Overview
Today, more than ever, Department Chairs need to be equipped with strategies to lead their departments to success in research. The Strategic Department Chair: Leading for Academic Research Success provides techniques not only to cultivate a department that is successful in research, but also to sustain that level of productivity. The book offers Department Chairs a valuable resource for negotiating the real-life challenges that they will face as academic leaders. Key Features: Provides Ten Top Tips for Chairing for Research Success Provides step-by-step guidelines for mentoring new faculty to advance their research trajectories alongside broader strategies for developing their tenure and promotion portfolios Explains how to avoid common pitfalls, supplying critical tips for challenges common to Department Chairs, including a chapter on Facing Challenges: Assistant Professors without Success in Research Provides strategies to mentor mid-career faculty and win-win strategies for enhancing graduate student success while advancing faculty research success Illustrates key concepts with case studies and example initiatives that can be put into administrative practice Written by a Department Chair at a Carnegie R1-level (highly research active) University and a former Associate Dean for Research with a history of continual funding from NIH and national foundations, The Strategic Department Chair: Leading for Academic Research Success provides a toolbox of approaches that can immediately be put into action. Therefore, this text is not only relevant for new Department Chairs, but also for existing Chairs, in a wide range of research-based areas including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Public Health, Medicine, and the Natural Sciences.
Full Product Details
Author: Lisa Chasan-Taber
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Chapman & Hall/CRC
Weight: 0.300kg
ISBN: 9781032940151
ISBN 10: 1032940158
Pages: 148
Publication Date: 17 March 2026
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Professional & Vocational
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
“This is a remarkably helpful book, full of practical advice and insight to enable department chairs to be more effective, and have more fun while filling that role. As department chair at Harvard 2000-2007, I was skeptical as to whether anything new would appear. To my pleasant surprise, I found nuggets of wisdom at every turn, and wished that I had such a guide before I began my own chair journey. As Dr. Chasan-Taber points out, the roles of academic department chair overlap with, but differ in vital ways, from a typical management position in business. I heartily recommend this book to anyone contemplating or beginning a new position as department chair. Current chairs, even seasoned leaders with long experience, will gain new skills. When I took on the chair position, my 15 year-old son said, “well, dad, it could be worse – you could be stool”. This book will help anyone elevate that experience.” ~Meir Stampfer, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Research Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA “Of all the academic positions I have held, including professor, department chair, dean, vice president, and university president of a campus and a system, I can honestly say that department chair was the most complex and challenging. It was also the one that came with the least preparation and mentorship. Now, finally, we have a book that will help. By providing realistic examples and crisp, usable advice on how to navigate leadership among peers, Chasan-Taber has made a singular contribution to the ongoing development and success of members of the academic community. It will serve as a guide and a ready reference. This book should be read by anyone aspiring to be a department chair, and by everyone who currently holds that position.” ~Harris Pastides, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Distinguished President Emeritus, University of South Carolina, USA “With this book, Lisa Chasan-Taber has achieved something unusual: make the high-pressure task of running an academic department sound not only exciting, but noble and service-oriented. With humour and wit, backed up by experience and care, Lisa offers practical lessons on how to run a great academic department. I wish I had this book when I started my department chair tenure many years ago.” ~Nazeem Muhajarine, Community Health and Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canada “Dr. Chasan-Taber’s newest book is a straightforward guide on how to successfully lead and build an academic department, cultivate a culture of excellence, and be responsive to the strengths of your faculty members – all while keeping your sanity. Filled with tips, do’s and don’ts, and strategies, the book capitalizes on Chasan-Taber’s own experiences as a faculty member and administrator. Her book is a clear, candid, and concise account of all the moving parts a successful leader needs to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Although it is geared toward individuals in the STEM field, it is filled with lessons that are applicable to all disciplines. All faculty members, not just those interested in becoming an administrator, could benefit from reading this book to glean insight into the motivations of their own department chairs.” ~Larissa R. Brunner Huber, PhD, Professor Emerita of Epidemiology, UNC Charlotte, USA “This book is a tremendous resource for department chairs across higher education. Chairs must navigate personnel challenges, financial decisions, and setting a vision and mission for the Department, yet often receive essentially no formal training. Dr. Chasan-Taber has used her own expertise and experience, as well as insights from others, to write an incredibly useful — and yet also fun to read — book that should be on every department chair’s shelf. Higher education reflects a broad diversity of types of institutions; this book manages to have aspects that will be useful to chairs across a range of places, from small liberal arts colleges to research intensive large universities, and across different underlying administrative structures and business models. This includes advice about faculty hiring, supporting students and faculty, appropriate delegation, and setting a strong and supportive culture. It is particularly helpful in including both big picture advice and strategies while also giving concrete suggestions, whether it’s about how to use faculty meeting time well or how to handle “hallway asks” that every chair is bound to get. It should be required reading for all new — and old — chairs!” ~Elizabeth A. Stuart, Chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, USA “I never thought that a book about being an effective and efficient department chair could be both informative AND fun - but this book is just that. Clearly organized and chock full of insightful tips, I think existing department chairs from diverse disciplines would benefit from the content here. Overall, I learned a lot and wish I had some of this information earlier in my career!” ~Michael D. Schmidt, Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, USA
Author Information
Lisa Chasan-Taber is a former Department Chair and Associate Dean for Research at a Carnegie R1-level (highly research-active) university with a history of continual funding from the NIH and national foundations. The Strategic Department Chair: Leading for Academic Research Success provides a toolbox of approaches that can immediately be put into action. Therefore, this text is relevant not only for new Department Chairs but also for existing Chairs in a wide range of research-based areas, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), public health, medicine, and the natural sciences.
