Conference Agenda

The early part of a faculty member’s career typically focuses on teaching and research, but by mid-career, many academics are eager for new professional experiences. Taking on an administrative role can provide change and variety, but unlike teaching and research, for which graduate programs and academic institutions typically provide much preparation and support, the skills necessary to academic administration—as well as its challenges and rewards—are rarely explicitly honed or even much discussed.

This roundtable features short talks and a discussion among mid- to advanced-career musicologists working in administrative roles in academic settings. Speakers will reflect on a number of questions, including but not limited to the following: How can faculty prepare themselves to be good candidates for administrative positions? What skills should they seek to develop? What are some of the challenges and rewards of taking on an administrative role? How can one balance such a role with teaching and research? How might it affect work–life balance? How can an administrative position be a vehicle for advancing principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access? What has been most surprising about serving in an administrative position?

Each of five panelists will give a ten-minute lightning talk, after which the chair will engage the panelists as a group for approximately twenty minutes of discussion. The chair will also moderate discussion among all those in attendance for the final twenty minutes of the session. The speakers have, collectively, served in a wide variety of administrative roles in academia, including as department chairs, center directors, and associate deans.