Assistant Professor and Director of the Ethics and Leadership Initiative (EXPIRED)

The Ethics and Leadership Initiative in University of Dayton’s Fitz Center for Leadership in Community is seeking a collaborative and innovative director who is invested in working in a transdisciplinary setting to educate students, support partner organizations, and develop innovative programming in ethics and leadership. This is a unique opportunity for a faculty member who is committed to working in a collaborative setting that impacts students, faculty, and communities. This is a 9 month tenure track position at the rank of assistant professor beginning August 16, 2024

Position Summary:*

THE FITZ CENTER 

Established in 2002, and named in honor of the celebrated past president of the University, Bro. Raymond Fitz, S.M., the Fitz Center is an interdisciplinary center housed in the College of Arts and Sciences and of central importance to the entire University. It is built on sustained relationships with dozens of neighborhood, community, nonprofit, and government organizations and associates and serves as a connecting point for community engaged learning and scholarship. In all of its work, the Fitz Center adopts innovative asset-based strategies to civic and community needs and focuses on creating mutually beneficial partnerships. It reflects the University’s long-standing commitment to community-engaged teaching, service, research, and partnerships, a commitment affirmed in 2015 when the University received the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching “Community Engagement Classification.” 

A national leader in civic engagement and community-based learning, the Fitz Center initiates and sustains partnerships with urban neighborhoods and regional communities that promote comprehensive community building, provides a context for broadly connected learning and scholarship, and develops students and faculty as community leaders. The University’s Catholic and Marianist foundations and the broader Catholic Intellectual Tradition imbue the Fitz Center’s work. Its asset-based community building programs are founded on the co-creation of a widely shared vision and guided by the values of mutual respect, the common good, and a preferential option for the poor. Collaboration--between University faculty, staff, students and community partners--is at the core of the Fitz Center. In developing all of its programs, the Fitz Center is guided by best practices of community engaged learning and scholarship and the principles of the Catholic social tradition. 

To learn more about the Fitz Center go to: https://udayton.edu/artssciences/ctr/fitz/index.php

The University

UD is one of the nation’s largest Catholic universities, and the largest private university in Ohio. Embedded in the dynamic city of Dayton, OH, and grounded in its https://udayton.edu/rector/index.php Catholic, Marianist tradition, UD provides education to develop the whole student and is committed to experiential learning.

The University comprises five academic units: The College of Arts and Sciences, the Schools of Business Administration, Education and Health Sciences, Engineering, and Law. More than 82 academic programs are available at the undergraduate level. More than 35 centers and institutes, including the nationally recognized University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), provide faculty, students, and staff with tremendous opportunities for research and experiential learning. The University recently completed a strategic visioning process, whereby it strives to be a university that advances the common good. See udayton.edu/vision.

Dayton 

This opportunity is located in Dayton, Ohio. With a burgeoning downtown area, 20 expansive metroparks, a bike and scooter share program, historic neighborhoods, and the Dayton Aviation Heritage and National Historical Park, Dayton is a great place for those who want a bit of everything with a low cost of living, great schools, world-class arts and cultural communities, and sporting events.  

At the University of Dayton, we value inclusive excellence because we recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to academic and institutional excellence. Inclusive excellence requires a comprehensive, cohesive, and collaborative alignment of infrastructure, resources, and actions. We strive to be active, intentional, and to sustain engagement with and celebration of diversity in every dimension of institutional life. Because we seek a workforce with a wide range of perspectives and experiences, we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds.

The Position

We seek a collaborative and strategic academic leader to serve as Assistant Professor and Director of the Ethics and Leadership Initiative/Institute. This is a 9 month tenure track position beginning August 16, 2024 who reports to the Executive Director for the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community.

The successful director will have the opportunity to lead an endowed Initiative at the heart of the University of Dayton’s liberal arts education, to expand curricular and co-curricular initiatives engaging with dynamic faculty and students across the university, as well as fostering and sustaining partnerships throughout the University and in the broader community. This is an excellent opportunity for a candidate who is interested in deepening student curricular and co-curricular understanding and application of ethics and their formation as future leaders. 

The director is responsible for administering the Ethics and Leadership Certificate, Foundations mini-course, Ethics Bowl, Ethics Club, and Ethics and Leadership Internship. The tenure track position is a 9 month position and reports to the Executive Director of the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community. The ideal candidate would have a background in ethics and leadership formation, experience working with students, directing and developing programming, fundraising experience, and working with multiple partners, on and off campus. 

At the University of Dayton, we value inclusive excellence because we recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to academic and institutional excellence. Inclusive excellence requires a comprehensive, cohesive and collaborative alignment of infrastructure, resources and actions. We strive to be active, intentional, and sustain engagement with and celebration of diversity in every dimension of institutional life. Because we seek a workforce with a wide range of perspectives and experiences, we encourage all candidates to apply.

Minimum Qualifications:*

An earned doctorate or terminal degree in a discipline or interdisciplinary field aligned with the programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Record of:

effective administration of ethics and leadership related programming

development of partnerships on and off campus 

effective teaching and mentoring

Record of peer reviewed scholarship/research/artistic accomplishment

Successful experience in:

fostering collaborations across academic units.

supporting inclusive excellence and the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

student support responsibilities, such as any of the following: recruiting, mentoring and retaining students in a program teaching, mentoring, or working with students from socially and culturally diverse communities leading community engaged or experiential learning

Preferred Qualifications:*

While not everyone may meet all preferred qualifications, the ideal candidate will bring many of the following:

Established record of research in ethics and leadership and/or public facing academic work.

Successful experience in one or more of the following:

with asset-based model of community building

supervising graduate students

communicating effectively in writing with diverse audiences, including external funders, the media, faculty, and students

fundraising or applying for external funding

Successful experience in programmatic responsibilities, such as any of the following:

developing and implementing new initiatives and/or programs 

managing a budget 

interdisciplinary engagement and external partnerships 

enhancing existing programs and developing curricular and co-curricular initiatives, and pedagogical innovations 

evaluating programs using appropriate approaches to assessment

Effective interpersonal communication skills

Effective oral communication skills

Effective classroom management skills

Commitment to breadth of education including educating the whole person in the Marianist tradition to support the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and a commitment of service to the community, university and profession

Special Instructions for Applicants:

Applicants should submit

a CV,

a letter of application addressing the ways in which the applicant meets all of the required and any preferred qualifications, and how their past and present experiences have prepared them well for this unique role, 

and 3 letters of recommendation.