NCA Inside & Out

Last month, more than 20 Communication department chairs convened just outside of Washington, DC, for the 2019 NCA Chairs’ Summer Institute (CSI). Held biennially since 2012, the 2019 theme was “Chairperson Leadership: Advocating, Mentoring, and Managing.” Participants came from across the United States. 

The CSI provides an opportunity for department chairs to participate in intensive dialogue regarding the various challenges they face in leading their departments, and to share successful approaches for managing these challenges. Sessions focused on the role of administrators, negotiating identity as a chair and administrator, and balancing research, teaching, and administrative responsibilities; managing issues of faculty mentoring and advocating for the department and faculty; identifying a departmental vision, goal-setting, generating faculty buy-in, and strategic planning; recruiting, hiring, and evaluating faculty; and managing departmental and campus crises. 

Session leaders included John Caughlin (University of Illinois), Thomas Endres (University of Northern Colorado), Maurice Hall (The College of New Jersey), Kent Ono (University of Utah), and Helen Sterk (Western Kentucky University).