Chair of the Department of Political Science

Chair of the Department of Political Science, Howard University

Howard University (HU) invites applications and nominations for the position of Chair of the Department of Political Science.

The Department seeks a dynamic, energetic leader with the ability to effectively engage faculty, staff, students, and external constituencies in a collegial and collaborative manner. The Chair will have a strong record of excellence in collegial academic leadership, faculty development, fundraising, and financial management. This is an outstanding opportunity for a creative leader at an exciting time in the continued growth of the Department and Howard University.

The Chair represents the department as part of the college’s leadership team and is responsible for the department’s faculty and staff recruiting, development, retention, resource attainment, financial management, and stakeholder relationship management. The Chair manages a diverse faculty, staff and student body, and leads the department strong in scholarship, teaching capacity, and outreach.

The Chair must be an active intellectual leader, adept at building and supporting multi-disciplinary partnerships within a diverse community, knowledgeable in higher education issues, collaborative in developing team-focused, data-driven approaches to problem solving, and possess strong people-skills.

Working in partnership with the senior administration of the College of Arts & Science, the successful candidate will be expected to embrace and contribute to the mission of the University.

The Political Science Department at Howard University blends the highest goals of nationally and internationally recognized scholarship in political science with the special mission of its founding faculty. From the beginning, the faculty and students shared a commitment to educate and reform education in the discipline in order to deepen national understanding of political and social institutions and to restructure scholarly perspective on equity, justice and other social values that inspired higher education initiatives among African Americans. Founded in 1928 the Department was uniquely inspired by the distinguished scholar and Nobel laureate, Ralph Bunche, the first African American to earn a doctorate in Political Science. It has benefited from the foundation provided by other influential faculty leaders including Emmett Dorsey, Vincent Brown and Bernard Fall.

As part of the College of Arts and Sciences the Political Science Department serves to fulfill the goals of liberally educating students to understand and analyze politics promoting scholarship and research across a broad range of topics and concerns that affect politics and society. The essential mission of the Department's undergraduate program is to provide students a comprehensive education through an interactive program of instruction that includes formal courses and seminars, research opportunities, academic and career counseling, internships, on-line instructional support and community service.

Desired Qualifications

• Earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution; PhD in Political Science preferred, but allied disciplines will be considered;
• Record of professional accomplishments and scholarship that meet the qualifications for appointment to the rank of professor in the college;
• Strong and sustained record of teaching excellence and interdisciplinary initiatives;
• Strong and sustained record of research and creative accomplishments;
• Substantial administrative personnel and budgetary experience;
• Evidence of a commitment to and success securing external funding and fundraising;
• Evidence of a strong commitment to helping students obtain a broad-based education;
• Evidence in curriculum development including a commitment to collaboration and innovative pedagogies;
• Evidence of strong interpersonal and communications skills with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members;
• Demonstrated ability to manage a complex academic organization and work effectively with colleagues across divisions;
• Evidence of effective community involvement, outreach, leadership, and demonstrated ability to forge partnerships and build productive relationships with both campus and external constituencies including alumni;
• Evidence of recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty and staff, as well as teambuilding, supervision, and staff support for professional development;
• Demonstrated commitment to student centeredness and optimization of student learning.

Established in 1867, Howard University is a federally chartered, private, doctoral/research extensive university located in Washington, D.C., and is widely recognized as one of the world's most prestigious institutions of higher learning. This renowned urban research university offers a world-class curriculum that includes undergraduate degrees in 80 subject areas, master's degrees in 75 majors, doctoral degrees in 31 disciplines and professional certification in 5 fields. The only comprehensive American university with a predominantly African- American constituency, Howard University is committed to preparing its students to not only be respected leaders in the national and global communities, but to also promote social justice and democracy the world over. Howard has historically educated more African-American PhD’s than any other university. It has a track record, for more than a century as the home to the single, largest concentration of Black scholars in the world.

Procedure for Candidacy
Applications should include a cover letter and curriculum vitae. Applications and nominations will be accepted until the position is filled. Confidential review of materials and screening of candidates will begin immediately.

Howard University is being assisted by Harris Search Associates for this search. Please send application to address below or contact Jeffrey Harris, Managing Partner, for further details.

Contact Information:
Jeffrey Harris, Managing Partner, Harris Search Associates
Tel: 614-798-8500 ext. 125 Cell: 614-354-2100
4236 Tuller Road, Dublin, OH 43017
Email: jeff@harrisandassociates.com www.harrisandassociates.com

The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, marital status, religion, or disability. Veteran status and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply Inquiries regarding provisions for persons with disabilities, equal employment opportunity and Title IX should be directed to the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources at (202)238-5960.