On Being a Department Head, a Personal View

John B. Conway

Jan. 1996 · American Mathematical Soc.

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`For years, higher education prospered. It loudly proclaimed that college graduates command far greater lifetime incomes. Ample funding followed. We produced. But that argument has begun to sour. A college degree has long since stopped being a guarantee of prosperity or even job security. Society has begun to question its support for universities. In this environment, mathematicians and all academics must begin to change, compete, and seek resources that will be used with greater care. It is the only solution if we hope to maintain the integrity of the enterprise.... I want to offer advice to department heads out there. I want to try to educate the rank and file about a variety of aspects of the job of being a department head. I also want to tell you my opinion about this job and perhaps also a little about love, death, and the vagaries of the human condition.' --- from the Preface This unique book presents a witty, well-written personal view about the experience of being a department head. Those in academia will profit from the author's inside view, and other department heads and chairs -- new and old -- will benefit from the experiences of this keenly observant colleague.