I’d love to come to your campus and provide support.

Why do you need me?

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.

Here’s How I Help.

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.

“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.
“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

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