Professor Jackson contributed an article to The Chronicle of Higher Education titled “To Chair or Not to Chair?” this past March for their Advice column. In it, he recalled his own deliberation process that led to him becoming the chair to the Education Leadership and Policy Analysis department at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Education.
“The process is both introspective and long-range,” Professor Jackson said in the article, “requiring you to consider how your skill set and your career trajectory align with the chair’s role.”
Professor Jackson was in his 19th year at the time he was approached with the prospect of becoming chair. Alongside advancing projects for the Wei LAB, Professor Jackson talked about his other commitments and how an appointment to chair could change those commitments. Also discussed was the external circumstances, such as working with his colleagues as a chair in addition to a researcher, tasks that only chairs handle and how his work style would fit to a new position with new responsibilities. He provided seven criteria to help other faculty members faced with their own “to chair or not to chair” conundrum.
The Chronicle of Higher Education has featured Professor Jackson previously in 2017 and 2002, in addition to an article from this past January titled “How to Keep Faculty Searches on Track.” To read “To Chair or Not to Chair?”, click here.