Description

Position Overview

Program Overview:
The University of Kansas, Edwards Campus, School of Professional Studies, Human and Organizational Performance Effectiveness program (HOPE) seeks an outstanding individual for a non-tenure track twelve-month administrative and faculty position as a Director/Professor of the Practice (rank open).

The KU Edwards Campus (KUEC) is in Overland Park, Kansas, in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. KUEC has been a KU presence in Kansas City for 30 years, playing a crucial role in the Greater Kansas City professional community. The campus now offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs with classes geared toward working professionals, available in the evening, online, and in-person.

The KU School of Professional Studies (SPS) was created in 2019 with a vision to transform students' lives and improve communities through innovative, student-focused, and exemplary academic programs that lead to rewarding careers in an array of fields that serve the workforce needs of Kansas and beyond. The school offers a variety of disciplines, course formats, class schedules, student services, aid, and more to meet the needs of diverse students who may work full-time, have considerable commitments outside of the classroom, have prior college-level education, or otherwise need a different approach to earning academic credentials. The School continues to launch new degree programs aimed at supporting the needs of future students and is poised for significant growth over the next five years.

The Human and Organization Performance Effectiveness (HOPE) program is designed to prepare leaders to work across departments, functions, and roles to align individual performance with organizational goals. Organizational success is driven by a positive work culture, excellent employee performance, and organizational structures, systems, and processes all working together to achieve goals. The HOPE program provides students with foundational tools that can be implemented across the organization to achieve such success. The program seeks to create career advancement pathways for professionals in corporate, government, education and nonprofit organizations. Learn more about the program at Human and Organization Performance Effectiveness (HOPE) | School of Professional Studies.

Our campus and School have a reputation for employing innovative teaching techniques and serving the unique needs of non-traditional students. KUEC and SPS faculty enjoy an interdisciplinary and collaborative atmosphere focused on faculty support in building rewarding careers, while improving the success of students in our classrooms. Employees typically enjoy a hybrid work environment, providing sufficient flexibility for a healthy work-life balance.

Job Description

Position Overview:
The Director will provide strategic direction for the HOPE program including leadership and management of the Master of Science degree, graduate certificates, and professional development offerings. Collaboration with the leadership of the School of Professional Studies and the other programs at KU's Edwards Campus will provide a stimulating and innovative environment.

The successful candidate will manage master's and certificate programs in online and competency-based formats, lead student recruitment and admission processes, ensure student retention and success, recruit and supervise faculty, develop and monitor program budgets, ensure program quality through assessment activities, and outreach to professional communities to ensure the relevance of the program in meeting workforce needs. The Director will participate in online and competency-based instruction in HOPE program areas relating to leadership, organizational systems, and organizational change. Special consideration will be given to applicants committed to excellence who can contribute to the University's innovative, collaborative, and multidisciplinary initiatives to educate leaders, build healthy communities, and make discoveries that will change the world.

This position reports to the Associate Dean of the School of Professional Studies. Please note that this position is not covered by any union agreement nor represented by United Academics of KU, AAUP, or AFT.

The appointment is a fiscal year (12-month-July to June) appointment with an initial term of 3 years. Subsequent appointments may be offered, contingent upon a satisfactory comprehensive performance evaluation during the final year of this appointment and approval of the Dean of the School of Professional Studies.

This position serves the educational needs of a Johnson County Education Research Triangle (JCERT) program. Specific percentages of effort for JCERT are determined each year. The KU Edwards Campus is in Overland Park, Kansas.

KU Benefits: KU offers an array of benefits to assist employees with their health, life, retirement, and other needs. Details regarding benefits offered to employees can be found here: Benefits | Human Resource Management (ku.edu)

KU's excellence is a result of the rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of our faculty, staff, students, and colleagues from across our nation and the globe. At KU, we invest in continuous learning and growth by creating a climate where people engage in respectful dialogue and debate and support each other's success. We foster a culture of care where each person is seen, heard and valued. When people feel a true sense of belonging, we believe they are better able to reach their full potential and achieve remarkable things. The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.

