Estela Mara., Kelly Ward, and Karla Sanders. The Department Chair's Role in Developing New Faculty into Teachers and Scholars (Boston: Anker Publishing, 2000).
Buller, Jeffrey L. The Essential Department Chair: A Comprehensive Desk Reference (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2012).
Cipriano, Robert E. Facilitating a Collegial Department in Higher Education: Strategies for Success (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011).
Hecht, Irene W.D., Mary Lou Higgerson, Walter H. Gmelch, and Allan Tucker. The Department Chair as Academic Leader (Phoenix, AZ: American Council on Education and Oryx Press, 1999).
Leaming, Deryl R. Academic Leadership: A Practical Guide to Chairing the Department (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007).
Lucas, Ann E. Strengthening Departmental Leadership: A Team-Building Guide (San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994).
Ryan, Kathleen D. and Daniel K. Oestreich. Driving Fear out of the Workplace (San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1988).
Wheeler, Daniel W., et al. The Academic Chair's Handbook (San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass, 2008).
Acknowledgements
WISELI would like to thank the following UW-Madison faculty and staff members who served on the team that helped design this guide: Molly Carnes, Susan Coppersmith, Maury Cotter, Bernice Durand, Patrick Farrell, Eve Fine, Rosa Garner, Linda Greene, Jo Handelsman, Linda Heideman, Kathleen Holt, Christine Pribbenow, Eden Inoway-Ronnie, Donald Schutt, Jennifer Sheridan, and Lillian Tong. Thanks also to WISELI staff members, Deveny Benting and Sarah Marxhausen, for all their help.
Preparation of this resource guide was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF #0123666). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Copyright 2004 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Revision Copyright 2018.