The role of the speech communication department chairperson in faculty evaluation has become increasingly crucial. Since many schools are at or near their prescribed tenure limits, the chairperson must become more and more definitive in evaluating faculty candidates for tenure and promotion. One solution would be to provide annual faculty reviews. This would require each faculty member to keep a folder of current documents in the departmental office so the chairperson can better remain informed of faculty interests, endeavors, and accomplishments throughout the academic year. Faculty evaluations have two purposes: formative--intended to improve performance; and summative--designed to sum up performance for some kind of judgment for personnel decisions. A department's evaluative criteria must be compatible with those of both the institution and the school in which it is situated so that the contributions of faculty members are appropriately recognized at all higher committee and administrative levels. Evaluative areas include teaching (using student evaluations and colleague judgments); research and creative works (giving recognition to media productions, theatre productions, original slide collections, and so on); and service (going beyond the administrative type to include public and community service). Evaluation, as threatening to the ego as it is, is necessary and it is the chairperson's responsibility to make it work effectively. (HOD)