Department Chair-Arts, Music and History

About the Role

The Department Chair is responsible to the Divisional Dean and the Office of Instruction to provide academic, program, and department leadership to support Texas Southmost College’s transfer and career and technical programs. The Department Chair serves as mentor to faculty colleagues and as collaborator with other college administrative officers, interpreting college policy, advocating for the department from a perspective of the best overall interest of the College, and leading faculty in important processes that shape the curriculum and impact student learning. The role involves effective communication to convey the department’s needs to the divisional dean and college community concerns to the department.

Responsibilities

• Develops, plans, and implements department objectives that directly support the college’s mission, goals, and strategic plan.
• Works with the divisional dean and Vice President of Instruction to develop and assign class schedules that best serve students’ needs.
• Works closely with faculty on assessment efforts at the classroom, program, and department levels, including assisting in program reviews and reviewing student evaluations of faculty.
• Assists the divisional dean in the implementation of academic policy.
• Reviews the department website regularly for accuracy and currency and oversees changes and updates.
• Assists students with the resolution of problems and complaints involving courses, curricula, and other academic issues.
• Assists departmental faculty with the resolution of problems and complaints in accordance with college procedure.
• Facilitates procurement of textbooks as appropriate for the department.
• Evaluates full-time and part-time faculty in accordance with TSC policies and procedures.
• Responsible for recommending equipment and supplies for purchases and for projecting space and equipment needs for the department.
• Supervises the attendance, time commitments, and work assignments of department faculty and staff.
• Completes all required training and professional development sessions sponsored by Texas Southmost College (TSC).
• Supports the values and institutional goals as defined in the College’s Strategic Plan.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand and occasionally required to walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, talk or hear, and taste or smell.
• The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Schedule

Working hours may include evenings, holidays, or weekends depending on deadline requirements and supporting institutional events.