School of Information Sciences: Research Director of the Center for Children’s Books (103778)
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- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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- Champaign, IL
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Job Details
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Research Director of the Center for Children’s Books
School of Information Sciences
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, School of Information Sciences, invites nominations and applications for the position of Research Director of the Center for Children’s Books. The School of Information Sciences at Illinois is an international leader in graduate education, and is home to world-class faculty, top-tier research, and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science program that is consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report. Its mission is to lead the way in understanding the use of information in science, culture, society, commerce, and the diverse activities of our daily lives—and in doing so, change the world.
The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO. To learn more about the University’s commitment to diversity, please visit http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu
The Center for Children’s Books (CCB) at the School of Information Sciences supports critical inquiry, professional training, and educational outreach related to youth-focused literature, resources, and librarianship. The Center’s mission is to facilitate the creation and dissemination of exemplary and progressive research and scholarship related to all aspects of children’s and young adult literature; media and resources for young (age 0-18) audiences; youth experience and information use; and youth services librarianship. Formed in 1945 along with its affiliate unit, the journal The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, the Center has established an important role in the iSchool as the leader and supporter of youth-focused research, the host of scholar- and practitioner-focused events, and the home of a 16,000-volume special collection of youth literature.
The CCB seeks a Director with broad intellectual insights, top-tier scholarly credentials and accomplishments, and the leadership and managerial capacity to actualize a bold vision for its future. Reporting to the Associate Dean for Research, and in coordination with the faculty, the School Librarian Program coordinator, and the Editor of the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, the Director will have responsibility for the strategic, programmatic, financial, fundraising, and management operations that support the mission and vision of the CCB and its role within the School of Information Sciences. Outstanding candidates will demonstrate strong commitment and experience in the education of youth and those who work with youth.
Candidates should hold a PhD in library and information science, children’s literature, or a related discipline, and have a distinguished record of teaching, research, and service that would warrant a tenured appointment at the rank of associate professor or full professor in the School.
The Director will:
- Define and execute a strategic vision for the future by articulating the distinctive needs and opportunities of the CCB;
- Attract external funding from federal agencies, corporations, foundations, and interested donors to support the Center’s mission and develop relevant partnerships; and,
- Identify and realize emerging opportunities for new research, programs, and multidisciplinary initiatives that leverage the excellence of the Center and the breadth and strength of the School’s interdisciplinary culture.
The next Director is expected to bring:
The intellectual leadership and curiosity to direct a robust research program;
- An appreciation of the Center’s history and its potential for the future;
- An understanding of the connections between youth-focused research and professional practice;
- An approach that sees youth as agents and creators in their own right and partners in research;
- A boundary-crossing approach to youth experience that spans various disciplines, print and digital media, and physical and virtual spaces;
- Outstanding communication skills and strong interpersonal skills;
- A demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion;
- A record of successful grant writing and/or fundraising;
- An international-level reputation for scholarship and presentations in the field; and
- Excellence in teaching.
Experience with the following is preferred:
- Management of grant-funded projects;
- Professional work with youth as a researcher and/or a practitioner;
- Knowledge of and appreciation for diverse, historical, and contemporary children’s literature;
- Work with diverse communities;
- Supervision of student and professional staff.
This is a full-time, 9-month appointment starting in the fall of 2019; salary will be commensurate with experience.
The iSchool’s academic programs include the top-ranked Master of Science in Library and Information Science and one of the fastest growing programs at the University, the Master of Science in Information Management. In addition, the School offers a Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science, the oldest program of its kind in the nation, an MS in Bioinformatics, a Certificate of Advanced Study, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Digital Libraries, and School Librarian Licensure Program. Plans for an undergraduate degree in information sciences are underway.
As a longstanding innovator in online education, the iSchool offers many programs for students who study from a distance. The total enrollment consists of more than 690 master’s students and nearly 50 doctoral students—including 195 international students—who learn with enthusiasm and contribute to the dynamic intellectual life of the School.
For more information, please visit http://ischool.illinois.edu/.
The university strongly encourages applications from individuals traditionally underrepresented in academia. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. For full consideration, applications should be received by November 2, 2018. Candidates should provide a curriculum vitae, a letter of interest that addresses the candidate’s vision for the CCB, as well as the applicant’s motivation to apply, and a list of three professional references, including contact information. All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered.
Interviews may be conducted before the closing date, although no hiring decisions will be made until after the search has closed. For further information regarding application procedures, you may contact Candy Edwards at cledward@illinois.edu.
