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This paper aims to explore how department chairs in institutes for post-secondary vocational and professional education conceptualize and enact their role as leaders of teaching excellence in their department. Vocational and professional education (VPE) in this paper refers to education that prepares students to become qualified for a particular profession, regardless of educational level (eg tradesperson, health care provider, or human resource manager)(Anderson, 2008). Internationally, VPE is offered at Technical and Further Education institutes in Australia (Adams & Gamage, 2008), Further Education institutes,(Drodge, 2002) and statutory universities (Smith, 2002) in Britain, and Community Colleges in the USA (Crossman & Cameron, 2014). In Western Canada VPE is offered at non-research intensive postsecondary institutions, including Polytechnics, Community Colleges, and Teaching Universities. Those who teach in Western Canadian VPE programs–that is, instructors–are commonly hired for their professional and trade experience but often have not received formal teacher education. Typically the purpose of VPE is understood as both improving the social and economic well-being of individuals as well as serving society by ensuring an educated workforce (Adams & Gamage, 2008). To keep fulfilling this purpose, VPE institutes need to be responsive to changes in society and industry, including increasingly diverse student populations, frequently changing industry standards (Darwin 2007; Harris et al. 2001), economic changes such as dropping oil prices requiring economic diversification, and changes in educational approaches …