Thriving colleges and universities rely on healthy departments.
And department chairs need practical, tailored training and support to succeed in their crucial roles.
I can help.
The toughest job in higher ed.
Chairs at most institutions shoulder a lot of responsibility without a lot of power. As a department head, you sit uneasily in the middle tier of the org chart, a place that can often feel pretty lonely. And you usually do so without much (or any) guidance: It’s a role that little in your preprofessional training has prepared you for, and for which many institutions provide scant resources. As a longstanding personnel practice in higher education, this is really quite puzzling.
The mystery and confusion surrounding this vital position in academe are the motivation for my book How to Chair a Department. The book attempts to survey the wide landscape of a department chair’s or a program director’s job, and to provide broad principles to support a strategic approach to the role.
Sometimes, however, those principles can seem difficult to apply to the prickly, particular situations that arise in your own department, among colleagues and even friends. The feedback I’ve received from chairs and deans since the book came out made me realize that there's a real need on our campuses for relevant, practical, and thoughtful leadership development for department chairs.
I’d love to come to your campus and provide that support.
Here’s how.
Working with Deans and Provosts, I customize daylong and half-day workshops for new and experienced chairs, built upon the structure of my book, How to Chair a Department (which can be purchased for chairs at volume discount). Workshops are customized to meet the particular needs of the institution and its chairs. Options include one-on-one consultations with chairs, and follow-up coaching via Zoom.
Working with Department Chairs and Program Directors, I conduct department reviews and assessments, assist in conflict mediation, and facilitate strategic-planning work, as well as working one-on-one with chairs and directors seeking to sharpen their leadership skills.
Praise for Kevin’s book, How to Chair a Department
“Kevin Dettmar's How to Chair a Department is invaluable: it is cold-eyed and full of practical wisdom while also being learned and humane, and always grounded on the principle that leading a department is fundamentally about serving our students and colleagues. Dettmar does an excellent job of describing the kinds of things that a new chair, who likely has never been in a supervisory position, should think about. I wish I'd had this book before I started chairing.”
— Greg Barnhisel, Duquesne University
“I love this book and wish it had been around before I wrote The Chair. No one is more informed on the subject of chairing than Dr. Dettmar, and this entertaining guide is an essential read for anyone navigating a career in the academy.”
— Amanda Peet, writer and producer, The Chair
“Kevin Dettmar has written a generous book offering practical advice and strategic big-picture and local thinking indispensable to all aspiring and current department chairs. And more: he has written a must-read for anyone interested in the ideals and the principles of ethical leadership on our campuses. Dettmar writes about leadership uniquely, in the most humane and human terms, with wisdom, gentle humor, and modesty that belie his decades of experience.”
— Carolyn Dever, English and Creative Writing, Dartmouth College
“The chair's is the job with all the responsibility and, often, none of the power, but Kevin Dettmar shows how a good chair can make a great impact. Dettmar is clear-sighted yet not at all cynical, and he's a great coach for those who want to learn to be not just academic administrators but academic leaders.”
— Paula M. Krebs, Executive Director, Modern Language Association
“Dettmar's generosity of spirit is what makes this book stand out in the crowded field of academic advice titles. He reminds current and future chairs that the sacrifices they make on behalf of their colleagues, students, and the institution are noble work. His practical and innovative ideas for department chairs will help them do that work as effectively as possible.”
— James M. Lang, author of Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus
About Kevin
Alongside his scholarly work on British and Irish literary modernism and contemporary popular music, Kevin Dettmar has over the past quarter-century built an expertise in higher ed leadership. A graduate of the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education’s Management Development Program and a former member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Departments of English, he has been a contributing writer to Chronicle of Higher Education for almost 25 years, writing on faculty hiring, retirement, departmental leadership, presidential searches, and other topics, and has written as well for Inside Higher Ed. Kevin has chaired three departments at two different institutions (one R1, one liberal arts college) for total of 20 years, as well as serving as associate dean and founding director of The Humanities Studio at Pomona College. He is an experienced program reviewer of both undergraduate and graduate programs at a range of institutions. He holds a certificate in Equity and Inclusion from Social Justice Associates.
