New York Six department and program chairs met in May with associate deans and provosts for the biennial NY6 Department Chairs Workshop. The event provided a forum for seasoned academic administrators to share advice on becoming leaders and supporting faculty development as well as a workshop structure that allowed the new chairs to pose questions and share concerns with their colleagues from across the consortium.
The workshop opened with mediator Duke Fisher, who led a session on conflict resolution in which he offered tools to help understand the sources of disagreement and even workplace hostility. The next day, Associate Provosts Susan Pliner and Nick Metz from Hobart and William Smith led a session on transitioning to leadership, working with attendees to understand the strengths that they bring to their work. Union College Dean of Academic Departments and Programs Kara Doyle shared techniques and scenarios for mentoring and evaluating faculty, and Skidmore College Associate Dean David Cohen wrapped up the workshop, sending the chairs off with advice for succeeding in their new roles.
In the coming months, the chairs group aims to reconnect virtually to continue these conversations.