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Faculty are often expected to step into administrative roles, such as Department Chair, with little training or experience. How do you know when you’re ready, and how can you get ready, for taking on such a challenge? In this Q&A, Keri Brondo shares insights with Ruth Gomberg about preparing for administrative roles and the transition from faculty member to faculty leadership.
Keri Brondo has served as Chair of the Department of Anthropology and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Science at the University of Memphis. Keri was interviewed by Ruth Gomberg of Loyola University Chicago.
What kinds of questions should a faculty member ask themselves when they consider taking on a role like Department Chair?
In today’s political climate, anthropology needs strong advocates. Are you willing to put the time into narrating the importance of our field in language that is legible to administrators? This often means translating complex, nuanced phenomena into digestible language, a challenge for anthropologists committed to resisting oversimplification.
Take a close look at your university’s strategic plan, mission, and values. Consider how state and federal politics might constrain anthropological research and teaching. What happens if you are misaligned with the values of your institution? How will you handle this potential misalignment, particularly if state or federal politics encroach on academic freedom or resist your colleagues’ research agendas?
Ask yourself, why are you considering this role? Some faculty step up because it’s their turn in a required rotation, others for a stipend or course release, and some because they hope to move into higher administrative roles. Many have a combination of motives. Whatever your reason, be honest about your goals. What really do you hope to accomplish? How long are you willing—and able—to serve?
Will this position require you to lead beyond your own discipline (e.g., in a joint or interdisciplinary department)? If so, are you willing to learn about the priorities and intellectual landscapes of other fields so you can fairly represent them in addition to your advocacy for anthropology?
How important is maintaining your research to you? Do you thrive in situations where you are managing multiple complex projects? Are you disciplined with time-blocking and triage? Will you be able to carve out enough time to balance your scholarship with administrative responsibilities?
Are you prepared to prioritize the collective needs of your department, even when that means putting your own agenda on hold?
How comfortable are you with conflict management? Do you have the emotional bandwidth and time to support faculty, staff, and students while managing administrative responsibilities and navigating institutional bureaucracy?
How can new Chairs best prepare for the role?
Anthropologists are trained to see systems and power dynamics, which is crucial to success. Being a Chair is not only a managerial position; it’s a culturally and politically embedded role and doing the work to understand these relationships is essential.
Take advantage of Chair mentors, both inside and outside of your institution and our discipline. Often Chairs receive no training at all and will be faced with managerial work that they did not anticipate—for example, managing budgets, dealing with personnel issues.
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has a Chairs network, and so do several other higher education organizations. Many run workshops and conferences for those new to administrative leadership. For instance, the AAA has historically run a summer leadership institute through its Department Services Program. AAA’s Department Services Program also hosts monthly online meetings with Chairs that provide vital peer support and a space for idea sharing.
Check out CCAS Seminar for Department Chairs and Heads, and leadership workshops advertised in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Ask your Dean to support your participation in these opportunities—they benefit your department and the college in the long run.
But most importantly, learn your institution. Understand its strategic priorities and how your department fits into them. That knowledge will enable you advocate effectively for resources, visibility, and support.
What, in your estimation, makes for effective department leadership? What are some pitfalls to avoid?
Effective leadership requires strong empathy for all those you serve as Chair: department staff, students, and faculty. Good Chairs know when to respond quickly and when to allow space and time for complex issues to unfold. Not every problem needs an immediate fix.
Transparency is essential: in budgeting, course scheduling, hiring decisions, and support for research. Fairness, consistency, and clarity go a long way in building trust.
Don’t overlook fundraising and alumni engagement—these efforts are becoming increasingly important in securing resources for your department.
Value your department’s administrative staff as thought partners in leadership. They bring institutional memory and expertise. Respect their contributions and include them in decision-making where appropriate.
Learn the budget deeply. Understanding your university’s funding model and where anthropology fits in. For instance, how are enrollment numbers tied to resources, including lines for new hires?
Managing people is one of the most difficult parts of the job. You learn things about people across campus that you wish you didn’t, about people you’ve worked with for years. And yet, our skills as anthropologists—listening, contextualizing, advocating—can help you navigate these moments with care.
Learn how to manage up: understand your dean’s communication style and preferences. And build relationships with the Dean’s staff, who hold institutional knowledge and influence.
Some common pitfalls include micromanaging, which erodes trust; letting conflicts fester because you are afraid to engage—avoidance can cause irreparable damage to the department.
And the biggest pitfall, in my opinion, is when Chairs let their scholarship slip. I’ve always seen myself as a scholar-administrator and kept myself engaged in research and teaching. Chairs are faculty members and should continue to see themselves as such; otherwise, they not only may burn out quickly on the job, but they also cannot properly advocate for or communicate with their colleagues and students. Maintaining your scholarly identity keeps you grounded and connected to your department’s core mission.
And please, don’t use language like “my faculty.” You are part of a collective. This hierarchical framing undermines collaboration and contradicts the values we hold as anthropologists.
What do you wish you had known before becoming a department Chair?
I wish I had known how deeply emotional the role can be. Being a Chair places you in a strange position with your colleagues, who are also often your friends. But once in position you are no longer just a colleague—you become a confidant, a mediator, and often a buffer between faculty and administration or faculty and students. Being a Chair can change your relationship with some colleagues forever. The emotional labor is real.
Beyond managing a budget or a course schedule, you also must make space to sit with people’s frustrations, fear, anxieties, and burnout—especially in times of precarity. And with the political climate, assault on higher ed, and anthropology under fire, we are all incredibly fragile.
I also wish I had accepted early on that not everything can be, or even needs to be, fixed. We know as anthropologists that life is complicated and for critically applied and engaged anthropologists like me, you may want to diagnose a problem and then work towards a solution. But institutions are stubborn, and change is slow. Sometimes your job as Chair is to begin to lay the groundwork for future change, or to simply sit and listen.