The College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi invites applications for the position of Director of the McLean Institute for Partnerships and Community Engagement. After a broad-based strategic planning process, UM is organizing and expanding the McLean Institute, which will become the university’s coordinating unit for community engagement. Under the leadership of the director, the McLean Institute will rally the entire university to positively impact the state of Mississippi. The director and his or her staff will pursue a comprehensive plan to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with organizations fighting poverty in our state; will reward and support faculty who develop service-learning courses; will promote and organize student volunteerism; will increase opportunities for faculty and graduate students to pursue community-based research; will pursue and deploy grants and private dollars to support community engagement; and will celebrate service through campus-wide awards and scholarships. The director will be responsible for administering several significant endowments and two existing grant programs.
The director will report directly to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and will be empowered to work collaboratively with students and faculty from across the university to develop service initiatives and programs that are coordinated, focused, and effective. The director and his or her staff will systematically gather assessment data to improve and promote UM’s community engagement efforts.
The College is seeking an individual with an established record of accomplishment in the field of community engagement, including significant experience in service and service-learning development, administration, and assessment. The successful candidate will have research and teaching interests in community development, public outreach, translational research, poverty, and/or related subjects. Additionally, the successful candidate will have academic credentials supportive of an appointment at the rank of associate or full professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology or another department within the College of Liberal Arts. The successful candidate will also be a collaborative leader with excellent administrative judgment and a consistent record of collegiality. He or she will work closely with existing UM initiatives and programs that pursue service missions. Salary for this 12-month position is competitive.
The University of Mississippi is a public, comprehensive, research institution. As the oldest public institution of higher learning in the state and as a Carnegie Research University (high research activity), the institution’s primary functions are the creation, dissemination, and application of knowledge through a variety of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and public service activities. The university’s main campus at Oxford emphasizes a traditional, residential educational experience, with a central College of Liberal Arts and eight professional schools. In 2008, Forbes ranked UM 23rd among public universities in the United States, and, in 2011, Newsweek ranked our campus as the most beautiful in the nation. The town of Oxford, located in northern Mississippi near Memphis, has 19,000 residents and boasts public schools ranked in the top 100 by Offspring magazine. Oxford was cited by the Washington Post as “cosmopolitan, sophisticated, even trendy,” and by USA Today as one of the top six college towns in the nation.
Interested candidates should apply online at http://jobs.olemiss.edu by submitting a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three professional references. These materials should be attached to the on-line application. The search committee will begin reviewing applications immediately, and the position will be open until filled or until an adequate applicant pool is established. Women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply. The University of Mississippi is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ ADEA employer.
