Hard-won tips for moving into administration.

On August 1, 2005, psychology program director and associate professor Michelle Majewski became chair of the Social and Behavioral Science division of Marian College in Fond du Lac WI. Just 88 days later, at the Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership (WWHEL) conference in October, she shared tips she wished she'd known sooner.

The first day as division chair she thought, "Piece of cake!" The second day she told her husband her new job was great. Day three started with a 6:15 am meeting; by 9:30 am she was handling a sticky personnel issue. The barrage of day-to-day details have made administrative reality a surprise.

"I'm used to being able to come into the office and get some work done. That came to a screeching halt," she told WIHE. "I guess I was a little naive thinking how I would juggle all this."

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She'd been interim chair before but the college is more complicated now. Another difference is that being the "real" chair brings more opportunities to facilitate change.

Before she started teaching at Marian in 1987, she worked in the mental health field. She holds two master's degrees and is completing a doctorate at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago.

"Mental health really is teaching. It involves communication, problem solving and identifying strengths," she told WIHE. It was the perfect background for college administration.