The Founding Director, as the Chief Academic and Administrative Officer of the new School of Engineering at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, is a leader who helps guide innovation, learning, community engagement, research and the university’s strategic mission. Academically, the director is responsible for leading the school’s faculty hiring and promotion decisions across all ranks, amplifying its collective research and scholarly productivity, and cultivating a culture of curricular innovation that leads to world-class student outcomes. Administratively, the director oversees strategic planning, budget management, and fundraising and promotes community-engaged scholarship, outreach, and partnerships to ensure that the school’s operations are inclusive, effective, efficient and impactful. The director takes proactive actions to maintain ABET accreditation of its engineering programs. The director provides the overall vision and leadership to guide and expand the school to be the premier public School of Engineering in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The Director is also responsible for ensuring equity and excellence in research, discovery and creative activity; educational programs; and service that emanates from the school while fostering a culture within the school to achieve the university’s mission of Transforming Lives. The Director exemplifies, supports, acknowledges, and commemorates the individual traits and behaviors that foster a sense of variety, fairness, togetherness and acceptance among every member of the School.
The successful candidate will promote student achievement, enriching the lives of students including non-traditional, international and first-generation college students. The director will drive enrollment, retention, and academic programs and research/scholarship, while amplifying the school’s engagement with the broader community.
By capitalizing on the university's urban essence, the director will chart a course for growth within the ever-evolving higher education landscape and will be pivotal in advancing the school’s alignment with UMSL's mission and objectives.
THE SCHOOL
A new School of Engineering is being established at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) to provide rigorous, relevant and affordable engineering education to a diverse and talented population of students to address the evolving need for engineers and economic growth of the region, state and beyond. The UMSL School of Engineering will house our ABET-accredited bachelor of science degree programs in mechanical, electrical and civil engineering whose engineering content are also offered through a Joint Engineering Program with Washington University. Additional bachelor’s degrees, as well as graduate degrees, will be added as the school grows. The school will be committed to accessibility and flexibility ensuring that students can pursue their educational goals in a manner that suits their needs. The school will be dedicated to excellence to ensure that students, including adult learners, post-traditional students, returning students, transfer students, students with disabilities, students with diverse academic backgrounds, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, international students, professional students, parents, and more receive the highest quality education and are equipped to make meaningful contributions to the engineering workforce. Faculty will conduct scholarship to expand the bounds of engineering knowledge. The school will be housed in newly renovated teaching and research labs. This includes a Student Project Design Laboratory where students will turn their innovative ideas into reality. This facility is being funded by a $15-million grant from the State of Missouri and is expected to be completed in 2026.
THE ROLE
The director serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the UMSL School of Engineering and is responsible for the planning, management and quality of the school’s academic and research programs. Reporting to Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Steven Berberich, the director is expected to provide visionary and strategic leadership for the school as well as to exercise influence and leadership across campus, working closely with other UMSL senior leaders and administrators to establish and implement priorities for the entire university. The director is also the face of the school externally, fostering and developing relationships with businesses, community colleges, state government, donors, funders, alumni and other stakeholder groups.
The director holds financial and operational responsibility for the School of Engineering, managing its annual operating budget. The director will be supported by an administrative assistant and will be responsible for hiring coordinators for the mechanical, electrical and civil engineering programs. Additional faculty will be hired in future years. As of Fall 2023, there were approximately 220 undergraduate students in the UMSL Joint Engineering Program with Washington University.
The UMSL School of Engineering will embody a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, inclusivity and creativity. This vibrant environment will empower students, staff and faculty to collaborate effectively, leveraging their collective expertise to educate and positively influence both the local community and the broader world.
Central to our philosophy is the principle of meeting students where they are, ensuring that every individual's unique needs and circumstances are acknowledged and addressed. Under the director's leadership, the school will foster an atmosphere of intellectual freedom, encouraging innovative thinking and nurturing the talents of future leaders within the engineering community. The school will strive to create impactful initiatives and programs that shape the future of engineering and positively impact the region's economy.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Founding Director has a historic opportunity to create the first engineering school at a public research university in the St. Louis metropolitan region. This program is vital to the future of UMSL and the region. It will expand educational opportunities for students and contribute to the growth of companies including Boeing, Ameren, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Honeywell, and Burns & McDonnell. At this pivotal time, the director of the UMSL School of Engineering will focus on the following:
Develop a strategic and entrepreneurial vision for the UMSL School of Engineering.
Working in close collaboration with the campus leadership, the director will seize the opportunity to develop a strategic and entrepreneurial vision for the new School of Engineering that will attract diverse students and high-quality faculty, foster ground-breaking research, and meet the needs of the engineering community in the St. Louis metropolitan region and beyond.
Hire the first faculty cohort in the new UMSL School of Engineering.
The director will oversee the hiring of the first faculty for the new school with top priority given to the coordinators of the mechanical, electrical and civil engineering programs. Through these hires, the director will shape the character of the new school.
Oversee the outfitting of the new engineering teaching and research laboratories.
Renovation of 20,000 sq.ft. of new engineering teaching and research laboratories, as well as the school’s offices, will be well underway by the time the director is onboarded. The director will have the unique opportunity to outfit these spaces with state-of-the-art equipment, thereby playing a significant role in defining the school's future and legacy.
Foster a culture of inclusive excellence that promotes faculty, staff and student morale to ensure a sense of belonging and advance the School of Engineering’s commitment to cultural competency.
