27th Annual Conference General Information
Registration is now open. Register online or through mail/fax. Pricing and details are available in the registration information.
A New Generation of Accountability
- Dates: February 11-12, 2010
- Location: The Rosen Plaza Hotel, Orlando, Florida
- Make hotel reservations by January 15, 2010
- The 2010 Call for Presentations has closed.
In higher education scholar George Keller’s final book, “Higher Education and the New Society,” he makes four recommendations for remodeling higher education. One of those is to rethink departments and disciplines. Keller states “U.S. higher education is adopting a new ideal, to be more pragmatic, to serve society more directly, and to be more effective in turning out competent, flexible, and creative workers.” He concludes academic departments must adapt and change to be able to respond to different societal expectations and needs.
Recent changes in our country’s demographics and societal needs require department leaders to think anew about a number of important questions. Among them:
- How does a college or university department respond to the consumer, civic and economic expectations for higher education in a rapidly changing society—not just react, but lead in defining higher education’s role and agenda in these endeavors?
- With the current economic downturn what actions can departments take to assure quality in the face of hiring freezes, and reduced resources available for equipment purchases, operating expenses, and capital improvements?
- Given societal needs, are the relative emphasis between teaching, research/creative endeavor, and service appropriate for the role our department serves? How might they be better integrated?
- What measures are most important to consider when assessing how effective the department is in utilizing its time and talent?
- How consistent are disciplinary interests with the more pragmatic agenda Keller believes higher education needs to serve? Can two masters be served?
Engaging in a thoughtful and creative discourse about the department’s role in A New Generation of Accountability is the purpose of the 27th Academic Chairpersons Conference.
Join us in sunny Orlando for the 27th Annual Academic Chairpersons Conference!