Interviewing Potential Chairs

So today our department is interviewing candidates (all internal) to be the next department head. One seems to be maybe a little bit of a front runner, but all are well-qualified. It will be interesting. I hope it's not awkward afterward. I have opinions about who would be best, but I am planning on thinking with an open mind.

I'm reviewing a submission to a journal. The submission needs a little work, but it's easy to recommend an R & R. Not exactly in my area of expertise, but the argument is good, and it seems like a well-done study.

I found out last week that my summer project was approved and funded with an internal grant. I'm working with 2 other professors and 3 students. The three of us (professors) are working on logistics of data collection that really need to be nailed down this week or next. We're also working on recruiting students, which also really needs to be done this week or early next. This project will likely keep me pretty busy from now through September, but I think it's going to be an awesome project, and we're planning three papers to come from it (and spreading out authorship order).