POSITION: Chair
Department of Health Sciences

ORGANIZATION: The University of Texas San Antonio Health Science Center (UT Health San Antonio)

REPORTS TO: David Shelledy, PhD, RRT, FAARC, FASAHP
Dean and Professor, School of Health Professions

LOCATION: San Antonio, Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio
Health Science Center| UT Health San Antonio

The School of Health Professions

As an integral part of UT Health San Antonio, the School of Health Professions (SHP) seeks to make lives better through excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, service and patient care. The SHP strives to educate a diverse student body in becoming outstanding health care practitioners, scientists and leaders; advance health research and scholarship; and provide health services and education to the community.

The SHP offers bachelor degree programs in Medical Laboratory Sciences, Emergency Health Sciences, Medical Sciences and Respiratory Care and master's degree programs in Imaging Sciences, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Physician Assistant Studies, Respiratory Care, and Speech-Language Pathology. Advanced training is available through a doctoral degree program in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy as well as a PhD in Health Sciences to prepare future faculty and researchers in allied health.

The Department of Health Sciences

The School of Health Profession's Department of Health Sciences (DHS) is comprised of four professional program areas - Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS), Medical Sciences, Imaging Sciences and a PhD in Health Sciences. We provide students with intensive, hands-on clinical experience that prepares them to be outstanding practitioners and leaders in providing quality health care. In addition, as a core academic department within the SHP, the department makes significant contributions in research and scholarship, service and patient care. The vision set forth for the department is to be a recognized academic leader in education, research, service and practice. As such, the programs within the department seek to provide outstanding academic and clinical training and education, supervised opportunities for socially relevant service to the community, and research and scholarship activities that impact, advance, and support healthcare and health outcomes. Given the differences in the socioeconomic climate and healthcare access in South Texas, the department is also committed to service focused on the people of this region.

Currently, the department offers first-professional Master of Science (MS) degrees in Medical Laboratory Sciences and Imaging Sciences. The program offered in Medical Laboratory Sciences has ranked among the top 15 in the country. MLS is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS) and graduates of the program are eligible to take the national certification examination given by the Board of Certification (BOC) of the American Society for Clinical Pathology. The Imaging Sciences program recently completed site visit for accreditation by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT).

The Position
The Chair candidate should be eligible for a tenure rank.
Reporting to the Dean of the School of Health Professions, the Chair will have a full-time, twelve-month tenure appointment with responsibility for developing and implementing a robust strategic plan focused on establishing a world-class department. The Chair's primary and central goal is to develop activities across all four components of the academic mission: educational excellence, research and scholarship, faculty practice and service. Supported by a well-qualified faculty and administrative staff, the Chair will oversee all administrative, operational, research, and patient care functions of the department. To this end, the Chair will be responsible for the following activities:

Strategic Planning and Relationship Building
• Work collaboratively across UT Health San Antonio in further developing and implementing an innovative and robust strategic plan for growth in the DHS. This plan should address each of the core missions of the academic health center: teaching, research, service, and patient care.
• Conduct on-going assessment and evaluation of the DHS; proactively address and ameliorate any issues based on those assessments.
• Serve as the face of the DHS both internally and externally.

Curriculum/Program Development, Teaching and Clinical Practice
• Stay abreast of evolving changes and advancements in education to ensure educational program excellence.
• Teach and perform other instructional duties as required.
• In concert with the program directors, ensure accreditation requirements are exceeded.
• Participate in clinical education and practice as appropriate.
• Demonstrate outstanding student and graduate outcomes as evidenced by excellent faculty course evaluations, outstanding graduate satisfaction with the quality of the educational program, pass-rates on national board and certification examinations, graduate employment, employer satisfaction and graduate assumption of leadership roles within the profession.

Faculty Development
• Recruit, train and mentor existing and newly hired faculty.
• Develop faculty in a manner that instills professionalism and encourages innovation in teaching and mentoring.
• Ensure tenure-track faculty members are well-prepared for successful promotion and tenure within the school and university.
• Assist faculty in advancing their skills across the academic mission of the department (i.e. teaching, research, service and patient care).

Operational and Financial Management
• Oversee that appropriate processes and procedures are in place to ensure efficient day-to-day operations within the DHS.
• With support from the Dean's office, ensure fiscal well-being of the DHS.
• Assist in developing and implementing strategies for growing enrollment and extramural funding.
• Develop and implement a financially sound and cost-effective faculty practice plan.
• Ensure adequate student enrollment and success to include program marketing and student recruitment.

Program Direction
The chair may also assume the role of program director for the program within a specific professional area (i.e., imaging sciences or MLS) or they may choose to appoint a qualified program director within the department's faculty.

Research and Scholarship
• Develop and promote departmental research and scholarship as evidenced by invited presentations based on original research, research publications, and production of other scholarly work.
• External grant submissions and success.
• Research awards and research expenditures.

QUALIFICATIONS
• Applicants should hold an earned doctorate (e.g. PhD, Ed.D.) in an area relevant to health professions education or practice.
• Teaching and administrative experience at the college/university level, preferably in an accredited health sciences professional program.
• Evidence of scholarly achievement including published research within peer-reviewed professional journals; preferred applicants will be eligible for faculty appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor with tenure, depending on qualifications.
• An emerging or established national or international leader in health sciences (e.g. MLS, allied health, etc.).
• A clear vision for the future of the department which includes achieving national recognition of its programs as among the best in the U.S.
• Experience with national accreditation standards and requirements and state agency licensure regulations; prior experience with accreditation processes in a leadership role is preferred.
• Experience in managing finances and budgets.
• Excellent communication skills and a leadership skillset based on developing and sustaining a consensus-driven, collaborative and team-building culture.
• A strong, progressive and facilitative leadership style which is proactive and forward thinking.

To Apply: Applicants should include a letter of interest, current curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information for three professional references. Submit applications through the UT Health Careers website (Chair - Associate Professor or Professor - UT Health San Antonio Careers) or send materials directly to David Henzi, Ed.D., FASAHP. Senior Associate Dean, School of Health Professions, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, MSC 6243, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, 210-567-4818, [email protected].