There is an interesting article about the role of Chairs in the December issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. The position of a modern Chair includes, beside the standard academic duties, new duties that traditionally belonged to middle management: coordinating assessments and accreditations, fund raising, contacts with industry, etc.
Chairs are put in this difficult position where they are held accountable for documenting that their programs are succeeding, that their faculty are succeeding, and that they’re staying in budget,” says Mr. Buller, author of several books on academic administration. “We’re seeing a professionalization of higher-education administration—and that’s not such a bad thing. Because the faculty position itself has changed and because we have an accountability culture in higher education, you need people who have managerial training to serve as chair.
The article can be found here: