Department Chair and Program Director Guide

 Section One – Introduction

Dear Department Chairs and Program Directors,

This publication brings together specific administrative items for which academic department chairs and interdisciplinary program directors have unique responsibilities.

You are invited to call to our attention any procedures that are not clear or that should be added. In the next edition, the information can be corrected and/or updated to help each chair and director become even more effective and efficient in meeting their responsibilities.

Thank you for the leadership you provide to your department/program and the academic program.

Brenda Kelly, Provost and Dean of the College

About This Handbook – 1:1

This Handbook is published by the Provost’s Office to provide a ready reference for department chairs and program directors. It is updated continuously, online, throughout the year. The online publication is considered to be the definitive version. Please direct comments, concerns, and questions to Shanon Nowell (snowell@gustavus.edu or 507-933-7541). Thanks!

Academic Department Chairs – 1:2

A listing of the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of department chairs and interdisciplinary program directors is available online at: https://gustavus.edu/provost/deptchairs/chairs.php

College Leadership – 1:3

Responsibility for supervising and directing the operations of the College rests with the major divisional heads listed below. These chief administrative officers, together with the President, constitute the Executive Leadership Team (XLT). The description of each person’s specific responsibilities is given in the Academic Catalog, under “Administrative Organization.”

XLT Members
Title Name Phone Email
President Rebecca Bergman 7538 president@gustavus.edu
Provost and Dean of the College Brenda Kelly 7541 bkelly@gustavus.edu
Vice President for Enrollment Mangement Kim Frisch 7683 kfrisch@gustavus.edu 
Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Curt Kowaleski 7499 curtk@gustavus.edu
Vice President for Mission, Strategy, and Innovation Kathi Tunheim 7409 ktunheim@gustavus.edu

Office of the Provost – 1:4

The persons in the Provost’s Office to whom many questions can be addressed are given below.

Provost's Office Staff
Title Name Phone Email
Provost and Dean of the College Brenda Kelly 7541 bkelly@gustavus.edu
Associate Provost and Dean of Academic Programs and Accreditation Sarah Ruble 7541 sruble@gustavus.edu 
Dean of Academic Analytics and Innovation Kyle Chambers 7541 kchamber@gustavus.edu 
Dean of Faculty Development Pamela Conners 7541 pconners@gustavus.edu 
Executive Assistant to the Provost Shanon Nowell 7541 snowell@gustavus.edu
Administrative Assistant Jennifer Harbo 6223 jharbo@gustavus.edu
Administrative Assistant Karissa Winter 7675 krwinter@gustavus.edu 

Areas of Focus for Provost’s Office Leadership Team

Please contact the appropriate Provost’s Office leader associated with your particular question or need. If you do not know who to contact, we invite you to email g-deans@gustavus.edu which will go to all three deans or you can use provostoffice@gustavus.edu to reach all members of the Provost’s Office.

Brenda Kelly

  • Academic ceremonies and convocations (e.g., Commencement, Honors Day)
  • College representative to the Upper Midwest Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC)
  • Endowed faculty positions
  • Executive Leadership Team and President’s Leadership Team responsibilities
  • Faculty awards
  • Hiring of (non-faculty) staff
  • Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)
  • Student Life
  • Tenure and promotion review

Sarah Ruble

  • 9th semester free tuition program
  • Assessment (course-, department-, program-level)
  • Changes to the major/minor and new course proposals
  • College-wide curricular programs
  • Course scheduling submission review
  • Department staffing request process (how to and possible strategies) (tenure-track, visiting/adjunct, continuing faculty)
  • Personnel matters (i.e., retirement, VARO, leaves of absence, replacement faculty, overloads)
  • Student concerns (i.e., academic dishonesty, student academic complaints, petitions, probations, retention)

Kyle Chambers

  • Academic department and program review processes
  • Administrative assistant group liaison
  • Analytic support for program planning and improvement; data and technology consultations for departments and programs
  • Course scheduling process
  • Equipment repair, acquisition, and replacement requests
  • Faculty searches (e.g., process details, training, candidate interviews, and job offers)
  • Field trip/course travel requests
  • Innovation requests
  • Research ethics, compliance, and safety
  • Student conduct appeals

Pamela Conners

  • Academic advising
  • Admission Liaison program
  • Department Chair and Program Director development
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives
  • Faculty development
  • Faculty evaluation processes (e.g., process details and questions for annual, continuing faculty, third year, and post-tenure reviews)
  • Faculty mentoring (new, early-career, mid-career, and senior faculty) and retention
  • Faculty sabbaticals (process and development)
  • Start up funds

Faculty and Staff Administrative Reports

Members of the Provost’s Office oversee administrative direct reports, collaborate with faculty who have part time administrative appointments, and work together with other offices who interface with the academic program.

Administrative Reports Provost’s Office Representative
Academic Support Center 3 Sarah Ruble
Career Development 3 Pamela Conners
Chemical Hygiene and Lab Safety Officer 2 Kyle Chambers
Chief Technology Officer 1 Brenda Kelly
College-wide curricular program directors 2 (i.e., Challenge Seminar; First Term Seminar; January Term; Summer Term; Writing Across the Curriculum) Sarah Ruble
Gustie Cup Director 2 Kyle Chambers
Fellowships Advisor 2 Pamela Conners
Fine Arts Program Director 2 Sarah Ruble
First Year Research Experience Program Director 2 Kyle Chambers
Innovation Scholars Program Faculty Advisor 2 Pamela Conners
International and Cultural Education 3 Sarah Ruble
Institutional Research Director 2 Kyle Chambers
Johnson Center Director 2 Pamela Conners
Kendall Center Director 2 Sarah Ruble
Library Chair 2 Sarah Ruble
Lilly Fellows Faculty Representative 2 Sarah Ruble
MAYDAY! Director 2 Sarah Ruble
Nobel Conference Director 2 Brenda Kelly
Public Deliberation and Dialogue Director 2 Sarah Ruble
Research and Sponsored Programs Director 1 Brenda Kelly
Registrar 1 Sarah Ruble
Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Director 2 Pamela Conners
Writing Center Director 2 Sarah Ruble

1 Staff administrators, 2 Faculty serving in administrative roles, 3 Serving as liaison to an office outside of Academic Affairs

Committee Assignments

Members of the Provost’s Office serve on the following faculty and administrative committees. Faculty committee membership lists are available online at: https://gustavus.edu/facultybook/facultycommittees/ 

Committee Brenda Sarah Kyle Pamela Shanon
Academic Affairs Coordinating Council (AACC)* X3 X3     X4
Academic Operations Committee (AOC)*     X3    
Adjudication Board*   X1,2      
Administrative Technology Advisory Committee (ATAC)     X2    
Benefit Advisory Committee X5        
Bias Response Team   X2      
Board of Trustees - Shared Governance Committee X2        
Board of Trustees - Strategy Committee X2        
Board of Trustees Meetings - Academic Affairs Committee X2 X4 X4 X4 X4
Board of Trustees Meetings - Institutional Mission Group X2       X4
Capital Subcommittee         X2
College Accreditation Committee (HLC) X1 X2      
Committee on Academic Standing    X2      
Compensation, Budget, and Benefits Board X4        
Curriculum Committee*   X2      
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC)*       X3  
Executive Leadership Team (XLT) X2        
Faculty Meetings X1,2 X2 X2 X2 X4
Faculty Personnel Committee (PC)* X3       X4
Faculty Senate* X3        
Information Security Committee     X2    
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)     X2    
Institutional Review Board (IRB)     X1,2    
Internal Budget Committee X2        
President’s Council on Indigenous Relations (PCIR)   X2,5      
President’s Environmental Sustainability Council (PESC)       X2,5  
President's Leadership Team X2        
Space Utilization Committee     X2    
Third-Year Review Subcommittee (TYR)*       X4 X4
Travel Safety Committee   X2      

1 Presider, 2 Voting member, 3 Non-voting member, 4 Attends by invitation, 5 Attends on an as-needed basis * Standing faculty committee

Administrative Support

The work of the Provost and Deans is supported by Shanon Nowell, Executive Assistant to the Provost, two Administrative Assistants, Jennifer Harbo and Karissa Winter. The appropriate administrative staff to whom many questions can be addressed are given below. If you aren't sure who can help with a particular question, email provostoffice@gustavus.edu to reach all members of the Provost’s Office.

Shanon Nowell

  • Department and program reviews
  • Faculty awards
  • Faculty meetings
  • Faculty reviews (e.g., tenure, promotion)
  • Faculty searches
  • Provost’s calendar
  • Retirement
  • Sabbatical leaves
  • Visiting scholar’s apartment

Jennifer Harbo

  • Budgets
  • Faculty letters of appointment
  • Faculty-L
  • Moving expenses
  • Provost's Conference Room reservation
  • Startup funds
  • Reimbursement for search candidates and external evaluators

Karissa Winter

  • Academic departmental assistants
  • Academic honesty
  • Commencement
  • Deans’ Calendars
  • Dean’s List letters
  • First Term Seminar
  • Honors Day
  • January Term
  • Student concerns
  • Three Crowns Curriculum

Faculty Committee Chairs – 1:5

An important part of faculty governance of academic matters at Gustavus involves specific faculty committees. Each committee area of responsibility is listed in the Faculty Handbook, Part 1. The chairs of the specific committees to whom Department Chairs may wish to direct questions and/or concerns are found in the “Green Pages” of the Faculty Book online at: https://gustavus.edu/facultybook/facultycommittees/.

Academic Calendar – 1:6

The Gustavus Academic Calendar is available online at: https://gustavus.edu/registrar/six_year_calendar/.

Copyright 2023-24, Gustavus Adolphus College. All Rights Reserved.
Last modified: 14 September 2023, by Shanon Nowell