Live on Zoom

November 5th, 2026 | 2 PM ET

Lead Your Department with Greater Confidence

Discover How the Department Chair Success Program Can Support You

Stepping into the department chair role can be challenging—whether you're in your first semester or have been leading for years.

You're navigating competing priorities, supporting faculty, managing difficult conversations, and making decisions that affect your entire department, often without the training or support you need.

You don't have to figure it all out on your own.

Join us for a webinar overview of NCFDD's Department Chair Success Program (CSP) and discover how this 10-week intensive program helps current and aspiring chairs strengthen their leadership skills, navigate challenges, and lead with greater confidence.

What You'll Discover

During this webinar, you'll get an inside look at how CSP helps department chairs:

• Build confidence and clarity as academic leaders.
• Navigate challenging conversations and complex leadership situations.
• Learn alongside a small group of peers facing similar challenges.
• Receive expert coaching and practical strategies they can apply immediately.
• Develop more sustainable approaches to leadership and productivity.

Leadership Doesn't Have to Feel Isolating

CSP brings department chairs together in a supportive community where they can learn from one another, receive expert guidance, and develop practical skills for the realities of academic leadership.

Whether you're preparing to become a chair, newly appointed, or looking to strengthen your leadership after years in the role, this webinar will help you determine whether CSP is right for you.

See What CSP Could Make Possible for Your Leadership

Register for the webinar today and discover how the Department Chair Success Program can help you lead with greater clarity, confidence, and support.

Erin Marie Furtak, PhD, is a professor of STEM Education in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She studies how classroom assessment can promote more equitable science learning for K-12 students and how teachers learn through the process of collaborative design of formative assessments. She was awarded the Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in 2011. Prof. Furtak served as Associate Dean of Faculty before refocusing her efforts on completing her 5th and 6th books, both expected in 2023. She has two young kids, an energetic dog, and is a lover of the outdoors.

Diane Cross, PhD, RD, is a registered dietitian (R.D.) and holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Science. She worked as a clinical dietitian, as an educator, and as a researcher over the many years of her career. She joined the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Wayne State University as an assistant professor in 2008. For nearly 20 years, her research program investigated the impact of endogenous DNA damage on aging. Currently, she's focused primarily on public-facing scholarship. As a professor, she teaches two metabolism courses covering the biochemistry of macronutrients (NFS 4230) and of vitamins and minerals (NFS 4231). She also teaches the capstone course for the Wayne State University master's-prepared clinical dietetics students (NFS 7800). She works to design learning experiences that are meaningful and impactful for students, engaging a variety of teaching and learning methods to engage students in active learning. As Chair of the Department, she's focused on enriching student experiences in the classroom, in the labs, and in the community. They are developing two exciting research cores, a Food Core that is focused on food science and involves working with the food industry and educating the community about all things food; the other is a Human Performance Core that involves assessment of athletic performance and nutritional factors that impact performance. They also have Sports Nutrition Internships in cooperation with the Athletics Department that allow students to translate science learned in the classroom to real-life experiences.