Director School of Science, Penn State Behrend

Penn State Behrend invites applications and nominations for the position of Director of the School of Science. The Director serves as the School's chief academic and administrative officer (duties comparable to those of a Dean) and reports to the Vice-Chancellor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The Director and the School’s academic leadership team oversee 57 full-time faculty members, Bachelor of Science degree programs in Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Nursing, Physics, Secondary Education in Mathematics, and Interdisciplinary Science and Business, an interdisciplinary program in Functional Data Analytics, several minors, and a certificate program in Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics. In addition, the School offers courses in astronomy and geosciences and houses the Yahn Planetarium. The School supports research in the traditional science disciplines, as well as supporting growing, all-campus research interests in addressing women’s health issues, energy and sustainability, and polymer science. In particular, the School’s strengths include Great Lakes research (Pennsylvania Sea Grant), collaboration with Magee-Womens Research Institute (Pittsburgh), and collaboration with the Penn State College of Agriculture and the Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center, all with an emphasis on undergraduate research.

The College emphasizes faculty excellence in teaching and research. Enrollments in the School of Science are strong, in part because students benefit from small class sizes, engagement with faculty members, and opportunities to conduct undergraduate research while obtaining a Penn State degree. Students engage in challenging courses and degree programs that prepare them for the competitive job market, graduate school, and professional training programs. Many faculty research programs are nationally and internationally recognized, are funded extramurally, and involve undergraduate researchers. Many research and teaching laboratories are equipped with advanced instrumentation/equipment, including confocal, atomic force, and scanning electron microscopes, state-of-the-art molecular biology facilities, a high-field NMR spectrometer, a chemical instrumentation laboratory, two astronomical observatories, geographical information science and surveying instrumentation, and a Mathematics Education model teaching laboratory.

Candidates must possess leadership, strategic planning, budgetary experience and have demonstrated potential for academic and administrative leadership. Candidates must have a teaching and research record with credentials commensurate for appointment at the rank of full professor with tenure in one of the School’s academic disciplines. Candidates should also have at least three years of administrative experience, including progressively increasing responsibilities; have experience working with students, administrators, and faculty members from a broad range of disciplines; have experience in innovative and interdisciplinary program development; have strong skills in written, oral, and interpersonal communication; be committed to shared governance; be strongly supportive of diversity; and have experience in fundraising and outreach efforts.