The good, bad and ugly parts of being a new administrator.

Women who head departments of education at colleges and universities are a rare species, with much to teach.

Dr. Nancy Mims, department chair of educational leadership and foundations at Western Carolina University NC, and Dr. Sandra Lee Gupton, chair in the division of curriculum and teaching at the University of North Florida, collected info from relatively new women administrators.

Mims presented their research at the University of Nebraska's Women in Educational Leadership Conference in Lincoln in October 2003.

Who were these women?

Mims and Gupton asked five new female department chairs and two others to complete the survey. One chair said her job was labelled "program coordinator."

Six of the seven were the first females in their jobs. All but one had been mentored, by both women and men, but none said her mentor directly helped her get the job. Although only three currently had a mentor, five reported mentoring others. One admitted to trying to mentor, and one said she would mentor only if asked.

They ranged in age from 45 to 61, with 21 to 37 years of experience in education. All were Caucasian. Four were married and three divorced; all but one had children.