Skip to content

Professional-Development Resources

Featured Program

The Chronicle’s Strategic-Leadership Program for Department Chairs

As a bridge between administration and faculty, department chairs have one of the toughest jobs on campus. We’ve partnered with experienced academic leaders at Dever Justice LLC and leading research experts at Ithaka S+R to design a program that will help guide new and experienced chairs through the challenges and transformative opportunities of their role. Through collaborative workshops, high-level seminars, strategic planning exercises, and more, chairs will be empowered to turn their service into leadership.
About Us

The Chronicle of Higher Education has the nation’s largest newsroom dedicated to covering colleges and universities. As the unrivaled leader in higher education journalism, we serve our readers with indispensable real-time news and deep insights.

Our professional-development resources are designed to combine critical information from The Chronicle‘s journalism with practical skill-building workshops, seminars, and tools that will help you succeed in higher ed. We partner with leading experts and experienced practitioners to provide robust programs tailored to the evolving needs of professionals navigating an ever-changing academic landscape.

Through our groundbreaking programs, we have helped hundreds of academic professionals think strategically about their roles, departments, and institutions. With a range of engaging events, carefully curated readings, and specially-designed exercises, our professional development resources can help you approach challenges and opportunities with a fresh lens and innovative mindset.

Testimonials
Thank you for your ingenuity in creating [these] training sessions for Department Chairs. I applied for them because they appeared to offer something others did not. Your sessions were not simply how to do the 'mundane' things of being Chair, but more open and inviting on navigating the challenges of being chairs, which I feel most of us need.
Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Georgia State University, Department Chair Program
As an aspiring University President I felt this workshop provided me with the tools and resources that will help me be a well rounded leader. The president's panel allowed me to see myself in the role and to hear about the good, bad, and ugly sides (mostly good) of being a female leader.
Carrie Vath, Southern Oregon University, Women Leading Change Program
Just had a meeting with my department and by the end of the meeting they initiated the very goal and action plan I wanted them to. I felt like a Department Chair Ninja!
Marianne Miserandino, Arcadia University, Department Chair Program
Upcoming Programs
  • The Chronicle’s Bootcamp for Future Faculty Leaders

    The Chronicle has partnered with Dever Justice LLC to help midcareer faculty identify their passions and interests in higher ed, and work toward their continued success with those passions in mind. This comprehensive virtual leadership workshop will provide a space for reflection and strategic planning on the next stage of their career, and will offer faculty members the opportunity to build their skills, explore professional objectives that align with their interests, and gain exposure to opportunities in research, teaching, academic leadership, and institutional innovation.
  • The Chronicle’s Women Leading Change Program

    Th Chronicle has partnered with Strategic Imagination to create a groundbreaking virtual leadership series that will provide critical context, creative strategies, and guided exercises for women in leadership roles across academe. Our program tracks are designed to target the areas most important to women at different leadership levels, culminating in a Summit to bridge the gaps between those levels for a more comprehensive view on systemic pressure women face in higher ed.
  • The Chronicle’s Strategic-Leadership Program for Department Chairs

    As a bridge between administration and faculty, department chairs have one of the toughest jobs on campus. We’ve partnered with experienced academic leaders at Dever Justice LLC and leading research experts at Ithaka S+R to design a program that will help guide new and experienced chairs through the challenges and transformative opportunities of their role. Through collaborative workshops, high-level seminars, strategic planning exercises, and more, chairs will be empowered to turn their service into leadership.
Our Partners
Dever Justice Logo

Dever Justice LLC

Dever Justice LLC is a partnership dedicated to supporting college and university faculty. Together, Carolyn Dever and George Justice offer a combined 50 years of experience as professors at a total of eight universities, large and small, urban and rural, in the north, south, midwest, and west of the US. They have each served in a number of senior leadership roles, at levels ranging from the department to the institution, and have worked to advance excellence in education and research, and to create diverse, inclusive pathways for all members of our campus communities.

Ithaka S+R Logo

Ithaka S+R

Ithaka S+R works with leaders in higher education, academic libraries, museums, foundations, and publishers to research, evaluate, and provide strategic guidance in a range of areas. Ithaka S+R helps academic and cultural communities serve the public good and navigate economic, technological, and demographic change. Their work aims to broaden access to quality postsecondary education, improve student outcomes, and advance research and knowledge.

strategic imagination logo

Strategic Imagination

Strategic Imagination uses the tools of the imaginative arts to help individuals and organizations get unstuck when they can’t afford to do things as they’ve always done. Fiction, theatre, comics, and other imaginative arts have the power to get leaders out of trapped mindsets, build empathy for colleagues and customers/stakeholders, and see bolder future visions than we thought possible. Strategic Imagination brings these tools and more to the table to help organizations and leaders bolster DEI initiatives, organizational agility, and to practice future visioning.

FEATURED VIDEOS
  • Advice

    Managing Conflict as a Department Chair

    Department chairs often find themselves in the role of “faculty whisperer,” trying to solve conflicts that can be decades in the making. George Justice provides a tip on how chairs can improve their skills and understand their role. Video provided by Dever Justice LLC.
  • Work/Life (Im)Balance

    Conceding that work/life balance is a myth, Carolyn Dever offers help for those academics struggling to manage the chaos of work/life imbalance. Video provided by Dever Justice LLC.
Professional Development Articles