Department Head Series

Fall 2023 
New Department Head Orientation
August 2023
Orientation for our new department heads is conducted one-to-one with our Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, LaVerne McQuiller Williams, Ph.D., J.D.

Basic Business Essentials for Department Heads
September 20, 2023, 1:00-3:30 pm
Global Village 400, GVP-1200 Conference Room 
Registration
Whether you are new or returning to your role as an academic department head we are inviting you to attend the Basic Business Essentials program presented by RIT’s Institute Audit, Compliance and Advisement department. This program is filled with details necessary to the successful business of running a department at RIT. A number of our department heads have already attended this program in the past but are welcome to attend a refresher. This session will provide essential financial, employment, technical and compliance knowledge as well as tools in support of College/Department administration. This is on the ground level in the west building of Global Village. 

Emotional Intelligence for Leaders - Offered through RIT Talent Management
Thursday, Sept 28, 9:00-11:00 in SLA 2140 or 
December 1, 9:00-11:00 am Zoom
Registration (you will need to log into RIT Talent Roadmap)
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to sense, understand and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions to facilitate higher levels of collaboration and productivity. The skills associated with EI are associated with 90% of high performers within organizations and are considered critical to the pursuit of important career and life goals. In this course, participants gain individualized perspective on their own EI and explore strategies for improvement. Participants complete a brief online quiz and pre-reading prior to attending the class. This course is intended for managers and leaders of RIT/NTID with at least one direct report.

Spring 2024

Faculty Evaluations: Developing Confidence and Building Skills
February 1, 2024, 2:00-3:30 pm
Audience: New Department Heads will receive an invitation and the Zoom URL.
Presenter: Christine Licata, Ed.D., Vice Provost
Writing annual performance reviews is the least favorite task for most department heads.  Department heads just aren’t always prepared for the dynamics and requirements of this process. Join Vice Provost Christine Licata and your colleagues for a workshop designed to help you develop your own strategies for writing effective and defensible appraisals that are both summative and formative in nature.

Creating an Inclusive Departmental Culture 
This workshop has been postponed to Fall 2024 semester.
Audience:  All Department Heads 
Presenter: Taj Smith, PhD, Director of Diversity Education, Diversity & Inclusion
This session will highlight the value of establishing an inclusive and community-driven workplace culture in your academic department. Tips for how to do that will be shared.

Effective Faculty Onboarding & Retention
March 28, 10-11:30 AM
006 LBR-1251 Stan McKenzie Commons
Registration Link
Presenters: Dr. André O. Hudson, Dean, COS  & Professor; Dr. Larry Buckley, Senior Associate Dean & Professor
Research shows that successful onboarding of new faculty leads to higher levels of job satisfaction, reduced stress, and may also lead to increased faculty retention. Join us for an interactive workshop covering guiding principles for effective faculty onboarding. Learn about the purpose of onboarding and the different approaches including the “welcome mat” approach, the process of developing effective and proactive onboarding. The importance of culture, environment and mentoring in the onboarding process will also be covered. Participants will have the opportunity to develop a framework that is specific to their respective academic units. Open to new and returning department chairs.