Primary Purpose:
The Department Chair serves as the department's chief administrative officer and is responsible for the department's resources, faculty, staff, and budgets. Position is responsible and accountable for the performance of the department in meeting the expectations for the department by the college, University administration, faculty, public and students.
Job Category: Exempt
Hiring Range:
Pay Basis: Annually
Subject to Grant Funding? No
Essential Job Functions:
1. Provides leadership in order to achieve University's mission, vision, and goals. Practices academic entrepreneurialism by thinking and acting strategically in terms of ensuring access to information, being aware of the environment, and maintaining a capacity to seize and exploit opportunities. Leadership duties include:
a. Establishing and maintaining department's vision; establishing goals and objectives that fulfill the mission and move it towards its vision; identifying and selecting tasks and projects which support achievement of goals and objectives; creating an environment and processes that achieve University, college, and department visions.
b. Conveying a sense of progress to those inside and outside the department.
c. Providing both positive and negative feedback to ensure department members meet professional standards.
d. Fostering an environment where people develop attitudes of responsibility and mentoring for others, as well as fostering and championing the ideas and visions of others.
e. Earning the trust of those inside and outside the department.
f. Implementing processes for inclusiveness and openness in department governance.
g. Ensuring department culture and practices maintains a student-centered foundation.
2. Manages department's structure, execution of plans and assessment of performance. Management duties include:
a. Allocation and management of resources including budgets and space.
b. Assigning faculty to teach courses.
c. Preparing and proposing department budgets.
d. Supervising, directing, and monitoring performance of department, staff and faculty; conducting annual evaluations of faculty and staff; developing faculty and staff; rewarding and recognizing performance; directing hiring and other HR processes; recommending salary adjustments.
e. Reporting any failure of a faculty or staff member to carry out responsibilities and to recommend as appropriate, disciplinary actions.
f. Holding regular department meetings to discuss operational and professional needs of department.
g. Preparing annual reports and other reports as required by Office of the President, the Office of the Provost Institutional Effectiveness, Office of Academic Quality, Assessment and Accreditation and the Dean's Office.
h. Maintaining essential records including appropriate student records.
i. Assuring quality of the instruction and research of the department.
j. Working with the appropriate Assistant/Associate Dean, assuring the academic programs curriculum is up to date and relevant.
k. Working with the appropriate Assistant/Associate Dean, implementing and maintaining department, academic, and program assessment plans and processes.
3. Manages faculty/staff affairs and professional development by creating and maintaining the environment, processes, and support for each faculty and staff member to develop their special talents and abilities. Duties include:
a. Assuring University, college, and department promotion and contract renewal policies are followed correctly.
b. Recruiting new faculty and staff.
c. Fostering an environment that encourages and values a collegial atmosphere.
d. Mentoring new faculty to develop as successful teachers and scholars.
e. Promoting, supporting and stimulating faculty research and publications. He/she will represent the research needs of the faculty to the administration and will insure that faculty members have protected time for research. The Chair will keep records of the research productivity of the department.
f. Ensures active participation of departmental faculty including him/herself on College committees, in admissions interviews and in other service activities of the college.
g. Supporting faculty to participate in regional and national professional meetings and conferences.
h. Promoting and supporting faculty in preparation and submission of proposals and grants.
i. Promoting diversity and affirmative action.
4. Serves as an essential member of the College Executive Committee to achieve the University's mission, vision, and goals. Duties include:
a. Meeting regularly with the college executive team to accomplish the work of the College.
b. Working in a collegial and effective manner with the other Chairs and Deans for the mission and advancement of the College.
5. As a member of the faculty, the Chair teaches, does research, and engages in service activities.
6. Communicates department's story and needs to the Dean, other college chairs, Department faculty, University administration, and all of the University community, as well as to the outside community including businesses, government agencies, professional societies, civic groups, and foundations. Ensures that the necessary information is conveyed to the appropriate Department constituents including students in an efficient, professional, and timely manner. Duties include:
a. Marketing the department to all constituencies including students, businesses, and parents.
b. Creating brochures, white papers, and communications supporting the department its story and its needs.
c. Keeping faculty members informed of department, college, and institutional plans, activities, expectation, and policy and procedure changes.
d. Listening to concerns and issues presented by faculty.
e. Encouraging and facilitating the communication between faculty.
f. Effectively communicating department needs to the Dean and interacting with upper-level administrators.
g. Establishing and maintaining a positive department image and reputation.
h. Coordinating activities with outside groups.
i. Establishing and effectively using advisory committees and advancement boards.
j. Assuring department correspondence and requests for information and data is processed and provided in timely and professional manner.