Position Description:

Program Leadership - 50%
Program Administration:

• Faculty Development: Supervises faculty members of the program including recruitment, appointments, performance reviews, and professional development. Provides mentoring and leadership for faculty, particularly those seeking promotion.
• Instructional Staffing: Develops plans for staffing asynchronous and synchronous online courses, competency-based instruction and assessment for the HOPE program. Ensures that courses and competencies are scheduled to meet student needs. Collaborates with other programs and unit leaders to ensure students access to courses and competencies promoting timely completion of program work.
• Program Budgets: Works with the administration to develop and manage budgets for the HOPE program.
• Program Coordination: Develop mechanisms to receive constant feedback from students, faculty and staff on program direction and policies. The Director has the responsibility for program responsiveness, taking appropriate actions as required and in accordance with the policies and rules of the School and University.
• Program Records and Reports: In conjunction with administration, program leaders are responsible for the management and maintenance of all program records and will prepare reports in accordance with School and University policy and procedures.
• Student Career Development: Provides career advice and mentoring mechanisms for students including career development, job search functions, and professional networking.

Curriculum Development and Instructional Oversight:

• Curriculum: Ensure curriculum is research-based and relevant to the workplace through a variety of feedback mechanisms. Continuously monitors curriculum to ensure content remains relevant and refreshed.
• Learning Outcomes: Ensure development and updating of program learning outcomes and create assessment mechanisms that meet School, University, and accreditation standards
• Learning Protocols: Ensures that learning protocols provide students with theory, research, and practical exposure to organizational effectiveness and professional networks.
• Student Retention: Consistently evaluates student retention strategies and designs solutions with academic and student services partners.

Recruitment and Outreach:

• Recruitment: Maintains robust recruitment plans, including target audiences, key messages, and strategies. Implements recruitment strategies in collaboration with School and University partners. Develops enrollment targets, tracks data, and analyzes the effectiveness of strategies.
• Outreach: Develops and implements a community engagement strategy. Partner with the campus business development team and local community leaders to build program awareness in the community through engagement with local professional associations, chambers of commerce, and specific business, government, and non-profit organizations related to the HOPE program.

Teaching - 40%
The Director position will teach relevant content areas, master's classes, and competency-based educational offerings in areas relating to leadership, organizational systems, and organizational change. The typical load will be equivalent to five courses per year (typically 2 each in the Fall and Spring semesters and one course in summer).

Teaching responsibilities include the following:

• Curriculum development and instructional design for content in a variety of formats, ensuring relevance to the workplace and consistent with the most recent research.
• Delivery of instruction, including classroom management, assessment feedback, and grading in a timely manner.
• Adhering to program, School, and University policies.

Service - 10%
The program leader will participate in professional service, including the following.

• Serves as a member of the program leadership team of the School of Professional Studies.
• Service on School committees and task forces.
• Service to the University
• Serves professional communities/associations in areas related to the HOPE curriculum.

Required Qualifications

1. Doctorate Degree in Business Administration, Communication Studies, Education, Human Resources, Instructional Design, Leadership Studies, Organizational Development, or Public Administration, or a similar discipline from a regionally accredited institution.
2. Professional experience required for each rank of the professor of the practice are:

• Assistant Professor of the Practice: 3-5 years
• Associate Professor of the Practice: 6-15 years
• Professor of the Practice: 16+ years

Relevant professional experience could include, but are not limited to, communication studies, human organization performance, leadership development, instructional design, or organizational development.

1. Experience teaching in higher education credit programs in areas covered by the HOPE program.
2. Excellence in written communication skills as demonstrated in application materials.
3. Minimum three (3) years of leadership experience for academic programs in higher education as evidenced in application materials.
4. A record of professional accomplishment (e.g., leadership role in profession, professional association, consultancy, etc.).

This position requires a formal degree in the cited discipline area(s) to ensure that candidates have the foundational knowledge and skill set required to perform the duties of the position. The level of degree is based on accreditation requirements, institutional standards of academic and professional excellence, alignment with peer institution benchmarks, and contributes to the credibility and effectiveness of the role within the university community.

Additional Candidate Instruction

In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this
position:

1. A cover letter addressing specifically how required are met.
2. Resume or curriculum vitae.
3. An example of curriculum developed (please include audience details, an instructional outline, presentation notes, and instructional exercises)
4. Contact information for three professional references, at least one of whom has been a supervisor.

Application review begins June 1, 2025 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants is identified. Anticipated start date is August 1, 2026.

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Disclaimer

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and procedures and is the Title IX Coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY. Reports can be submitted by contacting the Title IX Coordinator as provided herein or using the Title IX online report form and complaints can be submitted with the Title IX Coordinator or using the Title IX online complaint form.