Kevin Dettmar
Contributor
Pomona College
Kevin Dettmar is W.M. Keck professor of English and director of the Humanities Studio at Pomona College. His latest book, published in September 2022, is How to Chair a Department. He also writes The Chronicle’s Ask the Chair advice column. More information about chairing is available at his website, kdettmar.com. Send your questions on any aspect of becoming or serving as chair to his email, Facebook, or Twitter.
Stories by this Author
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AdviceAsk the Chair: When Is a ‘Reply All’ Email an Act of Aggression?
Advice for a department head who is uncertain whether a pattern of cc’d emails is well-intentioned or toxic. -
Advice
Ask the Chair: ‘How Do You Get Professors to Respond in the Summer?’
A timely question this month as department heads eagerly anticipate the “summer break.” -
Advice
Ask the Chair: How to Organize a Useful Retreat
A new dean asks for advice on what to include in a retreat for department heads. -
Advice
Ask the Chair: Is This Tenure Candidate ‘Playing’ Me?
A new department head wonders how to both mentor and judge a junior colleague with a thin dossier. -
Advice
Ask the Chair: ‘Can I Use the Position to Escape My Institution?’
“Selfish chair” is an oxymoron, assuming you do the job responsibly. -
Advice
Ask the Chair: Should You Lead a Department on the Brink? And How?
Advice for an untenured professor who has been appointed to chair a vulnerable department. -
Advice
Ask the Chair: Is On-the-Job Training Enough?
A professor who will be a new department head in six months wonders how to prepare for the post in the meantime. -
Advice
Ask the Chair: ‘I’ve Never Been a Boss Before’
A new chair seeks advice on how to be an effective supervisor of department staff members. -
Advice
Ask the Chair: What if Your Leadership Style Is the Problem?
Three bad ways to manage an academic department that are all too common. -
Advice
Administration Can Be a Calling
For some of us, at a certain stage of our careers, the chair’s job is no longer something to dread or apologize for. It’s a “scholarly gift” we give to our colleagues.
