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Welcome to the the Department Chair Toolkit, a comprehensive guide for supporting MSU Denver department chairs in excelling in academic leadership. This page includes a wealth of resources, including professional development programs, faculty and staff evaluation frameworks, and insights into effective hiring and budget management.
The Office of Faculty Affairs is committed to fostering an inclusive and dynamic departmental culture, promoting student success, and facilitating seamless collaboration across all levels of the MSU Denver community. Whether you’re focusing on enhancing your leadership skills or navigating administrative complexities, our toolkit is tailored to meet your needs.
Department Chair Roles and Responsibilities
The MSU Denver Faculty Employment Handbook clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of department chairs. Below is information relevant to the duties of department chairs. As a Department Chair, we highly encourage you to review the information in the FEH specific to the role.
Additional areas of the FEH are of immense value to chairs as well, including sections Complaints (Section IV), Sabbatical Leave (VII), and Disciplinary Procedures and Sanctions (Section F).
Ongoing Chair Responsibilities/Expectations/Guidelines
Department chairs set the tone for their departments and are charged with aligning departmental goals with the university’s mission and guidelines set forth in the faculty employment handbook. They are leaders in fostering a collective, productive, environment for their faculty, staff and students. Chair responsibilities are as follows but not fully limited to curriculum planning, budget management, advocacy and representation, conflict resolution, integrating initiatives and creating the student experience. Please click on below for detailed outline.
Department Chair Expectations and Guidelines set forth by the university: Link
Departmental Culture/Structure of Support
Building Bridges (Creating Inclusivity Read Inside Higher Ed article: 10 Small Steps for Department Chairs to Foster Inclusion), Anti-Bullying Link,
Discrimination and Harassment policy: Link
Community and Cultural Organizations on Campus (Affinity Groups): Link,
Supporting New Faculty-Information Roundup: Link
References:
- A guide to increasing inclusivity in scholarly societies
- 6 Ways to Promote Inclusivity in Higher Education
- Universities Must Do Better at Bridging the Gap Between Diversity and Belonging
- Building bridges, not walls: Fostering inclusive communities beyond the classroom
Department Guidelines/Faculty Employee Handbook/Guidelines for Preparation of Applications for Sabbatical Leave/Intent to Apply for Promotion Tenure and Promotion/Transitional Retirement Application:
Center for Individualized Learning:
The Center for Individualized Learning (CIL) houses two programs: the university’s “design your own major” Individualized Degree Program and Meritus Scholars, which allows community members 60+ years old to audit courses for free.
Individualized Degree Program (IDP)
The Individualized Degree Program creates unique opportunities for students to design a major or minor that meets their goals.
To graduate, all IDP students are required to submit an IDP proposal (degree plan and essay) that then must be approved by the chair of the department where they earn the most credit.
Chairs play an incredibly important role in the IDP process. You will be asked to approve any proposals where the student has the majority of credit in their IDP in your department.
Other chair interactions with IDP include:
- Referring students to IDP
- Suggesting faculty advisors for IDP students in fields related to your programs
- Approving IDP titles that relate to your existing programs and/or suggesting alternative titles
- Participating in the CIL survey (every other fall)
- Taking advantage of the Faculty Designed IDP to test new programming
We have additional opportunities for faculty to be involved with IDP students and programming.
If you have any questions and/or would like to see a few previous IDP proposals from your department, please contact Sara Jackson Shumate, Ph.D.
Formerly called Metro Meritus, Meritus Scholars provides opportunities for community members 60+ years old to audit courses for free. Participants are registered through CIL and NOT the standard admissions system. Key information for chairs:
- Instructors must approve participant enrollment in courses
- Instructors can deny enrollment for any reason
- Participants are NOT expected to complete any work in the course
- Instructors are NOT expected to grade any work
- Departments can restrict which courses participants can take
- Participants must follow the Student Code of Conduct
For more information, visit the Meritus Scholars website or contact Sara Jackson Shumate, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Studies: Department delivers a deeply engaging, transformative educational experience for students through interdepartmental collaboration with various services e.g. Advising Systems, Army ROTC, International Studies, Honors Programs, the Writing Center and more: Link
Organizational Management and Leadership Books:
Office of the President: Link
Dean, Associate Dean, Department Manager/Program Manager: Link
Academic Affairs (Provost) Link, Faculty Affairs: Link,
Faculty Senate: Link,
Student Affairs: Link
The Office of Equal Opportunity: Link
Office of Human Resources: Link
University Ombuds: Link
Council of Chairs and Directors: Link
Supporting Faculty, Staff and Students
Mentorship-Chairs need to mentor faculty and formalize a mentorship process. Read article on Faculty Mentoring Best Practices by Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts Amhearst. Teaching, Research, Service, Promotion and Tenure, resources available to be an effective teacher.
Supporting Faculty Mental Health: Link
Effective Teaching and Instructional Design: Link
ACUE (Association of College and University Educators): Link
Part-Time Faculty Resources OFA Website
Mentorship: Link
Networking: Link
Facilitate Collaboration: Link
General Necessities: Keys, ID Cards, Access to Work Places Link
Allowing for flex time: Abiding by the Staff Alternative Work Arrangements Policy.
Set Clear Expectations: Link
Professional Development (Leadership Development programs): Link
Staff Senate: Link
Student Affairs-Care Report Link
Classroom to Career Hub: Link
Managing Conflict: De-escalating Students 101–Link Managing Conflict-Link
Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion: Link
Conflict-Positive Classroom: Link
Transfer Course Approval-Slate: Link
Professional Advisors: Link
Advising Systems: Link
Faculty Advising: Ensure students are given days/hours faculty are available. Here are some tips for faculty advising:
Communicate consistently-keep students informed and aid when you’re unavailable.
Assign students equitably: Consider student-friendly methods like social media.
Provide quality advising: Designate people for specialized training and recognize and reward excellent advisors.
Assess advisement: Implement a consistent plan to evaluate the quality of advising.
Follow up with graduates: Stay in touch with students after they graduate.
Hiring/Evaluation Practices
Reference Stride Program in hiring of new faculty. Consult with HR Link on recruitment, hiring and equity issues, Diversity Statement, Search Committee Resources, Tools and Resources for Applicants, Negotiation practices.
Faculty Hiring Overview-Checklist: Link
Best Practices for Inclusive Hiring: Link
Chairs Council Presentation-Inclusive Hiring: Link
8 Practical, Sustainable Steps to a Diverse Faculty, article: Link
Best Practices, Resources, criteria and rubric, general guidelines and templates, guidance for committees, how to support fair and just evaluations.
RTP & PTR Guidelines and Tips: Link
Admissions/ Marketing and Communications
Collaborate with Admissions team on helping your department recruit and retain students.
Reach out to MARCOM for all your marketing and communication needs.
Budgeting
Office of the Controller: Deals with Accounts Payable, Accounting Services, Business, Contract, Payroll, and Sponsored Projects services
Corporate Card: Manages, distributes and provides training for proper use of all departmental procurement and travel cards: Link
Succession Plan/Chairs Bootcamp Retreat
How to plan for the expected/unexpected when Chairs leave their positions. Planning for temporary leave. Visit our Succession Plan.
Chair Succession Plans: Link
Full-day retreat held during the summer every year. Our next retreat will be Wednesday, August 5, 2025. Come learn how to deepen your leadership skills by learning from leadership in the field on topics such as team building, strategic planning and conflict resolution.