Urban Community College Department Chairs: A Status Report

Community colleges located in urban areas face unique challenges and opportunities. How leaders in these institutions respond to this unique setting requires an understanding of the skills that might be required to adeptly work in these environments. Drawing upon survey research from the past 20 years, a research-team developed instrument was administered to a national sample of 466 academic program leaders who held titles similar to a department or division head or chair. With nearly 100 (n = 96) responses, the roles these leaders identified as being most important to their work focused on advocacy and information dissemination. The most agreed upon skills identified were related to sensitivity (including cultural sensitivity), leadership, and judgment, and the most important tasks they undertook were related to communications and creating a positive work environment. These findings suggest that these academic program leaders saw their roles as building supportive environments on campus in highly diverse urban areas, and that they in particular see the importance of serving as communicators between the institution and faculty.