Next Steps in Finding a Chair

So today, the dean met with our department to discuss how the search for a new department chair would go. He is basically open to whether we want to conduct a quick search and have a new chair in place by January or whether we want to have an interim chair for some period of time, and conduct a more drawn-out search. I'm in favor of the latter, and I get the feeling that is what most people are wanting. The dean is going to meet with us again in a week to make a final decision.

From there, the faculty will nominate 2 people to serve on a search committee, either for a permanent chair or an interim chair. Typically, I run from committee work, but I think that I will try to be one of those 2 people.

Other than that, it's time to get serious about teaching. No more holidays for a few months.