The Making of a Good Department. Structure and Process in Departmental Development.

The process by which the sociology department at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, has changed character and resolved situations of conflict and polarization is examined. The sociology department experienced rapid growth and the university as a whole shifted from teaching as a single function to teaching and research. It is suggested that there are competing institutional and departmental forces at work in moderately selective institutions. One set focuses on system maintenance, which emphasizes teaching, stability, and service. The competing forces support a more academic environment through the recruitment of new faculty whose primary orientations are in research and graduate education. At Windsor University there was the expected shift from a more centralized pattern of governance to one in which the department as a whole was involved in major and minor decision-making. However, the focus of the department was on unresolved personnel conflict. Multiple strategies were developed to take into account the interest of faculty in reviewing new models of professionalism and developing new levels of skill, and new structures were established in the department to protect faculty time and recognize high levels of achievement. Equal weight was given to scholarship, teaching, and service in the evaluation of faculty achievement. Teaching was scored by pooling student evaluations on 10 questions, and faculty could receive service points for chairing departmental committees, thesis advising, community work, and other activities. An attempt was made to enable discussion of professional issues, to resolve conflicts, and to recruit more cosmopolitan graduate students. (SW)