University of Chicago
Executive Director, Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning 

University of Chicago (UChicago) seeks a creative, collaborative and experienced leader to serve as executive director of its newly envisioned and repositioned Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning.

The University of Chicago is an urban research university that has driven new ways of thinking since 1890. Its commitment to free and open inquiry draws inspired scholars to its global campuses, where ideas are born that challenge and change the world. At the University of Chicago, students are taught how to think, not what to think. A University of Chicago education is transformative. Students do more than merely acquire knowledge; they develop the critical skills necessary to examine, understand and challenge ideas and assumptions—including their own. It is a proficiency they develop in the classroom and will use throughout their careers and their lives.

Central to the fulfillment of the university's educational mission and situated administratively in The College, the university's undergraduate college, is the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning (CCTL). The CCTL supports faculty in their pedagogical and professional development enabling the expertise and creativity that drives the university's transformative education. After an institution-wide process to examine the mission, role and structure of the center, the CCTL has been repositioned and renamed, and is ready to be reimagined and redesigned to better support this mission. The university now seeks an innovative academic leader to shape and execute this newly reimagined future for the CCTL.

The new executive director will articulate a compelling vision for the role of teaching at the University of Chicago as well as the role of the CCTL in achieving that vision. Working together with the Dean and Masters of the College, as well as the Deans of the four graduate Divisions – biological sciences, humanities, physical sciences, social sciences – the executive director will extend the CCTL’s reach and impact across all academic programs, departments and disciplines, elevating the art and science of teaching and learning in support of the university’s educational mission. The executive director will aid in developing imaginative and innovative courses, curricula and programs and in articulating a persuasive role for instructional technologies. The executive director will also oversee the day-to-day operations and financial wellbeing of the CCTL as well as the recruitment, retention and support of the staff who design and develop programming in support of all members of the University of Chicago community who have a teaching role. Those programs will include support for teaching in STEM fields, inclusive teaching and equitable course design practices, support for graduate students as they become effective teachers and fostering research on teaching and learning.

The new executive director will be an accomplished academic administrator with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and strong financial and managerial acumen. They will have a documented record of teaching success, as represented in teaching awards and achievements, and proficiency in the deployment of instructional technologies. A PhD or equivalent is required; a record of research and scholarship in the area of teaching and learning is desirable. The executive director will be appointed as an Associate Dean in the College, reporting to the Dean of the College, and may receive a concurrent academic appointment at the rank of Senior Instructional Professor in the appropriate collegiate division.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest. The leadership profile can be found at www.wittkieffer.com. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by October 29, 2021. Application materials should be submitted simultaneously to the University of Chicago Workday site here and to WittKieffer’s candidate portal. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to Lucy Leske, Suzanne Teer and Julia Bradley at CCTLExecutiveDirector@wittkieffer.com. 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages diverse perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange. The University’s Statements on Diversity are at https://provost.uchicago.edu/statements-diversity.

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-1032 or email equalopportunity@uchicago.edu with their request.