Change is coming atopthe Department of Communications andProfessional Writing.

Rick Davis, the assistant departmentchair of the communicationsdepartment, said he wasshocked after hearing the newsthat at the end of this semesterPam Hayward, the current departmentchair, would be movedfrom her administrative positionto a strictly teaching role.

“I was as shocked as anyoneelse,” Davis said. “I understandthey are thinking about new directionsand they are looking fora leader with national credentials,but if they would’ve waited ayear or two, they would’ve hadone with Pam.”

There was talk of Haywardhaving to stop teaching and shiftinginto a full-time administrativeposition as department chair tokeep her position, though Davissaid he did not believe Haywardwas ready, or willing, to give up teaching.
“This isn’t a demotion; thisis a lateral move,” Davis said.“Plus she will still get to do whatshe loves.”

Andrew Tarr, a senior public relations major, took one of his last communication electives with Hayward just to have the experience of being her student.

After battling health issues, Tarr said Hayward took it upon herself to ensure the proper procedures were taken to get him back on track academically.

“I didn’t want to seek out special favors and attention because of my medical issues so I tried to take care of everything I could,” Tarr said. “She sought me out; she wanted to make sure I wasn’t penalizing myself.”

Davis and Tarr both said Hayward fulfills her roles as administrator and professor flawlessly.

“I know this change has nothing to do with her competence as either an administrator or a leader,” Davis said. “There is something new in the air and I’m sure it comes from, what I call, a fusion of the two universities.”

William Harpine, the communications department chair at USC Aiken, explained the role of department chair as somewhat an intermediate job.

“You are a member of the faculty and participating fully as a faculty member, but you are also an administrator responsible for enforcing and following the university’s rules and procedures,” Harpine said. “It is kind of an in between position.”

Harpine has attended conferences with Hayward and has maintained occasional contact with her regarding student concerns each has encountered at their respective universities.

“I have a high opinion of her, and (in) my contacts with her she has always been very professional, alert and communicative,” Harpine said.

Davis also praised Hayward’s professionalism.

“She pays careful attention to detail, which you hope the chair will do; she is scrupulously fair,” Davis said. “She does her best to make sure everyone gets to teach the course they want to teach. She just an excellent administrator and leader. I have nothing negative to say about her at all.”

Replacing someone so well respected may prove difficult for the administration, which is already facing questions about potential department turnovers as a result of the upcoming merger.

Charles “Skip” Clark, the dean of the Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, declined to comment on what he deemed “personnel matters” and refused to explain the process of obtaining a nationally-accredited department chair.

Harpine explained that, although each university has its own rules and procedures for hiring department chairs, the decision is ultimately left to administration.

“Many universities, in my experience, have a rule that the department chair serves at the pleasure of the dean and the president of the university,” Harpine said.