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Regional Meetings for Chairs of Philosophy Departments?

Brian Leiter

Sanford Goldberg, Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Northwestern University, writes:

I just came back from a meeting with one of the Chairs of a dept here at Northwestern who mentioned to me that in his field (physics) the chairs of midwestern physics departments get together once a year, by themselves, to talk about issues facing their departments.  They use this meeting as an occasion to share best practices, talk about common challenges (how to promote physics at their respective universities), discuss trends in the field relevant to the administration of physics departments, and so forth.  I think it would be worth asking whether chairs of philosophy departments might be interested in doing something similar.  Such annual discussions might be most fruitful if we disaggregated departments by type (research university vs. 4-yr college), geography (east, south, midwest, west), etc.  If there is enough interest I would be happy to try to organize this and get it going.

I’ve opened comments for other Chairs to indicate their interest in doing this with colleagues in their areas.

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14 responses to “Regional Meetings for Chairs of Philosophy Departments?”

  1. John Fischer

    I'd be interested in this sort of meeting. I'm located in Southern California. I think it could be very helpful.

    Reply
  2. Steven Nadler

    As Sandy knows, the chairs of philosophy departments of universities that belong to the CIC (the Committee on Institutional Cooperation=the Big Ten plus the University of Chicago) meet annually at the Central APA to discuss whatever is on our minds. It's a very useful forum.

    Reply
  3. David Shoemaker

    I think this is a terrific idea. As a first-year chair at Bowling Green, I've learned a great deal from long-time chairs with whom I've spoken at various conferences. Philosophy departments (and academic departments generally) can easily fall into a "this is how it's always been done here" autopilot mode to which chairs can easily capitulate, given the significant increases in time commitments that come with the job. To hear the variety of ideas that others in similar circumstances are bringing to bear as they guide the direction of their departments could thus be extremely helpful. In addition, it would be particularly valuable to be able to discuss with other chairs how to ensure the economic viability of a department during a recession (you know, on the off chance that something like that ever happens).

    Reply
  4. Kyle

    Political Science does this as well. APSA sponsors the conference.

    Reply
  5. Andrew Melnyk

    I agree this could be very helpful. I don't think I'd want to travel just for the sake of such a meeting, but I'd attend if it were held at an APA.

    Reply
  6. Andrew Mills

    This would be quite helpful. Great idea, Sandy!

    Reply
  7. Sandy Goldberg

    Beyond the CIC mentioned by Steven, I wonder whether other groups have organized similarly. I ask because I think it might be a good for the whole profession if any chair who was interested had an opportunity to attend such a group. Do other people know of other groups of philosophy chairs that meet on a regular (institutionalized) basis, and if so where and when (and for whom)? I suspect that they are out there, but I am only guessing here. (Or perhaps everyone who would be invited to participate in a given group already knows about the relevant group; in that case my question is whether there are any chairs not covered by one or another group.)

    Reply
  8. Michael Della Rocca

    I think that this is a great idea.

    Reply
  9. Dominic Lopes

    I agree that this is a great idea. I'd be happy to offer a meeting room for this purpose on either shoulder of the Pacific APA meeting (with an okay from the Pacific Division Executive Committee).

    Reply
  10. Thom Brooks

    This is also something that regularly takes place in the UK amongst political science departments. The Political Studies Association (PSA) runs several conferences each year for precisely these purposes. It would be a wonderful thing if this practice became more common in the US and amongst more subjects.

    Reply
  11. Don Ainslie

    The Canadian philosophy chairs get together each spring at the Canadian Philosophical Association annual meeting. Sometimes the diversity of institutions involved has meant that the meeting is not particularly helpful. But sometimes we have had productive discussions about such issues as advancement strategies for philosophy, curriculum reform, and performance indicators. The fact that the chairs get to know each other also helps interinstitutional communication during the year.

    Reply
  12. Eric Schliesser

    I wonder when anti-trust concerns start to emerge over this? Perhaps such regional meetings should not be held at the APAs–one wouldn't want to raise suspicions that the price of talent will be held down! (Kidding, of course, but financial aid offers of US institutions also once thought that regular meetings would be an excellent idea.)

    Reply
  13. Sandy Goldberg

    With the help of Dom Lopes and the Executive Committee of the Pacific Division of the APA, we are tentatively planning to have a meeting on this topic at the next meeting of the APA Pacific in Vancouver. It is tentatively scheduled for Sunday April 12, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and will be entitled "Meeting of Philosophy Department Chairs and Heads". Look for the official announcement in the relevant Proceedings and Addresses of the APA (the one with the Pacific Division Meeting Schedule).

    Its aim will be to identify (1) major issues common to the administration of philosophy departments, (2) data needs of philosophy department chairs/heads, where this involves data of other philosophy departments, and (3) already-existing regional or national meetings of philosophy department chairs/heads. Hopefully we will have someone from the APA office there as well.

    In any case if anyone has questions/issues they'd like to see addressed, or other items to add to the agenda, I am happy to collect these in advance of that meeting. You can email me at s-goldberg@northwestern.edu.

    Reply
  14. Don Hubin

    As Steven Nadler mentioned, the Chairs of the CIC Philosophy Departments have been meeting for many years at the Centeral Division meetings. We have also been exchanging a lot of data prior to these meetings. The data were originally exchanged on hard copies and, later, in Word documents. Last year, we began collecting the data in an Excel spreadsheet form that allows easy aggregation and analysis of the data. I believe that this is a very useful exchange of information.

    The data itself is, of course, only shared with the institutions participating in the exchange. However, I would be happy to share the data collecting *instrument* with others. If you chair a philosophy department and are interested in receiving a copy of this instrument, please contact me by writing to me at hubin[dot]1[at]osu[dot]edu. (That's a numeral one, not a lower case 'L'.)

    Don Hubin

    Reply

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