Last year we decided to have irregular department meetings, with the promise that they'd read my e-mail updates and respond appropriately.
Previous chairs held more meetings. The problem with that was that, if you were teaching during the meeting -- like the vast majority of us were -- you never got an update on what was going on... there was no e-mail follow-up etc.. So -- more meetings = less communication.
We are required to have three face to face meetings per year -- according to our contract. The real challenge to having more meetings is having a time at which more than a few of us can attend... we are a very diverse department (Philosophy, Music, Humanities, Theater and Global Studies make up the department) -- and we teach a lot. So, we agreed on minimal meetings and more e-mail communication... which seems to be working out well.
Really, we don't have the time or inclination for weekly 4-hour faculty meetings -- like some of my pals are forced to endure... So, I love them.
I also love them because, with a little nagging, they meet my paperwork deadlines 99% of the time.
Yep -- they rock! (some of them literally, as we include music :)--
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1 comment:
I wish my dept were more like yours--that sounds usefully efficient.
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