We have good news to share about the C & J Department! Mary Jane Collier, Judith White and David Weiss have been appointed to serve as Co-Chairs of C & J through July, 2017. The faculty overwhelmingly approved this unique shared governance model and with the Provost’s approval, the Dean has appointed the three to be Co-chairs.

How does this model of Co-chairs work? The model is based on the idea of collaborative leadership and the benefits of sharing department chair tasks and responsibilities. Each chair will take the lead for different tasks outlined below:

Mary Jane Collier will act as “the point person” for the Dean, attend Chairs & Directors meetings, call faculty meetings, manage office staff, conduct reviews of full professors, and call Executive Committee meetings, and Departmental Grievance Committee.

Judith White will plan the schedule of courses, conduct annual reviews for lecturers through associate professors, serve as the hiring officer, appoint faculty to committees, appoint course supervisors, and complete hiring and reviews of adjunct faculty.

David Weiss will oversee the operating and capital budgets, coordinate strategic planning and outcomes assessment, coordinate accreditation and graduate review processes, maintain community and alumni relations, and oversee development/fundraising efforts.

In addition the three Co-chairs will serve on the Executive Committee and a Department Grievance Committee, meet weekly, and will be soliciting wide input before making collaborative decisions on all chair related tasks. The Co-chairs agreed that “We have already begun to meet regularly and work as a team.  We are proud that we can put this shared governance model into practice; after all we are in the perfect department to do it and do it well! We appreciate the support of the faculty and we are looking forward to a very productive year!”

Mary Jane Collier, Judith White and David Weiss