Chair, Department of English at Florida State University

Deadline for Applications: 09/08/2023

Florida State University (FSU) invites nominations and applications for the position of Chair of the English Department. Reporting directly to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the chair will be responsible for setting and managing the strategic, operational, and financial direction and implementing a unified vision for the English department. The college seeks a dynamic leader who will work in concert with the faculty, staff, and students of a department that unites several large major programs, with the goal of maintaining its culture of excellence and of capitalizing on its diversified scholarly and academic potential to lead the department and the University to greater prominence in the State of Florida and beyond. We seek those who have ample administrative and budgetary management experience in a multifaceted academic unit. Additionally, candidates are expected to have a distinguished record of scholarship and teaching excellence at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The Role of the English Department Chair:

The English Department chair is expected to lead, support, and empower faculty, staff, and students in the creation and carrying out of a unified vision that promotes the department, enhances recruitment efforts, and equally and fairly endorses shared goals for success in the various departmental programs; to foster an environment of collegiality, transparency, teamwork, respect, inclusion, and diversity, in which faculty governance and effective communication are highly valued; to embody trust, patience, judiciousness, and impartiality in negotiating the needs and concerns of all stakeholders in the department; and to advocate for the department, its high standards of scholarship and teaching excellence, and its long-standing values of diversity and inclusion, within the College and FSU as a whole, as well as in the State of Florida. The Department of English’s 51 full-time faculty members and 160 graduate students are internationally recognized for their innovative research and publications. Along with adjunct and specialized faculty, they serve 840 undergraduate majors in three undergraduate tracks: Creative Writing; Editing, Writing, and Media; and Literature, Media, and Culture. Graduate students can earn advanced degrees in three tracks: Creative Writing (MFA, PhD); Literature, Media, and Culture (MA, PhD); and Rhetoric and Composition (MA, PhD). All students benefit from the department’s College Composition Program, the Reading-Writing Center, and Digital Studio. The department offers a wide range of courses in literary fields, genres, and media, which equip students to venture out into every corner of the new creative economies: from academia to artistic entrepreneurialism, from publishing to social media marketing.

In collaboration with Program Directors and Associate Chairs for Graduate Studies, Undergraduate Studies, and Curriculum, and with the administrative support of 12 full-time staff members, the chair will administer the department; oversee the budget; manage faculty and staff evaluation; promote faculty development and productivity, research, student success, and curricular innovation; and develop and maintain external relations and multi-disciplinary collaborations within the department and across campus. The chair will recruit and retain diverse faculty, staff, and students. As a faculty member, the chair will also be involved in instructional tasks. For more information on the English Department follow this link: https://english.fsu.edu/ 

Qualifications:

The successful candidate must possess a doctorate in English; must meet the institutional requirements for tenure and be eligible for the rank of Full Professor in the department; must possess strong problem-solving, listening, communication, organizational, management, and budgetary skills; must have a proven background in recruitment, mentoring, and the development of outstanding academic, scholarly, and administrative leadership; must show evidence of scholarly accomplishments that meet the department’s and College’s expectations; must show evidence of excellence in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The ideal candidate will also be able to demonstrate these preferred qualifications:

• Experience in research development, including grants and external funding.
• A proven ability to foster teamwork and interdisciplinary dynamics between diverse programs.
• A proven ability to build solid structures of communication and to promote transparency in reporting.
• Ability to build interdisciplinary connections across campus programs and disciplines.

Nomination and Application ProcessGreenwood/Asher & Associates, LLC is assisting Florida State University in this search. Applications and nominations are now being accepted. For a full application package, please submit a cover letter, CV, and a list of five references. Confidential inquiries, nominations and application materials should be directed to Greenwood/Asher & Associates. Submission of application materials as PDF attachments is strongly encouraged. The search will be conducted with a commitment of confidentiality for candidates until finalists are selected. Initial screening of applications will begin immediately and will continue until an appointment is made.

Please direct inquiries, nominations, and application materials to: 

Jeremy Duff, Vice President, and Search Manager

Email: [email protected]

Itza Walters, Senior Executive Search Consultant

E-mail: [email protected]

For more information about FSU, please visit www.fsu.edu

Florida State University (University) is an equal opportunity employer and educational provider committed to a policy of non-discrimination for any member of the University's community on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veterans' status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other legally protected group status. This policy applies to faculty, staff, students, visitors, applicants, and contractors in a manner consistent with applicable laws, regulations, ordinances, orders, and University policies, procedures, and processes.