This study examined the Bolman and Deal leadership orientation preferred by academic department chairs (ADCs) of Educational Leadership or Administration programs at member colleges and universities of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). A secondary purpose of the study was to examine how the preferred frame of the chairs varied according to the ADC's gender, age, racial/ethnic identification, and years of experience in their current chair position. Data were collected from 48 ADCs of 74 UCEA public and private member institutions using the Leadership Orientations Survey; a questionnaire that measures leadership behaviors, style, and the overall effectiveness of the respondent as a leader and as a manager. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. This study found: (a) the Human Resource Frame is the preferred leadership orientation among ADCs; (b) the second preference is the Structural Frame, the Symbolic Frame was the third preferred orientation, and the least preferred frame was the Political Frame, and (c) there were no statistically significant differences in preferred frames based on personal and professional variables. An additional finding was that all ADCs in this study saw themselves equally balanced as a faculty member and administrator or they perceived themselves as more of an administrator than a faculty member.