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Cornell University

Office of Faculty Development and Diversity

Department Chairs

Department Chair Orientation and Ongoing Programming

Held annually, the Chair Orientation is geared towards new and seasoned Chairs. The orientation and monthly meeting cover topics such as: how to best transition from the focused, self-driven life of a faculty member to academic leadership; the first days/months/year of your job as department chair; self-preservation strategies; best practices in hiring, including dual career hiring and opportunities to diversify the professoriate; providing and receiving faculty feedback, annual reviews, implementing the Salary Improvement Program (SIPS); mentoring, post-tenure reviews, the role of the chair in the evaluation process, and preemptive vs. reactive retention. The next department chair orientation will take place in June 2025.

Workshops for Departments

The Office of Faculty Development and Diversity holds a variety of workshops for chairs and departments, which can be scheduled for individual fields and departments. Find the full list here.

Threatening Communications and External Harassment

The university provides guidelines for Chairs, Deans and Directors navigating threatening communications. PDF.

Resources

The following list of resources was adapted from a Joint DGS & Department Chair Meeting held on July 22, 2020.

Teaching and Advising

Departmental Self-Assessment Tools

  • AAS Diversity Taskforce Report (Appendix X for Departmental Self-Assessment Rubric) (PDF)
  • UC Berkeley Academic Unit Strategic Planning for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity toolkit (PDF)

Trainings & Talks

    • Panel: Experiences of Black STEM in the Ivory: A Call to Disruptive Action, a collaboration of the University of Chicago, Georgia Tech, University of Washington, University of Austin – Texas and Boston University. Access to recordings of panel discussions:

        • Subjects of Racial & Academic Hierarchies: Staff Perspectives on Diversity of STEM

        • Empowering Students

        • Faculty Raw & Live

        • Let’s Get Real: A Discussion with the Deans

        • Where Do We Go From Here: Disruptive Actions to Abolish Anti-Black Racism in STEM

Cornell Graduate Student Data

    • Doctoral Experience Survey (Administered biennially to doctoral students/candidates)

    • Admitted, Not Attending Survey (Doctoral, Research Master’s, and Professional Degree Admits)

    • New Student Survey (Doctoral, Research Master’s, and Professional Degree Admits)

    • Exit Survey (Doctoral, Research Master’s, and Professional Degree Admits)

    • Ph.D. Attrition and Completion (an additional dashboard with data at the individual student level will become available to DGSs later in fall 2020)

Other Resources

What I Wish I Knew Before Taking This Administrative Role

Panelists discuss their pathways to their current positions, key elements of their work, and learning curves that could have been shortened had they known more about the nature of the position.

Managing Effective Committees

This OFDD workshop was held on November 2, 2017 with Chris Barrett, Deputy Dean and Dean of Academic Affairs, SC Johnson College of Business; Barbara Knuth, Senior Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School; and Charles Van Loan, Dean of Faculty.