Online Training

New Programming!

Gain in-depth knowledge and prepare for the fall semester with hands-on, intensive workshops for department chairs:

Program Assessment and Curriculum Review
June 14, 2012
12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

The Highly Effective Department Chair
June 21, 2012
12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

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BOOKS

FERPA Clear and Simple: The College Professional’s Guide to Compliance

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) compliance has always been challenging due to complex regulatory language and exposure to risk. However, institutions that do not comply are in jeopardy of losing federal funding. Accessible and user-friendly, FERPA Clear and Simple clarifies the regulations and provides a ready reference for compliance and problem solving. This need-to-have guide offers critical and relevant material (including the 2008 Amendments) from a new perspective to help staff in student affairs, academic departments, and administrative support positions understand and comply with FERPA guidelines.

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JOURNAL

This quarterly periodical for department chairs and deans features practical advice, useful information, and up-to-date resources. Its applications, techniques, case studies, strategies, and guidance are directly relevant to today's academic leaders.

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E-NEWSLETTER

ASK THE EXPERTS

8/1/2011 12:00 AM

Recruiting a Diverse Faculty

From The Department Chair Insider, August 2010 – Vol. 2

Q. How can chairs recruit a diverse faculty?

A. Recruiting a diverse faculty remains a constant challenge. National data informs us the supply is extremely limited, more in some disciplines than others, and the competition fierce. Departments may successfully influence the pool by becoming more active in recruiting a diverse student body, mentoring their undergraduates and encouraging the best to seek advanced degrees and enter the profession, and forming partnerships with institutions with strong records of attracting and preparing diverse faculty.

At James Madison University, we are actively engaged in all three. Some faculty spend part of their week counseling students in several high schools across the state to help more students and their families consider college and better understand the resources potentially available to them. Others actively mentor students enrolled on our campus, developing their research and writing skills and teaching them about the profession by example. Several departments have established partnerships with other colleges to bring advanced Ph.D. candidates to our campus to help prepare them for full faculty roles. The fellows do some teaching with faculty mentors, have time to work on their dissertations, and become familiar with a culture distinct from their home university. Through these and similar initiatives, our faculty try to enhance diversity on our own and other campuses. The initiatives have the full support of our administration through the president’s special assistant for diversity.

—Michael J. Galgano is chair of the Department of History at James Madison University.