Personnel issues were the topics of greatest interest at the 2004 CIC Department and Division Chair Workshops. Sessions explored conflict resolution strategies, approaches to conducting difficult conversations, and effective ways of working with the chief academic officer. Experts on higher education law explained essential strategies for department chairs to minimize legal problems.
     More than 157 department/division chairs representing 72 colleges and universities participated in the third annual series of regional workshops this spring that focused on Handling Front Line Issues of Retention, Personnel, and Preventive Law.
     The workshops were held in Portland, OR (April 2-3); Richmond, VA (May 25-27); Kansas City, MO (June 1-3); and Cincinnati, OH (June 8-10). Participants said the workshops offered “practical and applicable information,” “an atmosphere that encouraged sharing among all participants,” “an excellent presentation on legal issues,” and “an opportunity for self-reflection on the various subjects.”
     A topic judged by participants at all of the workshops to be of particular importance was the session on conflict resolution, which participants said offered sound advice and important strategies to help department chairs in situations involving conflict. Using a framework from the Academic Administrator’s Guide to Conflict Resolution by Sandra Cheldelin and Ann Lucas, Cincinnati Workshop participants went so far as to generate ideas for their department chair colleagues about ways to handle conflict.
     For example, participants discussed how to listen to the person/s in the conflict situation and agreed that department chairs should “take notes of what is said, ask for solutions, maintain eye contact, watch their body language, refrain from interrupting the individual, and listen for what that person needs when they are telling you what they want—listening may be what they need.”

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Last updated: August 2004
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