Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Department chairs sit in a unique position in institutions of higherEducation with a place in both the faculty world and the administrative world. This study examined what motivated faculty members in higherEducation to leave their established practices as experts in their fields for a career change to become administrators. It was designed purposefully to consider why faculty members moved to administrative posts as department chairs for several reasons. One, to simply understand what motivated individuals to try an administrative role; and two, to better equip leaders of institutions to understand these motivations as foundational in designing mentoring relationships where potential future administrators can be developed. This study was completed in a mixed methods nature. The sample for this study was from the department chair population in member institutions of the Independent Colleges of Indiana. The first two phases were qualitative interviews with small samples to hear the stories of currently serving department chairs. Phase 1 included face-to-face interviews with eight department chairs, while Phase 2 was a narrative interview with six department chairs. Phases 1 and 2 were used to develop a survey. A total of 81 currently serving department chairs participated in the quantitative survey phase 3 of the study. Ranking questions were posed and demographic information was collected. The qualitative data led to a list of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators used as ranking questions on the quantitative survey. Items on the survey marked as extrinsically motivating were request from administration, best available choice, and no other available/eligible choice. Items on the survey marked as intrinsically motivating were challenge, opportunity, service, and leadership. These motivators were also considered by discipline, gender, ethnicity, and sex. Motivations did significantly vary by discipline ( p = .026, two-tailed) and age ( p = .006, two-tailed). Implications for middle level administrators and Independent Colleges of Indiana network administrators were included for supporting the position of department chair in regard to recruitment and retention. Advancement in administration was also considered.

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