IAH launches leadership program for UNC chairs

August 22, 2007

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Six newly appointed UNC department chairs and four returning chairs from a wide range of disciplines are participating in the first Chairs Leaders Program (CLP), offered by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences.

"The departmental chair's position is one of the most critical academic leadership positions in the College," says Bill Balthrop, professor of Communication Studies and associate director of the CLP. "They face challenges that can be difficult to discuss with colleagues in their own department. An on-going, professional network, in which knowledge and experience can be shared with candor, is an important additional support system for new and continuing chairs."

The chairs are meeting monthly this academic year to examine the challenges and opportunities of their roles, share experiences and support in other in their leadership development. The chairs represent a mix of disciplines — geography, woman's studies, classics, psychology, marine science, biology, linguistics, city and regional planning, and African American studies.

The CLP is the newest addition to a growing array of programs the Institute offers to support UNC faculty at every career stage. All newly appointed or re-appointed chairs in the year of their reappointment are eligible to participate in the CLP, though participation is voluntary.

Chairs have responsibility for managing budgets, instructional programs, awarding salary increases, and recruiting and evaluating new faculty. The CLP complements other support efforts offered by the College such as the chairs manual, the annual chair's retreat, and the chair's council.

For more information about the CLP, contact Associate Director Bill Baltrop at (919) 962-4982, vwb@email.unc.edu, or Senior Consultant David Kiel at (919) 843-2655, Kiel@email.unc.edu.

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities, part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's College of Arts and Sciences, offers programs and activities that support UNC faculty at every stage of their careers. The Institute funds individual and collaborative research projects, showcases faculty work, develops faculty leaders and teachers, and facilitates the formation of collaborative, interdisciplinary communities that promote intellectual exchange. For more information, contact the Institute at (919) 962-0249 or visit www.iah.unc.edu.