The role of department chair and full-time non-tenure-track faculty policies, practices, and work cultures

Change in higher education is inevitable (Wergin, 2007). One prominent change is related to faculty composition. Studies have shown increased hiring of full-time non-tenure-track faculty compared to tenure-track faculty (AAUP, 2018; National Center on Educational Statistics, 2018). The department chair plays a critical role in the lives of non-tenure-track faculty. The chair can foster collaboration, navigate tensions, advance improvements, and directly impact change efforts in an academic department. The department chair may also influence the work environment and culture for faculty - a culture that may result in non-tenure track faculty feeling marginalized, disconnected, like second-class citizens, devalued, and disenfranchised (Haviland, Alleman, & Allen, 2017). Through qualitative interviews with department chairs and faculty, this study sought to answer the question of, what role does the department chair play regarding full-time non-tenure-track faculty policies, practices, and work cultures? The findings reveal that department chairs play an essential role in leading efforts to revise policies and organizational structures in ways that support and include non-tenure-track faculty. The department chair is positioned to valorize the work of non-tenure-track faculty through a commitment to collegiality, collaborative practices, and caring communities. Department chairs, however, are often unable to act alone and may have limited power to change policies and practices for non-tenure-track faculty. Collective leadership efforts, like working across units and ranks, via task forces, and through the inclusion of unions, may be necessary strategies for bringing needed change to non-tenure-track faculty policies, practices, and cultures.