"Department Chair of Humanities (Full Professor or Associate Professor)"

The Department of Humanities at Michigan Technological University seeks an experienced scholar and leader with a commitment to interdisciplinarity to serve as department chair at the rank of full professor or associate professor nearing promotion to full in line with Michigan Tech. The Chair will lead our collaborative, multidisciplinary department in implementing a shared vision for excellence in scholarship, creative work, and teaching. The Chair will be responsible for developing and supporting new departmental initiatives as well as ongoing efforts to foster innovative interdisciplinary research and advance graduate and undergraduate program success. The Chair will also facilitate the involvement of Humanities in the new Michigan Tech Forward 2.0 and 100 PhD’s initiatives currently underway.

Our department offers undergraduate degrees in Communication, Culture and Media; English; and Scientific and Technical Communication, as well as graduate degrees in Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture. (For a complete list of our major and minor degree programs, please go to: https://www.mtu.edu/humanities/.) Our faculty specialize in communication, composition, creative writing, gender studies, literature, media studies, modern languages, philosophy, rhetoric, visual studies, technical communication, technology studies, and user experience, which are all integral to our university and broader community. The department houses the MTU First Year Writing Program, which prepares students for reading, writing, and information literacy at the university level and beyond. The department also stewards the Walker Labs for Arts & Humanities, WLAH, a unique media-production, computing, game studies, and language-resource center, a vital resource for students across campus. The Chair is supported by an Associate Chair, two administrative staff, a Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Composition, and Directors of the Undergraduate Degree Programs.

Michigan Tech’s campus hosts many research centers and institutes that support our vibrant campus research culture. Students participate in a range of activities and programs, from campus and community traditions such as the Parade of Nations, K-Day, and Winter Carnival to hands-on learning experiences in Michigan Tech’s Enterprise programs.

Michigan Tech is a hub for cultural activity in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, hosting the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, The McArdle Theatre, and an excellent Visual and Performing Arts department that produce events reflecting the uniqueness of the region, like New Music in the Mine, and also hosts the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra as well as choirs, jazz and concert bands, and other ensembles. The Humanities department also hosts the regionally acclaimed 41 North Film Festival and a Modern Languages Film Series.

The position will remain open until filled; review of applications will begin December 1, 2025. Please submit application materials to: http://www.employment.mtu.edu/cw/en-us/job/494059.

Applicants will need to upload the following documents:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Cover Letter
• Research Statement
• Statement of Administrative Philosophy

We strongly encourage applicants to address the required and desired qualifications (see below) in their cover letter along with an explanation of how they will contribute to the Vision and Mission of Michigan Tech.

Responsibilities and Essential Duties

Departmental Leadership

• Support departmental excellence in research/creative work, teaching, and service.
• Represent the department on the College of Sciences & Arts College Council and work collaboratively with the Dean, Associate Deans and other College Chairs.
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration within and beyond the department.
• Advance the strategic plans of the Department, the College, and the University.
• Advocate for departmental goals with administrators, other units, and alumni.
• Supervise department faculty and staff: make recommendations on reappointment, tenure, and promotion cases; and conduct performance reviews of department faculty and staff.

Departmental Educational and Research Programs:

• Lead recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students to department programs.
• Support faculty teaching and scholarship development.
• Collaborate with the Dean and the University's Office of Advancement to identify key priorities for fundraising and effectively engage with alumni and others
• Collaborate with the Dean and University Marketing and Communications to assist in promoting the department and its programs to external stakeholders to enhance Michigan Tech's reputation and recruiting
• Oversee the review and assessment of academic programs within the Department to support quality, efficiency, enrollment growth, accreditation, workforce, and societal needs.
• Provide leadership for the continued promotion of exchange agreements and collaborative programs with domestic and international universities.

Departmental Operations:

• Manage a diverse teaching and learning community.
• Actively mentor faculty and staff.
• Foster shared governance and transparency.
• Manage the department's finances responsibly and strategically to achieve short- and long-term goals.

Required Education, Certifications, Licensures

• PhD or other terminal degree in a Humanities field.
• Qualifications commensurate with the rank of professor or associate professor nearing promotion to full professor at Michigan Tech.

Required Experience

• Experience in an academic leadership position (including but not limited to leadership within a department, program, or research center/institute).
• Record of successful research/creative activity.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

• Documented excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.
• Demonstrated success in administering, developing, and supporting graduate programs.

Desirable Education and/or Experience

• A record of scholarship and teaching in a field represented in our department.
• Demonstrated advocacy for humanities programs in higher education and/or on a STEM facing campus.
• Proactive leadership with demonstrated excellence in promoting teamwork and effective organizational strategies.
• Experience working effectively within a structure of shared governance.
• Demonstrated leadership in interdisciplinary research and/or pedagogy.
• Demonstrated success in administering & developing successful undergraduate programs.
• Success in securing and leading externally funded research projects.
• Experience managing organizational budgets and/or donor relations.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

• Demonstrated success in working with people with a wide variety of personal characteristics and viewpoints.