Argues that English departments may have to eschew parochialism and in the very same move find a shared purpose not by looking to a national disciplinary mission or identity but rather by developing a very pragmatic, opportunistic sense of what a given set of faculty members in a given set of circumstances can accomplish in its local situation.…

Discusses form and content in the relationships between department chairpersons and deans, review committees, vice-presidents, English faculties in high schools, and others in the world beyond the English department. (JM)

Suggests that the oppositional or adversarial stance (a "them/us" stance) has run its course in higher education and that it is time to deploy some postmodern "both/and" thinking to find a way out of the constant negativity of dissent. Encourages negotiation of a collective institutional culture and climate in which individuals can meet and talk.…

Maintains that the humanities get "screwed" in the academy because they are feminized. Explores this process of "feminization," focusing on college English departments. Offers a different view of the relationship between "soft" humanities and "hard" disciplines, reconceived from a feminist perspective. (SR)

Explains the dynamics of the interaction between the English department and Freshman Writing at the University of Southern California (USC). Asserts that the ideal relationship between Freshman Writing and the English department would be an academic partnership that acknowledges their differing priorities but accommodates these differences by…

Discusses the separation of the Freshman Writing and English department at the University of Southern California (USC). Advocates reengaging the English department with first-year students and with writing. Suggests a move from amicable separation toward reunion, but a reunion defined as reengagement, not remarriage. (PRA)

Offers advice to English department chairs: when talking to the dean, learn a new perspective, a new language (the language of college administration), and new skills; when talking to colleagues, be jargon-free and appeal to shared values; and when talking to students, be explicit about what the department has to offer. (RS)

Discusses the various roles that different generations of academics have played in defining community, and the need for local knowledge and local engagement. Suggests that the field of English needs a new generation of leaders who not only are willing to redefine academic citizenship and community, but to cultivate and encourage the support of…

Suggests that the most important piece of advice for the survival of English departments is that all faculty members, especially chairs, learn to collaborate effectively. Discusses the kinds of collaboration required for the retention of faculty lines. (RS)

Sketches an abstracted and idealized profession of English--a profession that fosters no politics and entails no internal conflicts, and whose members care about language and its uses, about the transmission of knowledge and skills, and a capacity for pleasure in the text. (RS)

Argues that tenured English teachers at small liberal arts colleges want several things from prospective new faculty members, including the capacity to share authority among equals, and the ability to give up some radical intellectual independence in order to collaborate (not compromise or capitulate) professionally. (RS)

Describes steps taken by the English department at Washington State University to deal with the double bind of overproduction of PhDs and the situation of temporary instructors. Addresses the forces pushing against these efforts and the department chair's difficulties in dealing with those forces. (RS)

Proposes, in general terms, three interrelated actions to begin to address the problems facing higher education English departments: (1) an enhanced public relations campaign for higher education; (2) greater collaboration with secondary schools and community colleges; and (3) an elevation of self-image and healing of the internecine stresses…

Suggests two principles for successful evaluation of college faculty members: chairs should know their departments; and "always, always pay attention." Describes how the chair of the English department at Michigan State University developed and implemented these suggestions. (RS)

Calls attention to some of the psychological dimensions of English department chairs' responsibilities to mentor and evaluate faculty members. Notes an estrangement effect between chairs and faculty; the importance of making the right initial appointments; usefulness of written performance evaluations; and the importance of mentoring junior…