Academic Department Head (Special Education & Communication Sciences and Disorders)

Title: Academic Department Head (Special Education & Communication Sciences and Disorders)

Employee Classification: AP - Administrative Professional

Pay Grade:

Division: Academic and Student Affairs

Department: ACE - AA-College of Education

Campus Location: Main Campus

General Summary

Eastern Michigan University invites applications and nominations for Head of the Department of Special Education & Communication Sciences and Disorders (SPCD). Reporting to the Dean of the College of Education and providing leadership to over 20 faculty and staff, the Department Head will serve a twelve-month administrative appointment with a right to return to a tenured-faculty line. Applicants should demonstrate experience and record consistent with a tenured faculty in SPCD at Eastern Michigan University. The position is available September 1, 2024.

Eastern Michigan University is an R2 institution enrolling approximately 18,000 students and offering an outstanding benefits package and a collegial work environment. EMU’s distinct mix of comprehensive academic resources, strong community initiatives, and nationally recognized undergraduate and graduate research achievements sets it apart. The EMU campus is located in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor community, five miles from downtown Ann Arbor and 35 miles west of Detroit, MI and Windsor, Ontario.

The Special Education Program offers a wide range of undergraduate categorical special education degrees leading to initial state licensure in one or more categories. The program also offers a range of certificates, masters, and specialist programs. The Communication Sciences and Disorders Program offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in speech-language pathology. The Master of Arts degree, required for professional practice in the field, prepares students to work clinically in a wide variety of settings. The Department’s Speech and Hearing Clinic is housed in the College of Education Clinical Suites and provides clinical experience for the clinicians in training and services the community. The Delores Soderquist Brehm Center is housed within the Department of SPCD. The Brehm Center supports the principles of transformational education via research and scholar/teacher/leader development. The goal of the center is to support training of special educators and speech/language pathologists through research on best practices for helping people with disabilities. The department is proud of its legacy of teacher and clinical preparation and development that is deeply grounded in principles and practices that address diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

As a department, we seek candidates who provide leadership by administering and directing the developmental, personnel, financial and operational activities of an academic department in collaboration with faculty; advancing the department’s vision, mission, goal, and serving as a liaison for the department to the college and university; establishing and promoting relationships with state, and federal agencies and other key stakeholders. In collaboration with faculty, create opportunities and work with community to develop programs that are aligned with our mutual interest. Candidates should demonstrate the capacity to engage with communities of practice with ethnically, racially, linguistically, and otherwise diverse populations and historically marginalized youth, families, and communities.

Minimum Qualifications:

-An earned doctorate in Special Education, Speech Language Pathology, or related field

-5 years of teaching experience in higher education

-5 years of preK-12 teaching or clinical setting

-5 years of administrative leadership in preK-12, higher education, or clinical settings

-Distinguished record of scholarship across research, teaching, and service sufficient to meet expectations and appointment at rank of associate or full professor with tenure in SPCD  

-Success as a collaborative leader, with effective interpersonal and communication skills

-Ability to address the challenges of both special education and speech-language pathology disciplines

-Demonstrated commitment to and achievement in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in higher education settings

Preferred Qualifications:

-Clinical experience in speech-language pathology

-Administrative, managerial, and budget related knowledge and skills in academic settings

-Demonstrated success in grant writing

-Excellence in faculty development and mentorship through their leadership and scholarship

-We are especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice through their teaching, research, and service.

-Knowledge of developmental, personnel, financial and operational activities of an academic department

Special Instructions:

-A letter of interest that addresses the required and desired qualifications as well as approach to leadership;

-A one-page statement of how the applicant can contribute to Eastern Michigan University’s values and practices regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice;

-Detailed curriculum vita;

-Names/telephone numbers of at least three references.    

Additional materials may be required as applicants advance in the search process and/or prior to an official offer.

Application review will begin March 4, 2024. Review of applications will continue until a finalist is identified. For more information contact Lidia Lee ([email protected]), Chair of the Search Committee, or Carmen McCallum ([email protected]), Associate Dean.

Appointment Percentage:

100%