by Lisa Jasinski, Ph.D.
Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock
Throughout this series, I have explored different aspects of what higher ed has long called “returning to the faculty” — when administrative leaders reprise their professorial duties after serving as a president, provost, or dean. I hope I have offered practical advice to make that notoriously awkward transition smoother for former leaders and their universities.
I end the series by talking to an audience directly and profoundly impacted this leadership transition: the department chair responsible for supervising their former boss as a (re)minted faculty member. These frontline administrators often receive little guidance or instruction about how to support, evaluate, and manage former executives.
Acknowledge the Awkwardness and Move Past It
Any reversal in which an employee is expected to evaluate their former boss is bound to be uncomfortable at first. But since your departmental responsibilities are pressing — conducting merit reviews, awarding travel funds, assigning course sections, and keeping the peace — it is best to resolve any worries about the new power balance. Ex-administrators are often dealing with their own anxieties (e.g., resuming teaching, brushing the dust off their research agenda, or just fitting in). Rather than tiptoe around the tensions, name it, have a quick laugh, be professional, and move on.
Ask, Don’t Presume
An unfortunate reality of university life is that department chairs often find themselves in situations where they don’t have all the information. When an administrator is set to return to your department, current leadership may not tell you how many courses your new colleague is expected to teach, whether part of your colleague’s time has been committed to a special project, or if specific resources have been contractually promised to the individual. As you prepare to welcome your former dean, provost, or president back into the fold, first ask your current dean or provost about any previous arrangements.
A former administrator can be at once a known entity and a stranger. Take the opportunity to learn more about your “new” faculty colleague and how best to support them at this stage in their career. Ask them about courses they might want to teach, their research goals, and what questions they have about the department. Ex-administrators often experience a bit of a learning curve performing the daily bureaucracy of faculty life. Anticipating this, you might ask if your colleague would like a general orientation on routine business matters — filing travel paperwork, placing a textbook order, submitting grade change forms, or using the learning management system.
Use Your Authority as Chair
As a chair, you must act in your department’s best interest — which often means balancing the competing needs of students, faculty, administrative superiors, and the collective whole. And inevitably, there will be moments when you must deny a request from a former administrator to satisfy a compelling need.
Over the years, I have spoken with dozens of former leaders who returned to the faculty and went to lengths to ensure their transition minimally impacted others — especially their chair. One byproduct of a long administrative career is that former leaders appreciate that not all requests can be approved. If you have to say no or go in a direction that is not your colleague’s preference, trust them to understand and respect your authority.
Leverage the Benefits
Once you get past any initial awkwardness, you are free to recognize that you and your department have been given an extraordinary gift. Your new faculty colleague brings deep expertise in administrative matters, like handling tricky personnel issues or decoding complex policies. A former administrator can be an asset in shaping compelling proposals for faculty lines, resources, or new ways of doing things. Become a more effective chair by engaging your colleague as a thought partner and sounding board.
Careful not to undercut your authority, some ex-leaders may seem a bit timid or even aloof upon rejoining an academic department. While some former administrators like putting their heads down and enjoying the sense of anonymity they rarely had as a president or dean, I suspect that many are waiting for an invitation to share. Whether you invite them to share their insights in a department meeting, in private, or at all remains entirely in your purview. However, a savvy chair will recognize that involving their “new” faculty colleague can make their job as a middle manager easier, not harder.
