about departmental dysfunction
The ideal academic department is a vibrant self-governing intellectual community dedicated to quality education and scholarship. Departments become dysfunctional when faculty can no longer exercise the collective decision making that supports productive discourse and innovation. There are many possible triggers of dysfunction. Here are a few:
- Communications are routinely disrespectful
- Individuals disrupt departmental initiatives and activities
- Inclusion and diversity issues develop
- Cliques seek control of departmental outcomes
- Resource sharing and merit do not align
- Factions develop hard non-negotiable positions
- Individuals abuse of their power to affect colleagues
- Faculty distrust academic administrators
Dysfunctional Departments are immobilized. Some faculty spend as little time in the department as possible, avoid interacting with their colleagues and ignore University-wide initiatives. Others take it upon themselves to implement Departmental changes without seeking the requisite buy-in from their colleagues. Collaborations in research and teaching are limited and curricular innovations are avoided. Student learning is affected and the reputation of the Department suffers. To nurture a Department back to health, communication and trust must be reestablished and the organizational structures that support democratic decision making and collaboration must be strengthened.