2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Faculty Perspectives on Effective Supportive Department Leadership

Presented at Civil Engineering & Leadership Division Joint Session

The purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics, skills, and responsibilities of an effective academic department leader, as defined from the faculty member’s perspective. While previous research has focused on a top down approach which focuses on desired leadership characteristics from the academic leaders themselves (Department Heads/Chairs, Deans, Provosts, etc.), there is a gap in the literature on leadership expectations from the faculty members being directly supervised.

The objectives of this study are to:
1. Characterize faculty expectations of a department chair, with a specific focus on faculty member support and development.
2. Identify effective leadership practices from the perspective of faculty members.
3. Provide examples of effective behaviors for faculty member support.

This project focuses specifically on effective supportive behaviors as described by the faculty members themselves, organized along the leadership domains proposed by Niewiesk and Garrity-Rokous (2020). The authors conducted a survey focusing on the bottom-up approach to department leader expectations and, using the survey results, generated a list of best practices with implementation recommendations.

Authors

Col. Joel Sloan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8135-3048 U.S. Air Force Academy [biography]

Colonel Joel Sloan Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE is the Permanent Professor and Head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado. He received his B.S. in civil engineering as a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy, M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Colorado, and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. He is an ASEE member and a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia. His research interests include geotechnical engineering, column-supported embankments, and engineering education.
Dr. Scott R Hamilton P.E. York College of Pennsylvania [biography]

Scott Hamilton is a Professor of Civil Engineering at York College of Pennsylvania. He is a registered Professional Engineer and has both a MS and PhD in civil engineering and a Masters in
engineering management from Stanford University and a BS from the United States Military Academy, West Point. He is a retired US Army Corps of Engineers officer who has had assignments in the US, Germany, Korea, and Afghanistan. During his military career he spent over 10 years on the faculty at the US Military Academy at West Point teaching civil engineering. He also served as the Director, Graduate Professional Development at Northeastern University’s College of Engineering. He is the recipient of the 2021 NSPE Engineering Education Excellence Award and the 2019 ASCE Thomas A Lenox ExCEEd Leadership Award.
Dr. Norb Delatte http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1811-4335 Oklahoma State University [biography]

Dr. Norbert J. Delatte, Jr., P.E., is the MR Lohmann Professor and Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Oklahoma State University. He is the author of Beyond Failure: Forensic Case Studies for Civil Engineers (ASCE Press, 2009). In Spring 2025 he was awarded a Fulbright Grant for Teaching and Research to the University of Naples Federico II in Naples.
Dr. Tanya Kunberger P.E. http://orcid.org/https://0009-0003-9407-7753 University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown [biography]

Dr. Kunberger is Division Chair for Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown.
Dr. Audra N. Morse P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8337-5726 Michigan Technological University [biography]

Dr. Audra Morse, P.E., is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering at Michigan Technological University. Her professional experience is focused on water and wastewater treatment, specifically water reclamation
Dr. David A Saftner University of Minnesota Duluth [biography]

David Saftner is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He received a BS in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy and MS and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Camilla M. Saviz P.E. University of the Pacific [biography]

Camilla Saviz is Professor and Chair of Civil Engineering at the University of the Pacific. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University, an M.B.A. from the New York Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Davis. She is a registered engineer in California.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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