K. Collaborates with programmatic assessment and participates in all accreditation and regulatory processes.
l. Completing forms and surveys in timely and accurate manner.
m. Recruiting students and faculty.
n. Effectively engaging student government and other student groups.
7. Participates/assists with other projects as required.
8. Performs other duties as assigned or required, such as participating on committees, review boards, strategic planning initiatives, national committees, and search committees. May be assigned by college and/or University administrators to non-routine or special assignments to support projects, initiatives, or special needs of the college and university.
Job Requirements:
Required Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities: Individual must be flexible, adaptable, and creative, must demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills, superior organizational and customer service skills, be responsive to directives and a commitment to the mission and development of the college and University.
Knowledge:
1. Knowledge in the theoretical and practical paradigms of field of expertise.
2. General knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups.
3. English Language - Thorough knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Skills:
1. Speaking - Advanced skills in talking to others to convey information effectively.
2. Instructing - Proficient skills in teaching others how to do something.
3. Reading Comprehension - Proficient understanding of written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
4. Writing - Proficient skills in communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
5. Learning Strategies - Proficient skills in selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
6. Active Listening - Proficient skills in giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
7. Active Learning - Proficient skills in understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
8. Critical Thinking - Proficient skills in using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
9. Complex Problem Solving - Proficient skills in identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
10. Computing - technical skills with basic computing software and programs.
Abilities:
1. Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
2. Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (including finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
3. Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
4. Organized - The ability to maintain and coordinate across multiple calendars while adhering to various college and university policies.
5. Confidential - The ability to handle student and university data with confidentiality and with absolute discretion.
6. Collegial - The ability to cooperate congenially with College and University administration, co-workers, staff, students, and other university personnel.
Physical Requirements:
1. Speech Recognition - Must be able to identify and understand the speech of another person.
2. Speech Clarity - Must be able to speak clearly so others can understand you.
3. Travel - Must be able to travel on a daily and/or overnight basis.
4. May be required to work nights or weekends.
5. May be exposed to short, intermittent, and/or prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing in performance of job duties.
6. May be required to accomplish job duties using various types of equipment/supplies, to include but not limited to pens, pencils, mobile devices, and computer keyboards.
Required Certifications/Licensures:
Required Education: Doctoral Degree
Major (if required: Pharm.D. or PhD in related field
Required Experience: 1. Minimum ten (10) years of teaching in higher education.
2. Doctoral Degree and eighteen (18) academic semester hours of graduate study in teaching area.
3. Demonstrate evidence of recency of experience in teaching and/or working in the field of expertise as required.
4. Demonstrated leadership, administration, and resource development ability.
**For Informational Purposes Only**
For Assistant Professor:
1. Possess a Doctoral or terminal degree in the field.
2. Should possess college-level teaching experience.
3. Demonstrate clear promise of a successful career in teaching, scholarship, and service.
For Associate Professor:
1. Possess a Doctoral or terminal degree. *
2. Demonstrate continued professional growth** and success in full-time university teaching, research/scholarship, and service at the rank of Assistant Professor. In unusual cases, an outstanding record in only one of these activities and an adequate record in the others may be considered sufficient.
3. Demonstrate significant scholarly or scholarship/research contributions to the University, higher education, or the candidate's academic area(s) of specialization that have received peer recognition.
4. Possess 4 years of full-time university faculty experience at the rank of Assistant Professor.
For Professor:
1. Possess a Doctoral or terminal degree. *
2. Demonstrate continuing professional growth** and success in full-time university teaching, scholarship, and service.
3. Must have achieved distinction through significant scholarship or scholarship/research contributions to the University, higher education, or the candidate's academic area(s) of specialization that have received substantial peer recognition.
4. Through their professional accomplishments, demonstrate exemplary service to NSU and the profession at the national level.
5. Possess a minimum of 5 years of full-time university experience at the rank of Associate Professor.
Preferred Qualifications:
Is this a safety sensitive position? No
Background Screening Required? No
Pre-Employment Conditions:
