New department chairs at the University of New Mexico (UNM) participated in an orientation session organized by the Office of Academic Affairs before the start of the fall semester. The orientation aimed to prepare new leaders for the challenges they may face, including managing staff, addressing budget issues, supporting faculty and students, and fostering a positive departmental culture.
Christopher Lyons, vice provost for faculty affairs and a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology, led efforts to revamp this year’s chair training. The updated program was shortened from three days to a day and a half to increase efficiency while emphasizing support among chairs.
“Chairs often feel overwhelmed, so we want to give them the opportunity to share amongst a community and build a cohort,” Lyons said.
Lyons noted that department chairs typically receive little or no formal training when assuming their roles. “Usually, there is no training,” he said. “So we ask leaders to do things they aren’t trained to do.”
The orientation covered various topics relevant to department leadership such as staff management, relationship building in new roles, mentoring faculty, student support resources, working with unionized employees, milestone reviews, threat assessments, and financial management. An ice-breaker activity was added this year to help participants connect with each other early on.
“A cohort allows chairs to learn their connection with others,” Lyons said. He hopes these connections will provide ongoing support throughout the academic year. “We want them to realize they don’t need to go it alone,” he said. “They have support in each other.”
The session also addressed the responsibilities of department chairs as chief academic or executive officers within their departments—balancing management duties with leadership tasks while following university policies.
Han Li, newly appointed chair of Marketing, Information and Decision Sciences in UNM’s Anderson School of Management, found value in learning about evaluations, policies, and budgeting during the orientation. Belinda Wallace, director of Liberal Arts and Integrative Studies who has been at UNM for 16 years, highlighted information about ombuds services and campus programs as particularly helpful.
“I learned a lot particularly about evaluations, policies, as well as budgeting,” Li said.
“The ombuds representative taught me a lot, and I would like to have more information about that and the CARE [Campus Assessment Response and Education] program and how I can use them,” Wallace said. “And the fiscal information is always good to hear about. I also really liked the information that was presented on department culture and how to be proactive with culture.”
While chair training occurs annually before fall semester begins, Lyons plans additional activities throughout the academic year—including monthly Chairs Colloquium sessions—to maintain engagement among department leaders. Academic Affairs is also developing a toolkit or reference guide for chairs and deans across colleges.
“This effort will start in Academic Affairs but we will take it to the deans and associate deans in each college so it can be adapted in a way that is appropriate for each area,” Lyons said.
The content for this year’s orientation was influenced by results from Advance at UNM Faculty Climate Survey conducted previously on campus culture.
“We can’t cover everything, but we try to cover some key things that chairs need to know and promote the idea that supporting chairs matters to the overall culture of the university,” Lyons said.
