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Introduction: Roles and Responsibilities of the
Chair
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Faculty
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Curriculum
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Students
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Administration
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College Policies
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Disclaimer and Referral
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Appendices
Department Chairs'
Timeline
Forms - Quick links to forms
I.
Introduction: Roles and Responsibilities of the
Chair
The Chair is the chief
administrative officer of the department. As such,
the Chair is responsible for directing its
instructional program and administrative operation.
The Chair represents the department in discussions
on academic and administrative matters with the
administration of the College, other departments at
Barnard, and with the counterpart department at
Columbia. In consultation with the Provost, she
directs the negotiations with candidates being
considered for appointment in the department,
insures that non-tenured and off-ladder faculty are
reviewed for reappointment and promotion in a timely
manner, and reviews all requests for leaves before
they are forwarded to the Provost. The Chair also
prepares the department's
annual instructional budget proposal, makes
recommendations to the Provost on the salaries of
its faculty, directs its curricular program,
oversees relations between its students and faculty,
and approves all research proposals submitted by its
members, including external grant and fellowship
applications.
Chairs are instrumental
in creating the conditions that enable purposeful
experimentation to improve teaching. Chairs should
encourage members of their department to take on new
tasks in pursuit of more open and inclusive
undergraduate experiences. Chairs should insure
that there are regular departmental forums for
discussing teaching, course content, and processes;
and insuring that the department's
hiring process includes deliberate conversations
with prospective faculty about the importance the
department places on effective teaching.
Chairs support members
of their department in pursuing their research and
represent their departments in working with the
Director of Institutional Support on institutional
grants. Chairs also play a special role in
mentoring tenure-eligible junior faculty.
Department Chairs and Program Directors are eligible
for some forms of compensation for their efforts,
see Appendix T for more information. Subsequent
sections address the responsibilities of Chairs with
regard to matters involving faculty, the curriculum,
students, supervision of personnel and other
administrative processes.
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