Session breakouts were held in Fall 03 and Spring 04 The position paper "Roles and Responsibilities of Faculty Academic Chairs: An Academic Senate Perspective" was adopted at Spring session and will be published shortly.
Whereas, The practice of faculty department chairs has a long history and tradition in higher education and can serve to ensure that faculty discipline expertise informs educational program development, planning and review, and that decisions that most directly affect students are kept close to those who interact with students in classrooms, counseling offices and libraries;
Whereas, Faculty could profit from more information and analysis regarding effective department structures and models for department chairs; and
Whereas, There is often confusion and lack of clarity regarding the relationship and responsibilities of department chairs to local academic senates;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate research and develop a paper on the role and history of department chairs in community colleges, including models for effective department chairs and the relationship of department chairs to local academic senates and collegial governance processes.