Establishing Effective Relationships Between Faculty and Instructional Designers
Faculty routinely engage the assistance of instructional designers when designing and developing courses. To build trust and respect between faculty and instructional designers, each has to realize that they are working toward a common goal—providing students with active learning experiences that facilitate deep learning. This relationship is important as each brings...
The Department Chair as the Engine of Diversity Transformation
The academic department chair is positioned to be the engine of change in diversity progress in higher education today. Serving at the core of the academic enterprise, chairs work collaboratively with faculty to empower students with the needed skills, knowledge, and competencies to participate as leaders and citizens in a...
Take a Vacation—Please!
Although workshops on academic leadership frequently devote sessions to the topic of “work-life balance,” that phrase is really misleading. It seems to imply that we’re either working or living but never doing both at the same time. However, this is a false dichotomy for most administrators. We’re obviously living while...
Why Getting It Done Is Often Better Than Getting It Perfect
Although the remark has been attributed to lots of different people, it was Voltaire who first observed (in his Dictionnaire Philosophique, 1764) that “the perfect is the enemy of the good” (Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien). It has become such a common saying that we recite it almost without thinking....
Can Innovation Be Taught?
As budgets tighten at colleges and universities, academic leaders are repeatedly urged to be more entrepreneurial in their approaches. “It’s time to think outside the box,” we’re told. “Be creative. Be daring. Be innovative.” But what do you do if you’re not a naturally innovative person? Or how can you...
Being Intentionally Collaborative: Making the First Move
In a recent job interview for an associate vice president position, a prospective candidate was asked if they had any questions for the search committee. The person asked, “Is this a collaborative environment?” After a pregnant pause that seemed to give birth to triplets, the general response was that the...
Building Trust among Employees: Secrets to Success
Change is everywhere in higher education (Ceschi et al., 2017; Warr Pedersen et al., 2017). Numerous articles discuss the rate of change, impending changes, and reflection of the changes made in higher education institutions (Bouckenooghe, 2010). But comparatively little is written on how higher education professionals support faculty and staff...
Lessons Learned from the Chinese System of Higher Education
During a brief trip to Beijing, China, during which I presented seminars at three major universities, I had the opportunity to learn more about the Chinese system of higher education. I spoke with a number of professors and graduate students and learned about their perspectives on the educational process at...
Petty Principles: A Challenge to Higher Education Leaders in the Wake of a Social Injustice Crisis
Often I find myself writing and providing leadership strategies to assist academic leaders on their respective journeys in higher education. Thus, now I find myself distraught as we operate in the face of an increasingly unbearable reality of social injustice. As higher education administrators we have a role and responsibility...
Friendship as a Teaching Strategy for Graduate Students
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on July 25, 2016. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. Professors play an integral role in cultivating the hearts and minds of their students through the creation of a vibrant intellectual community. Fostering intellectual curiosity and academic integrity enables students to grow professionally and personally. A...
