Position Summary:
Oversee the administration of a merged Telecommunication/Film and Journalism department. Teach undergraduate and graduate students and conduct a scholarly research program. Expected starting date: 16 August 2016.
Details
The College of Communication and Information Sciences at The University of Alabama seeks a chair to oversee the administration of a merged Journalism and Telecommunication/Film department. The new chair will have the opportunity to help shape this newly created unit, which includes 32 full-time faculty members teaching some 900 undergraduate and graduate students in a media and mass communication curriculum. The department has a faculty of eminent teachers, scholars and artists with national and international reputations.
The department, one of four academic units in the College, includes degree programs in the journalism and telecommunication/film areas. Courses are offered in broadcast, print and digital news, sports media, television and cinema, documentary film, media production and media management. Media criticism, history, law and ethics also are integral parts of the curriculum.
The department offers a Master of Arts in telecommunication and film and a Master of Arts in journalism. Both provide scholarly and professional training to full- and part-time students. Departmental faculty holding the Ph.D. also have the opportunity to teach in the College of Communication and Information Sciences doctoral program, with specialty areas in mass communication; library and information sciences; and critical, cultural and rhetorical studies.
The Department works closely with other units in the College, including media facilities in the College’s new 50,000 square foot Digital Media Center, home to the Center for Public Television, Alabama Public Radio, and WVUA 23, a full-power commercial television station serving a top-50 television market.
Requirements
A Ph.D. in communication or a closely related field is required. Candidates should be at the professor or senior associate professor rank, and should have the academic credentials and professional reputation that warrant a senior-level appointment at a major research institution. Candidates should have a distinguished record of research, college-level administrative experience, evidence of teaching excellence, and professional experience. The search is open with respect to subfield specialization. The successful candidate would be appointed to the permanent faculty and would serve as chair for an initial term of three years.
The chair directs the teaching, research, creative activity and service efforts for a department with scholars in media effects, media arts, critical-cultural studies, identity studies, history, law and ethics, media sociology, media management and audience analysis. For fall 2016, we seek a leader who understands and shares our department’s mission to develop critically thoughtful media practitioners and citizens who can communicate credibly and creatively in an ever-changing media environment. The successful candidate will be a scholar who values innovation, creativity, rigorous inquiry, collegiality, and diversity, and who will contribute to the department’s research/creative activity profile beyond her or his term as chair. The successful candidate will have a strong commitment to collaborative decision-making and faculty governance.
Salary
Salary will be competitive and commensurate with credentials and experience.
The University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is the state’s flagship public university and offers the full course of academic programs and social life to its approximately 37,000 students. It is located in Tuscaloosa, which has a metropolitan population of more than 115,000 and offers excellent quality of life with many cultural and outdoor activities, as well as a very reasonable cost of living. Tuscaloosa is a morning’s drive from the Smoky Mountains, Gulf Coast beaches, New Orleans, Nashville, and Atlanta.
Candidates must apply online at https://facultyjobs.ua.edu and must attach a cover letter and CV that includes a list of three references with phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Please refer to the online instructions for applicants. Candidates selected for interview will be required to submit a disclosure and consent form authorizing a background investigation. Review of applications will begin in November 2015 and will continue until the position is filled. Questions may be directed to the co-chairs of the search committee: Dr. William Evans at wevans@ua.edu or Dr. Wilson Lowrey at wlowrey@ua.edu.
The University of Alabama is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.
UA EEO Statement
The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status, and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants to and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. Follow the link below to find out more.
“EEO is the Law” http://www1.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf
Application Process
Applications must be submitted online:
https://facultyjobs.ua.edu/postings/37843
