Department Head/Professor of Communication
City: West Lafayette
Job Description:
Job Summary
The College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University invites applications for the position of Department Head, Brian Lamb School of Communication. The college seeks a dynamic leader with creative vision and an outstanding record of research, teaching, and service as well as previous administrative leadership experience to fill this position. Reporting to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the successful applicant will work alongside talented faculty, promote collaboration across disciplines, and play a crucial role in shaping the future of the college.
Brian Lamb School of Communication Overview
The Brian Lamb School of Communication is part of Purdue University's College of Liberal Arts and is home to the largest undergraduate population within the College's nine departments. The Lamb School consists of six interdependent units that focus on a broad array of human communication: health and risk communication; interpersonal communication; organizational communication; media, technology, and society; public relations; and political communication. The School has 43 full-time faculty and lecturers and more than 30 part-time instructors. Its top-ranked graduate program includes 30 funded students at both the Master's and PhD levels. Additionally, the Lamb School has a highly regarded online Master's program that regularly enrolls more than 100 graduate students.
The Lamb School also reaches far beyond the confines of the college and university. Its Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement (CCSE) is an interdisciplinary hub that works toward increased utilization of the C-SPAN Video Library and supports initiatives that foster academic research, experiential learning, and community engagement. The Lamb School is home to the Digital Media Production Center (DMPC), which provides opportunities to learn about and use digital media for presentations, interviewing, and reporting. More information about the Brian Lamb School of Communication is available at: www.cla.purdue.edu/communication.
College of Liberal Arts Overview
This is an exciting time to join the leadership team in the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University. As a vital component of a leading public research university, the college features a wide variety of excellent academic programs across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. We are committed to interdisciplinarity, innovation, and national leadership in higher education, most notably through our nationally recognized Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program, which reaches more than 10,000 students per year across campus.
Purdue offers substantial support for research and teaching at both the university and college levels. The college's Office of Research advances scholarship across its fields through a portfolio of targeted programs designed to promote collaboration and research excellence. The college's commitment to interdisciplinarity and innovation is apparent through its many faculty-led centers, labs, and initiatives. The college and its faculty are deeply committed to teaching excellence, and to the central role that liberal arts play in grounding a university curriculum. The deep integration of graduate and undergraduate students into research and experiential learning are among its major strengths. The college values intellectual rigor, open debate, and the exploration of diverse perspectives in the pursuit of knowledge.
Position Details
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Department / School Heads in the College of Liberal Arts serve as visionary academic leaders and chief advocates for their departments. They are responsible for driving strategic direction while ensuring operational excellence within their units. Primary responsibilities include academic leadership; managing the department's budget; faculty and lecturer mentorship and career development; advancing undergraduate and graduate student success which may include teaching at the graduate level; strategic resource management; and fostering external relations.
Heads collaborate closely with the Dean and the college's senior leadership team, partnering across departments to champion interdisciplinary initiatives and innovative problem-solving. Because Purdue is deeply invested in leadership development, Department Heads are supported by both the college and the provost's office through programs such as the New Heads Forum and ongoing professional development opportunities.
Required Qualifications
Applicants must have: a terminal degree related to the research areas of the Brian Lamb School of Communication; a record of scholarly achievement suitable for appointment as a full professor at Purdue; demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring of students and faculty; evidence of effective academic leadership; experience with securing extramural funding; outstanding interpersonal and communication skills with dedication to building and maintaining strong relationships with alumni and other stakeholders; and evidence of successful leadership in promoting a culture of intellectual openness and respectful exchange of ideas across multiple perspectives of scholarship.
Applications
We encourage qualified candidates to submit application materials online at https://careers.purdue.edu/job/Department-HeadProfessor-of-Communication/44256-en_US/, including a letter of application that describes qualifications for the position, curriculum vitae, names of three references, and statement of administrative / leadership philosophy. Review of applications will begin November 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. Questions should be directed to Search Chair, Melissa Remis at [redacted]. A background check is required for employment in this position.
Purdue University, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Brian Lamb School of Communication are committed to free and open inquiry in all matters. Candidates are encouraged to address in their cover letter how they are prepared to contribute to a climate that values free inquiry and academic freedom.
