Associated Colleges of the South

Home/GDI :: Home :: Growing Departmental Inclusiveness/GDI :: Supportive Administration Toolkit 4

GDI :: Supportive Administration Toolkit 4

Supportive Administration

An inclusive department is administered so that all faculty feel they are fully informed on policy and practice, given the benefit of the doubt in challenging situations, have an equal voice in decision-making, and have as much equal access to power as possible.

What does a relative weakness in the area of Supportive Administration mean?  There may be many meanings for each department, but here are some things to consider.

  • Faculty find that their needs are not anticipated or, when directly expressed by the faculty member, minimized or dismissed
  • Faculty perceive that there is a narrow path to success in the department
  • Faculty are discouraged by a “sink or swim” environment that dominates the department
  • Faculty can feel alone and unsupported when adverse events occur, especially negative events related to their identity
  • Faculty note that access to the Chair, or people in other positions of power within the department, is not equitable
  • Faculty experience a lack of clarity or process regarding addressing problems with students, other faculty, administration, harassment, or other issues

Professional Independence Included Mentorship and Collegiality

Most academics enjoy wide latitude in their work. They can make a broad range of choices about productivity, with the institution counting on their professional judgment and expertise to produce quality instruction, scholarship, and more. Although faculty become independent scholars through their graduate training, this independence is often mistakenly assumed to extend into other skills needed in the work environment. On the contrary, many faculty come to their first academic position with little organized work experience beyond their graduate scholarship or research and teaching assistantships. Not only are the first years of a faculty member’s professional career laden with high-performance expectations, their productivity must be supported by an institutional micro-environment tailored to their work.  This environment is traditionally expected to be of their own making and maintenance.  For faculty from underrepresented groups, an effective institutional equilibrium is less commonly stabilized or even achieved, as institutions can be unresponsive to both the unique assets and diverse needs of these faculty. Unaware of these differences, departments may fall prey to an assumption that every faculty member is an institution-savvy professional who effectively manages their singular work environment and builds productive paths for themselves uninhibited by obstacles. Unfortunately, departments that proceed with this assumption can unknowingly produce environments that feel unsupportive rather than liberating.

Departments need to be deliberate in mentoring and supporting faculty, especially faculty from underrepresented groups. 

Reach Out

The Chair can reach out to all faculty members on an individual and regular basis, asking some form of the following questions (it may be beneficial to ask these questions anonymously or to have someone outside of the department ask the faculty):

  • What obstacles, if any, are you encountering in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service?
    • Are there any ways in which you feel that departmental expectations (documented or cultural) don’t match well with your contributions?
    • If you can provide an example of when you have felt most supportive, talk about it, and say why that particular support was important to you.
    • How could the department be more supportive of your work?
    • Have there been any incidents or situations where you felt “left out in the cold” or that someone should have noticed your struggle but didn’t?
    • What does collegiality mean to you, and how can we materialize it in our department?
    • Are there any reasons why you feel you should not or cannot answer any of the above questions? If so, can we identify a third party or another strategy by which we can incorporate your feedback safely?
  • Most institutions have faculty mentoring. However, the Chair can support that process by:
    • Checking in with faculty about the usefulness of their mentor relationship
    • Offer informal and formal mentoring alternatives as necessary
      • Including external mentoring programs for faculty from underrepresented groups
  • Consider the following resources for more ideas and information:

Advocate & Support

  • The Chair can contact junior and non-tenure-track faculty in their 2nd or 3rd year for advice and collaboration on a “what you need to know” document for new departmental faculty. Be sure to note that a document cannot substitute for collegiality and mentorship and not to expect participation, thus adding to the burdens of underrepresented faculty.
  • Consider the fact that contingent and adjunct faculty are often underrepresented faculty. How can the department create an environment where underrepresented populations receive more job security and support?
  • Using discretion and depending upon rapport, the Chair can reach out to faculty (when relevant to identity) when emotional or tragic events arise internationally, nationally, locally, or on campus
    • Letting a faculty member know that you thought of them regarding a salient current issue, that you wondered how they were doing, and that you wish to offer support and assistance as needed can positively impact feelings of inclusion.
  • The department should have a clear policy regarding handling student complaints about faculty, and the policy should be discussed early with new faculty.
    • In responding to student complaints, the Chair should:
      • Require students to address concerns directly with the faculty member in question unless the student is reasonably concerned for their safety or has supportable fears of retaliation
      • If the student has clearly addressed concerns with the faculty member and continues to feel aggrieved, the Chair can discuss the issue with the student and if necessary, the faculty member. The Chair should ask the faculty member about experiencing any bias from the student or in the current situation
      • If the issue remains unresolved, the Chair can seek trained conflict mediation for the faculty member and the student

Clarity in Departmental Process

  • Chair should clearly make themselves available to all members of the faculty, with periodic reminders of the best way to request a meeting
  • Chair should clarify the process of decision-making in the department
  • Chair should make explicit expectations for tenure and review processes.
  • Chair should model equity by not allowing a single faculty member (or a small subset) to overpower a decision process or undercut one by seeking to change a group decision through appeals that occur outside of a departmental process
  • Chair can consider polling for final decision-making instead of assuming that consensus has been reached. (See section on Interpersonal Environment).
  • Chair should also be well-informed about underrepresented faculty support groups (faculty of color, female faculty caucus, international or visiting faculty groups) and their agendas, workshops, retreats, and other programs, and work collaboratively with those groups and other departments. Chairs should never expect support or affinity groups to serve as a singular solution or a way to outsource the challenges of meeting underrepresented faculty’s needs.

Explore more