The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer.
College Name or Administrative Unit:School of Information Sciences Category:1-Faculty Title:School of Information Sciences: Research Director of the Center for Children’s Books (103778) Open Date:09/26/2018 Organization Name:Center for Children's BooksOrganization
Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement.
Faculty
A talented and highly respected faculty is the University's most significant resource. Many are recognized for exceptional scholarship with memberships in such organizations as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering.
Our faculty have been awarded Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, and the Fields Medal in Mathematics.The success of our faculty is matched by that of our alumni: 11 are Nobel laureates and another 18 have won Pulitzer Prizes.
Academic Resources
Academic resources on campus are among the finest in the world. The University Library is one of the largest public university collections in the world with 11 million volumes in its 37 unit libraries. Annually, 53,000,000 people visit its online catalog. Students have access to thousands of computer terminals in classrooms, residence halls, and campus libraries for use in classroom instruction, study, and research.
Research
Students and scholars find the University an ideal place to conduct research. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology is a model for interdisciplinary research, where eighteen research groups from sixteen University departments work within and across three broadly defined themes: biological intelligence, human-computer intelligent interaction, and molecular and electronic nanostructures. The University is also home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).
Undergraduate Education
The University has a fundamental commitment to undergraduate education. Nearly 28,000 undergraduate students are enrolled in nine undergraduate divisions, which together offer some 4,000 courses in more than 150 fields of study.
Undergraduate admission is highly selective. In the 2001 freshman class, students in the middle 50% had ACT scores between 25 and 30 and ranked between the 83rd and 96th percentiles of their high school graduating classes.
The University enrolls over 9,000 graduate and professional students in more than 100 disciplines. It is among the top five universities in number of earned doctorates awarded annually in the United States.
Also integral to the University's mission is a commitment to public engagement. Each year about 65,000 Illinois residents participate in scores of conferences, institutes, courses, and workshops presented statewide. Research and class projects take students and professors off campus to share expertise and technical support with Illinois farmers, manufacturing firms, and businesses. In a typical year, student volunteers log more than 60,000 volunteer hours.
The Arts
A major center for the arts, the campus attracts dozens of nationally and internationally renowned artists each year to its widely acclaimed Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The University also supports two major museums: the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion; and the Spurlock Museum, a museum of world history and culture.
Other major facilities include the multipurpose Assembly Hall (16,500 seats); Memorial Stadium (70,000 seats), site of Big Ten Conference football games; and the Intramural-Physical Education Building, one of the largest recreational facilities of its kind on a university campus.
Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices
Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Illinois is about how we value difference to make a difference. http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu/
As evidence of the University’s commitment to enhance the working, living, and learning environment for faculty, staff, and students, the University will encourage a standard of conduct and behavior that is consistent with the values of inclusivity. In an environment of inclusivity, there is no place for acts of hatred, intolerance, insensitivity, bigotry, threats of violence, harassment or discrimination.
Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices
Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Through education, engagement, and excellence, each voice creates the Inclusive Illinois Experience.
How can we appreciate difference to make a difference?
Illinois is the place where we embrace difference. We embrace it because we value it. We value it because we know that we have so much to learn from each other in our living, learning, and working environment.
Illinois is the place where we recognize the power of possibility and where great potential is realized. Inclusive Illinois is the vision of that place: a vision made real by leadership and commitment.
Illinois is the place where consensus is forged by discourse and where everyone’s contributions are recognized: significant contributions that elevate us because they are informed and enhanced by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, age, physical ability, religion, class, and national origin. We are enriched by these perspectives, and we are united by the very discourse that brings these views together.
It is a process. It is transformative. And we celebrate the remarkable changes we set in motion here … taking an important step … crossing boundaries … starting with our own.
It all starts with each of us: with our willingness to embark on the journey in the search for answers, and with our openness and acceptance of the answers we find. Illinois is the place where it all comes together.
Learn more about how Inclusive Illinois promotes diversity here.
Commitment to Equal Opportunity
The commitment of the University to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity requires that decisions involving students and employees be based on individual merit and be free from invidious discrimination in all its forms, whether or not specifically prohibited by law. Among the forms of invidious discrimination prohibited by the University policy but not law is discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of sexual orientation. Complaints of invidious discrimination in violation of University policy are to be resolved within existing University procedures. The policy of the University of Illinois is to comply with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action laws, orders, and regulations. The University will not engage in discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, unfavorable discharge from the military, or status as a disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era. This nondiscrimination policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs and activities
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