Job Opportunity: Program Director, Academic Engagement, Duke University, Durham NC
The Program Director, Academic Engagement (DAE) holds a professional academic advising position in the AAC and reports to the Associate Dean and Director of the Academic Advising Center in the Office of the Dean and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. The DAE works closely with the AAC Dean/Director to identify opportunities for Duke undergraduates to engage students in science and math successfully, with a particular focus on undergraduate research, and advises students toward the purposeful integration of natural and quantitative sciences into their undergraduate experience.
The DAE provides leadership in the AAC by identifying needs in undergraduate education that pertain to natural and quantitative sciences, working with the AAC Dean/Director to develop, propose, and create initiatives that respond to those needs, working collaboratively and collegially with essential campus partners to achieve those initiatives, and working with the AAC Director/Dean to define learning outcomes and develop, plan, implement, and evaluate assessment protocols that measure those learning outcomes. The DAE partners very closely with the AAC’s full complement of advisors (academic advisors, peer advisors, and five other DAEs), and is responsible for maintaining a coordinated set of relationships among a significant number of campus partners.
This position is funded through a Howard Hughes Medical Institute through August 31, 2019, with review for continuation of the position thereafter.
The PDAE has no supervisory responsibilities. Availability on weekends and evenings is sometimes required.
Required Qualifications: Completed PhD in biology, chemistry, or statistical sciences strongly preferred. The expertise sought for this DAE position is undergraduate natural and quantitative science education and advising, with particular emphasis on mentoring populations historically underrepresented in the sciences.
Additional experience:
- 3 years of experience in academic advising, teaching, or related engagement with undergraduates
- Demonstrated expertise in teaching or mentoring pedagogy
- Experience working with a highly diverse population of students at the undergraduate level
- Experience with assessment protocols, and ability to organize and evaluate assessment data
- Experience conducting research in an academic discipline
- Successful track record of establishing credibility and trust with a diverse client group
- Fluency with desktop applications including databases, word processing, presentation software (e.g., Powerpoint) and spreadsheets required. Experience with Qualtrics and Sakai strongly preferred.
FUNCTIONS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
50% Advising and Assessment of Advising Practice
- Meet individually with students to discuss and plan the integration of curricular, co-curricular, and experiential opportunities into each student’s undergraduate experience, including full academic plan to graduation
- Use data-driven methods to identify undergraduate populations under-represented in particular Duke opportunities in natural and quantitative sciences; develop and implement outreach protocols appropriate to the circumstances
- Practice a pedagogy of mentorship by working with students to reflect on their experiences and integrate those experiences meaningfully into future plans
- Using knowledge of a student’s circumstances within the framework of Duke policies and practices, make recommendations to the student’s academic dean regarding students’ requests for exceptions to academic policies such as requests for academic underload at the beginning of the semester, withdrawal from a course, course repeats, etc.
- Define advising learning outcomes and develop and execute appropriate assessment protocols; evaluate and disseminate data; present outcomes to target audiences in the Office of Undergraduate Education, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, and the Pratt School of Engineering.
- Other advising duties as assigned
25% Gather, solicit, and synthesize information about research and other immersive opportunities in the sciences
- Gather information about existing opportunities in the quantitative and natural sciences, and track developing opportunities; synthesize information about opportunities in the quantitative and natural sciences to help undergraduate students better understand why, how, and what to incorporate into their undergraduate plans
- Under the direction of the Associate Dean/Director of the Academic Advising Center, and often in collaboration with campus partners, gather and assess data about student experiences in the natural and quantitative sciences, with an emphasis on historically underrepresented populations; analyze collected data, and present results in formats as appropriate
- Interpret the requirements of programs within the framework of undergraduate education requirements, identify advising needs based on that interpretation, and work independently to create and execute appropriate advising initiatives, programs, and communications that respond to those needs
- Work closely with advising partners — particularly peer advisors, academic advisors, and the undergraduate deans of Trinity College and the Pratt School of Engineering — to teach the value of the study of natural and quantitative sciences.
10% Foster and maintain collaborative relationships with campus partners
- Identify crucial campus partners; cultivate and maintain regular communication with the partners in furtherance of meaningful natural science engagement by undergraduates
- Work closely with a large and very diverse array of offices, including HHMI grant partners, departments, institutes, and program offices to coordinate and implement undergraduate outreach efforts
- Participate in coordinating committees, as assigned
10% Integrate practice into the broader structure of undergraduate education
- Become knowledgeable about the function and rationale of Trinity and Pratt graduation requirements and university procedures and policies for undergraduates
- Interpret academic information and work with highly confidential student records with circumspection and tact
5% Communication
- Participate in identifying and creating appropriate media and communication pathways (e.g., website, print, social media, etc.)
- Working closely with the AAC Dean/Director, serve as a resource to Directors of Undergraduate Study and other faculty, as appropriate
Minimum Qualifications
Education
Work requires communications, analytical, research and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a master’s degree program. PhD preferred.
Experience
Work requires 3 years of experience in academic advising, teaching, or related engagement with undergraduates OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE
To apply:
Go to JOB Requisition Number: 400883638
Duke University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual’s race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, or disability.