Kevin’s book How to Chair a Department, lauded as “a generous book offering practical advice and strategic big-picture and local thinking,” was published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in September 2022, selling out its first printing in its first week of publication. Building upon that work, Kevin started writing a monthly column, “Ask the Chair,” for the Chronicle of Higher Education in August 2022. He is a contributing writer for the New Yorker and The Atlantic where, alongside his cultural criticism, he has written on topics in American higher education.
You can find his full c.v. here.
Testimonials
“We were lucky enough to engage Kevin Dettmar for a professional development workshop for our chairs, so many of whom were relatively new to their positions. To a person they were full of praise for his conversational style, gratitude for his reflections on the interpersonal and personal challenges that attend upon being a chair, and real appreciation for the professional experience he's clearly acquired and shared... Dettmar’s generosity of spirit shone through in the genuine manner in which he offered his insights, perspectives, and advice, all of which with the greater aim of helping people manage the enormous jobs they’ve been asked to assume without losing their humanity and their sense of purpose.”
—Teresa Winterhalter, Dean, Liberal Arts, Georgia Gwinnett College
“My group of chairs really appreciated the focused time to talk about all of the important leadership issues that we covered. And I know that I certainly did! Having been so fortunate myself to get a lot of professional development training at various stages of my career, I appreciate how energizing it can be. I’m determined to keep the momentum going with my own team. Thanks so much again for an excellent couple of days!”
—Valery E. Forbes, Dean, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Florida Atlantic U.
“For too long, our chairs and school directors have been largely ignored, or else expected to grope unassisted in the bureaucratic darkness. Your presence, and exposure to your immense experience and wisdom, was an important symbolic break from the past. Thank you for playing a key role in the broader transformation we seek to bring to UMaine.”
—Gabriel Paquette, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, U. Maine, Orono
“Kevin brings a wealth of experience to supporting the development of department-level leadership. He took the time to meet with us several times before his campus visit, asking the right questions and quickly forming an accurate understanding of the context in which our department chairs are working. Kevin’s focused, small-group meetings were particularly effective in drawing out issues and identifying potential solutions. In addition, new chairs can take a lot from Kevin in understanding the scope, scale, pitfalls, and opportunities of the role. “
—Debbie Storrs, Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor, UNC Greensboro
“Thank you for speaking to the Chairs and Deans at GGC! It was an extremely practical and enlightening conversation. You did us a huge favor by compiling your experience and wisdom into the book…. I’d be several levels more clueless about chairing if I hadn’t read the book: it has helped all of us better understand the role, and has resulted in angible positive outcomes in each of our departments—for ourselves, our faculty, and our students.”
—David Kirschner, Chair, Human Services & Cultural Studies, Georgia Gwinnett College
Being a department chair is often a lonely administrative role. Kevin understands its institutional complexities and after working with my department, I felt like he understood many of the specific challenges involved in leading my department. Working with Kevin was one of the most supportive experiences that I’ve had as chair. Despite all of his accomplishments, Kevin made me feel like my leadership role and style was deeply seen, appreciated, and even admired.
—Coran Klaver, Chair, Department of English, Syracuse University
There were so many layers for me in Kevin’s sessions to unpack: tapping into his experiences—they were so similar for many of us and of course with novel twists; delving into best practices and the not-best practices; that being a chair/admin leader is not a one-size-fits-all; and of course this was also the much-needed therapy session that none of us had ever had but needed so badly. I think our leaders appreciated knowing that it is OK to fail sometimes, learn from it, and get back up again. And most importantly Kevin helped us on the path to establishing a strong network of professional support amongst ourselves.
—Evonne M. Rezler, Senior Associate Dean, College of Science, Florida Atlantic U.
