The Department Chair as Talent Manager: A Discussion Series 

The Department Chair as Talent Manager: A Discussion Series

 

Recorded on October 24, 2023 | Recorded on November 8, 2023 | Recorded on December 13, 2023 | Recorded on February 5, 2024 | Recorded on February 14, 2024 | Recorded on March 11, 2024 | Recorded on April 29, 2024 | Recorded on May 9, 2024

Take your leadership to the next level by joining us monthly throughout the academic year to discuss what it means to be a talent manager within your department.

Overview

Traditionally, the role of the department chair is to work directly with faculty and staff to create a meaningful and engaging experience for students. In recent years, however, there’s a growing need for department chairs to also serve as talent managers for faculty and staff. According to McKinsey and Company, “Talent management includes all the ways that organizations bring employees on board, keep them happy and productive and help them continue to develop their skills over time.” Specifically, there are five key focus areas of talent management, as follows:

  1. Finding and hiring the right people
  2. Creating opportunities for learning and growing
  3. Managing and rewarding performance
  4. Tailoring the employee experience
  5. Optimizing workforce planning and strategy

For many department chairs, the training, support, processes, and policies necessary to support this type of work may be lacking. But if the Great Resignation has taught us anything, it’s that we cannot delay this important work any longer.

To help you meet these challenges, join us online once a month throughout the academic year to discuss a new topic related to faculty and staff talent management. In these one-hour sessions, you’ll get tips and strategies from your peers and program facilitators that will help you to deliver on the five focus areas above.

How it Works

Each month throughout the academic year, we’ll be featuring a new topic related to faculty and staff talent management. Each session may look and feel a little different—but all sessions are designed to be discussion-based, so that you can join other department chairs from across the country in exchanging ideas, sharing current practices, and providing the space to ask questions. Sessions may include some combination of presentation, large-group discussion, and small-group breakouts.

You may choose to attend some or all of the discussion sessions. To get the most out of the series, we encourage you to attend all of them; however, if you can only attend one or two, you will still benefit from the information and collective dialogue involved.

Who Should Attend

This discussion series is specifically designed for any/all department chairs or program directors who are looking to better understand what it means to think like a talent manager. If you’re looking for new ways to recruit, manage, engage, motivate, and, most importantly, develop your faculty and/or staff, this discussion series is for you!

Academic deans, including associate/assistant deans, who are interested in supporting their department chairs in this work, will also benefit from this discussion series.

DISCUSSION 1

Attracting Faculty Talent: A Discussion for Department Chairs

Recorded on October 24, 2023

How are you responding to the current trends impacting faculty recruitment?

DISCUSSION 2

Explore the Power of Faculty Mentoring:  A Discussion for Department Chairs

Recorded on November 8, 2023

Retain and build long-term capital with your faculty through mentoring.

DISCUSSION 3

Talent Management Through Delegation: A Discussion for Department Chairs

Recorded on December 13, 2023

Delegate in a way that prepares your faculty and staff for future career growth.

DISCUSSION 4

Managing Faculty Workloads: A Discussion for Department Chairs

Recorded on February 5, 2024

Develop an intentional talent management strategy through effective workload management.

DISCUSSION 5

The Art of Faculty Accountability

Recorded on February 14, 2024

Holding faculty accountable should signal a shared commitment to their growth and development.

DISCUSSION 6

Taking a Formative Assessment Approach to Annual Faculty Evaluations

Recorded on March 11, 2024

How do you ensure faculty reviews are positive, productive and supportive for all faculty?

DISCUSSION 7

Recognizing and Celebrating Faculty and Staff:  A Panel Conversation

Recorded on April 29, 2024

Boost faculty and staff morale by developing a habit of appreciation and gratitude.

DISCUSSION 8

Feedback as a Faculty (Re)Engagement Strategy

May 9, 2024 | 1:00 - 3:00 pm ET

Are you concerned with how faculty will interpret feedback amid a challenging higher education climate?

SPEAKERS

Portrait of Russell Carpenter

Russell Carpenter

Assistant Provost & Professor of English, Eastern Kentucky University

Russell is committed to faculty development in areas of teaching and learning, faculty engagement, and faculty leadership development. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Faculty Development and has designed or co-designed a range of faculty leadership development programs and initiatives. In collaboration with Dr. Sara Zeigler, Russell has published and presented on leadership topics ranging from leadership styles, building effective teams, and supporting emerging academic leaders.

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portrait of Marcela Kostihova

Marcela Kostihova

Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Hamline University

As Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Kostihova establishes the College’s academic priorities, oversees resource allocation, and coordinates strategic and long-range planning, as well as the day to day work with recruitment and development of faculty and staff. She’s co-directed Hamline’s Collaborative Research Program, and served as Associate Dean prior to her appointment as Dean.

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Portrait of James Naus

James Naus

Department Chair, Oakland University

James has been chair of the history department at Oakland University since 2018. In this role, he oversees the daily administration of the department as well as the development and implementation of new initiatives. He is also responsible for the recruitment and retention of faculty and students. For the past several years, much of his time has been devoted to navigating the particular challenges brought on by COVID and managing a department through a period of contraction.

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Portrait of Katharine E. Stewart

Katharine E. Stewart, PhD, MPH

Senior Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, Professor of Psychology, North Carolina State University | Executive Coach, Leadership Coach

Katharine has been a faculty member since 1996 and has been mentoring other faculty members and academic leaders (department heads and deans) for over two decades. As a professor and senior vice provost, she is responsible for most policies and processes related to faculty success (including promotion and tenure) as well as for faculty development programming at her university. A significant part of her current role is to work closely with department heads and deans in managing their academic units.

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Questions About the Event?

Portrait of Lisa Lafflam

Lisa Lafflam
Senior Learning & Development Manager, Academic Impressions