COFAC-3831, Professor and Chairperson - Military Veterans

Professor and Chairperson

Department of Communication Studies

College of Fine Arts and Communication

COFAC-3831

Position:
The College of Fine Arts & Communication (COFAC) invites applications for Chairperson of the Department of Communication Studies with the faculty rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor. Preferred start date is July 2025.

Qualifications:

PhD in Communication Studies, or a related field, and should be eligible for consideration as associate or full professor. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success as an educational leader at the department, college or university level, with a minimum of 3 years of administrative experience that includes a strong record of teaching, service, and scholarship within the field of Communication Studies. The candidate must be committed to the university's goal of inclusiveness and be committed to working with diverse populations. Lived experience in navigating difference across systems of power and privilege and intersectional, multicultural practice is preferred for this position. The candidate must also be committed to the department's emphasis on interdisciplinarity in scholarship and teaching. Professor : In addition to having the qualifications of an associate professor, the appointee ordinarily shall have established an outstanding record of teaching and research, scholarship, or where appropriate, creative activity, and, where appropriate to the mission of Towson University, a national reputation. The appointee shall have a minimum of ten years of full-time University/college faculty experience. Exceptions may be made for faculty who have attained national distinction for comparable professional activity or research. There shall be continuing evidence of relevant and effective service to the institution, the community, and the profession.

Responsibilities:

The chairperson is both a faculty member and departmental leader. In addition to the expectations of a faculty member in terms of teaching, scholarship and service, the role of the chairperson will emphasize leadership. Working closely with the faculty and staff in the department, the Chair is responsible for guiding the department administratively. The Chair will lead faculty and staff to create an effective learning organization by:

• Ensuring that the needs of the students in the programs supported by the department are met;
• Supporting the scholarship and professional growth of faculty and staff;
• Supporting the department's commitment to mentoring for students, staff and faculty;
• Providing recommendations regarding faculty reappointment, merit, tenure and promotion and staff performance evaluations;
• Fostering curricular innovation and experiential learning to grow student enrollment;
• Supporting program development for the Public Communication Center, the Cultural Studies Program, TUNE, the Debate Program, and the Graduate Program;
• Increasing scholarships and Study Abroad/Away funding for students;
• Advocating for the academic mission, values, and needs of the department, college, and university;
• Assuming administrative responsibility in staffing classes and collaborating with department faculty/staff in planning the schedule;
• Supervising assessment of programs and courses and leading review of academic programs.
• Increasing visibility of the department across the university;
• Administering the departmental budget and collaborating with the department faculty in the planning of the budget;
• Serving as the Department's representative and liaison with other University offices and departments; Serving on elected and appointed committees and acceptance of other duties as assigned by the Dean.

Terms of Appointment:

The successful candidate will have a record of academic accomplishment consistent with the rank of Full or Associate Professor with tenure. The appointment as department chairperson is in addition to the appointment as a tenured faculty member. The initial term of appointment for a chairperson is three years, which may be renewed for a second three-year term pending a satisfactory performance review.

The Department:

The department ( www.towson.edu/comm ) offers undergraduate majors in Communication Studies and Cultural Studies and undergraduate minors in Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, and Professional Communication. At the graduate level, the department offers a Master of Arts in Communication and Advocacy. The department offers the majors and minors at our main campus and our Towson University Northeast (TUNE) campus and annually enrolls approximately 400 majors served by 15 full-time and 25 part-time faculty members. Department faculty specialize in rhetoric, organizational communication, critical/cultural studies, performance studies, intercultural communication, and critical/qualitative research methods.

The College:

With 135 full-time faculty members and 2,500 students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) encourages students to develop their creative and analytical abilities, tailored to their aspirations, by encouraging dialogue, inspiration, passion and beauty. These attributes are fostered through a broad liberal arts education and specialized professional training. Our seven departments - Art + Design, Art History, Art Education; Communication Studies; Dance; Electronic Media and Film; Mass Communication; Music; and Theatre Arts-offer a wide range of majors and concentrations. COFAC's multidimensional education is student-centered and dynamic, seeking to engage the future by fostering interdisciplinary work, welcoming diversity in people and ideas, building collaborations with the community, and continually challenging boundaries. It offers Towson and the greater Baltimore community educational opportunities, performances, screenings, lectures, and exhibitions that inform, challenge, inspire, and uplift.

Towson University

Towson University ( www.towson.edu, https://www.towson.edu/about/mission/ ) was founded in 1866, is recognized by U.S. News and World Report as a Top 100 National University, is Baltimore's largest university, and is the largest public, comprehensive institution in the University of Maryland System. TU enrolls over 17,000 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students across six academic colleges, has over 911 full-time faculty, and offers more than 66 bachelor's, 47 master's, 36 graduate certificates, and 6 doctoral programs. Our centrally located campus sits on 330 rolling green acres and is 10 miles north of Baltimore, 45 miles north of Washington, D.C., and 95 miles south of Philadelphia.

Application Process :

Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled.

Submit the following with your application:

• A letter of application addressing the candidate's unique profile in relation to this position and the department. Please address teaching, scholarship and administrative experience in the letter.
• A current CV with the names of at least three references and contact information (letters of recommendation may be requested from candidates who continue to a later stage of the process).
• Unofficial transcripts of institutions of higher learning.
• A one-page philosophy of leadership statement.

Click here to apply. Please note that the search number for which you are applying is COFAC-3831.

Please be sure to visit the Applicant Data Form to complete a voluntary on-line form. All data collected are for internal, state, and/or federal reporting and will not be used for other purposes.

Salary and Benefits:

Targeted Salary Range: $115,000 - $120,000 Associate Professor / $125,000 - $130,000 Professor commensurate with experience.

Benefits: TU offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes excellent health, life and retirement plans; and tuition remission. To learn more about our benefits, click here for regular faculty/regular lecturer or here for contingent lecturer. TU also offers a variety of great perks and discounts, which can be found here.

Background Check:

A Criminal Background Investigation is required for the hired candidate and the results may impact employment.

COVID-19 Statement:

The safety of our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors has been our top priority and the focus of every one of our decisions since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the University System of Maryland (USM) has strongly encouraged full COVID vaccination and up-to-date booster shots (when eligible) for all faculty, staff, and students at all schools in the USM as both a reasonable and necessary means of protecting our health and safety.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Towson University is an equal opportunity employer and has a strong institutional commitment to diversity, as detailed in "A More Inclusive TU: Advancing Equity and Diversity (2020 - 25)." TU is a national leader in inclusive excellence, the only institution in Maryland with zero achievement gap, and 68% growth in minority enrollment over the past 5 years. We encourage applications from a variety of (dis)abilities, cultural, ethnic, race, sex, gender identity/expressions, national origins, ages, veteran status, color, religious, socio-economic, sexual orientations and belief backgrounds.