Address
Form of workUniversity of Pittsburgh
School of Education
Professor and Chair
Department of Health and Human Development
Appointment: Tenured Professor; starting Fall 2024
Overview: The School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh seeks a tenured faculty member to serve as Professor and Chair of our Department of Health and Human Development (HHD). This person will join a vibrant community at a time of great excitement, synergy, momentum, and action. We seek a visionary and collaborative scholar-leader who understands the value of working within an academic community that blends health promotion, wellness, and exercise physiology with applied developmental science and psychology in education to address 21st-century issues in diverse regional, national, and/or global real-world contexts. This department is especially invested in promoting the health and development of children, youth, and adults with an ecosystem perspective; improving health-fitness and clinical outcomes, human performance, and healthy lifestyle behaviors; engaging in humanizing community-oriented partnerships; and collaborating with education and health experts to incorporate developmental and health-focused thinking into decision-making about policies, regulations, and supportive services.
The Chair will collaborate with colleagues to ensure that the department aligns closely with the School of Education's mission-vision and strategic goals and priorities, which focus on our "commitment to equity, justice, and innovation" and emphasize high-quality research, commitments to students, family, and community success, and the cultivation of engaged partnerships. A unifying feature of the Department is a focus on the activities of living and the integral role of health and relationships in human growth and adaptation. Recently, the Department was also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), an indication of the importance the Department places on facilitating the preparation of students seeking employment in health, fitness, and exercise-related fields as well as those that assist in human thriving across the lifespan.
The Position: In addition to having strong applied, theoretical, and/or methodological credentials that meet the requirements for promotion to Full Professor with tenure at the University of Pittsburgh, the Department Chair, will also have:
An earned doctorate (Developmental Psychology, Human Development, Exercise Physiology, Educational Psychology or related fields) with demonstrated excellence in university-level teaching, along with a strong record of peer-reviewed publications and success with external funding for research and practice/engagement work;
A strong desire to engage, think, collaborate, and partner with colleagues in the School of Education, at the University, and within regional, national, and/or global communities;
A commitment to supporting student-centered teaching;
Strong collective leadership skills and experiences that can contribute to expanding the direction of the Department;
Experience creating and strengthening structures, policies, and programming to support the scholarly and professional development of faculty, staff, and students;
Experience assessing department quality, identifying academic programs that need curricular innovations; and supporting engaged forms of teaching and Departmental leadership;
An understanding of how to ensure fiscal integrity and strengthen its culture of engagement, respect, transparency, and accountability;
An investment in collaborating with the Offices of Student Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Technology, and others to provide input on the implementation of a plan for departmental recruitment and retention of students.
Context: The School of Education is organized around three departments: (1) Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy (EFOP); (2) Health and Human Development (HHD); and (3) Teaching, Learning, and Leading (TLL) and three training divisions: (1) Research (Ph.D.); (2) Innovative Leadership (EdD); and (3) Professional (master's and undergraduate). We are committed to collaborative work that is not constrained by rigid department boundaries, but that explores interconnections among departments, centers, and institutes, as well as collaborations among faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The Department Chair of HHD will have opportunities to work with the Dean, other Department Chairs, Associate Chairs, Division Directors, Center/Institute Directors, and other colleagues in our School to imagine different ways for departments to form cross-cutting academic partnerships and programs and to support creative faculty appointments. In addition to academic departments, our School also offers opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to partner with our centers, institutes, and laboratory school (e.g., Center for Urban Education, Healthy Lifestyle Institute, Office of Child Development, the Falk Lab School) and with our many partners at the university and in regional, national, and global communities. Thus, a new Department Chair will also have opportunities for collaborative engagements and education partnerships within and beyond our School of Education.
Review of applications will begin on October 2, 2023,and will continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position, send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, brief leadership statement, three representative writing samples, and a list of at least six references (official written letters will be eventually required). For questions about the position, contact the Search Co-Chairs, Dr. Sirry Alang (salang@pitt.edu) and/or Dr. Shannon Wanless (swanless@pitt.edu). For questions regarding the submission process, contact Megan Brennan (edsearch@pitt.edu).