The director will be looked to as a leader, in both word and example, who nurtures and continually reinforces a climate of acceptance and inclusive excellence where all members of the community can reach their individual and collective potential. Through transparent and accessible leadership, the director will provide support for faculty and staff at all stages of their careers and strengthen mechanisms for shared governance and data-informed decision-making.
The director will maintain an environment that operates based on openness, civility and respect and enhance the school’s work in preparing socially responsible engineers. This includes identifying pipelines for access and effective means of marketing programs to prospective students, as well as enhancing student success and retention efforts. Recruiting, supporting and retaining eminent faculty who reflect the students and communities the UMSL School of Engineering serves are also critical priorities. The director will bring a nuanced understanding of the critical role that engineers play in enhancing equity and promoting social justice.
Working collaboratively with senior leaders on campus, the director will champion and advocate for the School of Engineering and serve as the external face of the school in the community.
As the face of the School of Engineering, the director must be an effective advocate, emissary and public speaker who will enhance the school’s profile and resourcing. The director will be a member of the Provost Council and will engage with the Washington University Dean of the Joint Engineering Program. The director is expected to both personally engage in and encourage faculty to engage in research and scholarship that addresses the most pressing challenges facing our society and contributes to the enhanced quality of life for all. The director, as a thought leader, will elevate the School of Engineering’s reputation, voice and opportunities for impact both on campus and externally with businesses and government. The director serves as a prominent representative of the school in local, regional and national contexts, fostering partnerships, securing funding opportunities, and promoting the school’s impact and contributions to the engineering community and society at large. In essence, the director’s leadership and advocacy are essential in positioning the UMSL School of Engineering as a vibrant hub of innovation, scholarship and transformative engineering education and research within the university and beyond.
The director of the School of Engineering must embody strong leadership qualities and serve as a passionate advocate for the school within the university community. This individual should be dedicated to fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and excellence while actively promoting the school’s mission, values and achievements to university leadership and across the institution.
As the highest-ranking academic official within the School of Engineering, the director plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction and overall trajectory of the school. It is imperative that the director possesses the ability to effectively communicate the school’s vision, goals, and needs to university leadership, advocating for resources, support and recognition to further advance the school’s mission. By forging strong relationships with university administrators, department heads and faculty from other colleges, the director can facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations, leverage shared resources, and champion initiatives that benefit both the School of Engineering and the broader university community.
Strategically grow the School of Engineering’s enrollment and resource base.
In a constrained fiscal climate at the state and federal level, the director will be expected to develop and foster relationships with critical stakeholders such as businesses, alumni, funding agencies, policymakers and donors to articulate unique opportunities for collaboration and areas for investment. They will work closely with University Advancement to fundraise and secure resources to support endowed chairs, future graduate student support, faculty research and teaching support and scholarships. In addition to philanthropy, the director will bring an entrepreneurial vision to develop new and innovative revenue streams, including investing in the continued growth of online and non-degree programs, to drive enrollment and impact and support the school’s aspirations and priorities.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- A terminal degree in engineering and a proven record of success in teaching, research/scholarship and service commensurate with the appointment as a tenured faculty member at the rank of Professor in the School of Engineering.
- A record of outstanding administrative and leadership success in academic organizations.
QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS
While no one candidate will embody every quality, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:
Leadership:
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Leadership skills that promote collaboration on achieving common goals that balance empathy and accountability and that emphasize integrity, confidentiality and tact.
Program Startup:
Experience in launching and growing engineering academic programs.
Accreditation:
Experience with a commitment to maintaining ABET accreditation of engineering programs.
Metropolitan Engineer Preparation:
Experienced and enthusiastic about working in a metropolitan and urban setting, particularly in educating engineers who contribute to the economy of the greater St. Louis region and beyond.
Collaboration and Commitment:
Demonstrates commitment to excellence in advancing educational programs, research opportunities, and innovative program development. Willingness to collaborate with partners within and outside of the UMSL campus.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills:
The ability to communicate effectively, compassionately, and empathetically with staff, faculty, and students and create an environment that is positive, collegial, and transparent with a commitment to shared governance.
Student-Centered Mission and Decision-Making:
Evidence of collaborative and strategic decision-making aligned with a student-centered mission, supporting research and academic programming.
Innovative Program Development:
Experience in developing and implementing innovative programs or initiatives to enhance student access, enrollment, retention and success for a largely diverse set of college students including but not limited to first-generation, adult learners, returning students, transfer students, community college graduates, veterans, parents, working professionals, international, students with disabilities, students with diverse academic backgrounds, and more.
Values Commitment:
Experience in valuing the uniqueness of every individual and striving to ensure inclusive learning and working environments.
External Partnerships:
Leadership in building productive corporate, community college, and other local and regional partnerships. Experience developing long-term plans and strategies for maintaining and strengthening those relationships as well as inspiring trust and confidence.
External Resource Generation:
An enthusiasm for and proven record of accomplishment in raising funds from a variety of sources, including private donors, foundations, corporations and government agencies, as well as through outreach to alumni.
Academic Excellence and Financial Acumen:
A scholar with impeccable judgment, a demonstrated research record, and a commitment to academic excellence in recruiting, developing and retaining faculty and practitioners. Possesses an astute understanding of university finances and the relationships among academic priorities and budgeting.
The university invites nominations and applications (letter of interest and full resume/CV). Review of materials will begin immediately and continue until an adequate pool is established, or until the appointment is made. Later in the search process, additional information may be sought from interested candidates, along with the names and contact information for at least five references. Candidates will be notified before references are contacted.
It is preferred, however, that all nominations and applications be submitted prior to September 30th , 2024.
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