[Taicomp] TP Msg. #497 DEPARTMENTS THAT WORK: BUILDING AND SUSTAINING CULTURES OF EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

[Rick Reis]

"While the importance of departmental leadership is highlighted and 
specific ideas for chairs given, a key message is collective 
responsibility."
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Folks:

The posting below is a brief review by Jean Eckrich of the book, 
Departments That Work: Building and Sustaining Cultures of Excellence 
in Academic Programs, by Jon F. Wergin (2003); Anker Publishing 
Company, Bolton, MA; 172 pages; $35.95. It is from the June, 2003 
issue of the AAHE Bulletin. The American Association for Higher 
Education is a "shared mission partner" of the Tomorrow's Professor 
Listserv. http://www.AAHEBulletin.com Copyright  ©2003 American 
Association for Higher Education.  All rights reserved. Printed in 
the United States of America. Reprinted with permission.

Regards,

Rick reis
reis at stanford.edu
UP NEXT: The Constructivist View of Learning

				Tomorrow's Academia

	------------------------------------- 318 words 
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DEPARTMENTS THAT WORK: BUILDING AND SUSTAINING CULTURES OF EXCELLENCE IN
				ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Reviewed by Jean Eckrich, chair and professor, Exercise and Sport 
Sciences Department, Colby-Sawyer College; jeckrich at colby-sawyer.edu.

Academic departments often struggle to make self-assessments 
meaningful and useful. In this book author Jon Wergin, an educational 
studies professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and an AAHE 
senior scholar who has done extensive work with academic departments, 
recognizes the different factors that may act as obstacles for each 
department and describes characteristics and qualities of 
departmental evaluations that are successful in moving a department 
forward.

The book acknowledges the role of government regulations and the 
marketplace as forces for public accountability; the focus is on 
ensuring departmental quality through peer review. While the 
importance of departmental leadership is highlighted and specific 
ideas for chairs given, a key message is collective responsibility. 
Mechanisms of program reviews and assessments must be flexible enough 
to adapt to issues and departmental needs, Wergin emphasizes.

It is critical that departmental members be allowed to identify key 
issues and questions for the review, Wergin writes, and an 
organizational structure and climate that supports the intrinsic as 
well as extrinsic motivators for the faculty is also very important.

While the structure and foundation for reviews are critical, so is 
the determination of the core values. Wergin gives various strategies 
for departments as they negotiate the multiple interests of all 
stakeholders in the development of shared values. Determining the 
success of the department in achieving those shared values requires 
identifying what is necessary evidence, collecting the appropriate 
evidence, and examining the evidence for meaning. It is essential for 
all to recognize that there may be different interpretations of the 
evidence and negotiating those interpretations will be essential for 
making claims, identifying concerns, and developing action plans.

Departments That Work is a valuable resource for all department 
members committed to critical reflection about the quality of their 
work. Underlying assumptions are given, potential stumbling blocks 
are identified, and specific strategies are provided.

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