Department Chair Initiative
As part of the university’s efforts to further empower SUNY Empire department chairs in their roles as faculty leaders of their respective departments, the university will be transitioning the department chair responsibilities to include, among other things, supervision of their respective faculty. This transition is a pivotal step in providing our department chairs with the same authority their colleagues have across SUNY and, more broadly, in higher education. These changes will:
- Provide faculty, especially pre-tenure faculty, with greater support from their supervisor by dramatically decreasing the faculty to supervisor ratio;
- Formally provide department chairs with the authority to oversee their areas of responsibility, especially those associated with academic quality, academic schedules, curriculum, and supervision of faculty colleagues;
- Bring SUNY Empire into alignment with the SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustees language regarding department chairs, which indicates that chairs “shall, in consultation with their respective faculties, be responsible to the chief administrative officer of the university for the supervision of the personnel and educational program of the departments or divisions for which they serve” (IX.C.4); and
- Enhance deans’ engagement with strategic planning, enrollment growth, partnership development, and operational efficiency.