Department Head

Overview

Auburn University’s Harrison College of Pharmacy (HCOP) is accepting applications for the position of Department Head, Drug Discovery and Development. This is a twelve-month, tenure track position at the Professor level. The College is seeking a visionary leader who can sustain the Department’s educational excellence, while increasing research activity and extramurally funded scholarship.

The Department of Drug Discovery and Development (DDD) focuses on basic and translational research and instruction in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. The department’s faculty have expertise in synthetic medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, pharmacogenomics, pharmaceutics and drug delivery. This position offers the opportunity to lead an expanding enterprise in the context of the College’s recently completed Research Visioning initiative. Through this initiative, the College established three areas of distinction: (1) substance use disorders and emerging drug trends, (2) healthy brain aging, and (3) cardiometabolic syndrome. The Department Head is expected to contribute to the College’s research mission in these areas of distinction.

Opportunities for collaboration are present within the Harrison College of Pharmacy as well as with health sciences colleges throughout Auburn University and the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. Auburn University is an R1 institution and is an equal partner institution within the NIH-supported Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) at UAB, which comprises 11 academic research institutions across a tri-state region. The College has remote learning sites throughout the state where additional opportunities exist, including on the University of South Alabama campus in Mobile, Alabama.

Applications: To assure full consideration, applicants must include a curriculum vita, transcripts, a letter of interest providing a summary of qualifications for the position, a statement of goals related to the position, and the name and contact information for three references. Review of applications will begin June 16, 2026, and will continue until a suitable candidate is selected and recommended for appointment.

Only candidates who have uploaded all the required documents will be considered. Additional materials may be requested at a later stage in the selection process.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of this position include participating in leadership activities of the Harrison College of Pharmacy by working with the Dean and as a member of the executive leadership team; providing leadership for the Department of Drug Discovery and Development through oversight of administrative operations, budget processes, departmental faculty teaching, research, outreach, and supervision of faculty and staff; fostering a supportive culture that prioritizes collaboration, promotes faculty and staff development, and ensures alignment of departmental activities with the College’s strategic plan; and representing the department’s interests to various constituencies. This individual will work with the Dean and HCOP leadership to advance strategic priorities related to the College and the Department of Drug Discovery and Development.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications include all of the following:

• Possess a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences or a health-related field.
• Have academic credentials sufficient to meet tenure eligibility requirements for the rank of Professor.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Evidence of strong leadership and management skills.
• An outstanding scientific background.
• An established and ongoing record of obtaining extramural funding.
• Ability to foster an interdisciplinary approach to advance biomedical and pharmaceutical research within the Department and College.
• Ability to advance our education mission within our undergraduate, professional, and graduate programs.
• Candidates must meet eligibility requirements to work in the United States at the time of appointment and continue working legally for the term of employment.