About the School of Professional Studies:  The School of Professional Studies (SPS) offers career-oriented associates and baccalaureate degree programs as well as a flexible interdisciplinary baccalaureate degree.  It consists of academic units in business studies (associates degrees), interdisciplinary studies, and workforce administration and currently has seven full-time faculty, one full-time staff, and numerous part-time faculty.  The school is also home to University Experience, WKU's non-discipline specific first year experience course.  The SPS is heavily engaged in educational outreach and offers programs at the three WKU regional campus sites and in on-line, hybrid, and face-to-face formats and places a strong emphasis on partnerships between WKU and community colleges (KCTCS and other two-year institutions) and in the delivery of transfer- and adult-friendly academic programs. 

About the Director, School of Professional Studies and Associate Dean for Retention, Persistence, and Degree Completion:  Reporting directly to the Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences (CEBS), the Director, School of Professional Studies and Associate Dean for Retention, Persistence, and Degree Completion (Director/Associate Dean) holds a 12-month administrative appointment and is responsible for the overall leadership and administration of the School of Professional Studies (SPS) including oversight of academic programs, faculty review, course scheduling, budgeting, facilitating innovation, supporting faculty, staff, and student professional learning, and representing the school both within the university and with external entities. The Director/Associate Dean serves as a liaison between the faculty of the Department and the dean of the College.  As a member of the CEBS leadership team, he/she collaborates regularly with other department heads, directors, the associate dean, and administrative staff to conduct the work of the unit. 

The Director/Associate Dean works in partnership with faculty and staff across all WKU colleges, as well as personnel within the WKU Division of Enrollment and Student Experience, on the systemic incorporation of retention and persistence practices specifically focusing on first year experience programs and other first and second year university induction courses.  He/she also partners across departmental and college lines to formulate and implement innovative degree completion programs.

The position requires a collaborative leader who has a student learning focus and who is able to work with diverse faculty, content areas, and programs within the SPS, within and outside the college, and across regional campuses. The CEBS expects to hire an individual with proven experience in outreach, administration and entrepreneurial program development, and a collaborator who practices a leadership style that promotes collegiality and crosses conventional disciplinary boundaries.

• A doctoral degree from an accredited university in an academic area related to the school;
• A distinguished record of scholarship and teaching that merits appointment as a tenured associate or full professor in the school; and
• Evidence of successful experience as a collaborative leader in one or more professional roles (e.g., program coordinator, principal investigator, project director, department chair, officer in an organization);

Kentucky state law requires all public institutions of postsecondary education to conduct pre-employment criminal background checks to determine suitability for employment.

Western Kentucky University (WKU) is committed to a policy of providing equal employment and educational opportunities to all candidates. Western Kentucky University will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, marital status, age, uniformed services, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, or physical or mental disability in admission to career and technical education programs and/or activities, or employment practices in accordance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Revised 1992, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Persons with disabilities, who need reasonable accommodations to participate in the application and/or selection process, should notify the office of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action/University ADA Services (EEO) at (270) 745-5121.

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