The College Administrator's Survival Guide

"Late one afternoon, as you are organizing your new office as department chair, one of the senior members of the department drops by. He affably informs you of his plans for the coming semester: that contrary to the published class schedule, he only teaches on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday, and Thursday morning, so as to have the weekends free for travel; that he expects the office staff to start his coffeemaker by 10 A.M. sharp on his teaching days; and that since he hasn't been assigned a research assistant, his teaching assistant will do research tasks, including errands. What do you say? What do you do?"

Never mind budgets or curriculum reform: the "people problems" can be the hardest part of any academic administrator's job. Every day, professors who have never managed anything bigger than a seminar find themselves in charge of a complex and volatile organization called a Department of English (or Biology, or Sociology, or Textile Marketing). What should they do?

In this book, a widely respected advisor on academic administration offers insights, analysis, and advice on handling complaints, negotiating disagreements, dealing with accusations of unethical behavior, and coping with difficult people. With humor and generosity, C. K. Gunsalus uses scenarios based on real-life cases, and examples from negotiation, intellectual property law, and child-rearing, to help guide both novice and experienced academic administrators through the everyday dilemmas of management in not-entirely-manageable environments.

Conference Room

2 Copies