Director of the School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Application
Details
Posted: 12-Sep-23
Location: Edinburg, Texas
Type: Full Time
Categories:
Director of Counseling
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) invites nominations and applications for the position of Director of the School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling. Reporting directly to the Dean of the College of Health Professions, the director will be responsible for setting strategic, operational, and financial direction for the School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling. The college seeks a dynamic leader who will work in concert with faculty, staff, and students to promote a culture of excellence. The director will create and carry out a vision that will lead the school to greater prominence in the Valley and beyond. UTRGV was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas and is the second largest Hispanic Serving Institution in the United States. The majority of its students are bilingual and bicultural. UTRGV is located in a growing, vibrant region on the border with Mexico, which boasts many diverse cultural, ecological, and recreational activities.
A dynamic academic unit dedicated to preparing professionals to assist people with disabilities to live full lives, the School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling currently has 25 full-time (tenured, tenure track and non-tenured) faculty teaching in the program and over 400 students enrolled. Located in a modern facility (Edinburg Health Affairs Building West) featuring dedicated classrooms and a state-of-the-art assessment research lab and counseling center, the school prides itself on preparing students to enter a rewarding field of helping others to achieve their own goals of independence and productivity.
The Role of the Director
The Director of the School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling is expected to:
Increase both undergraduate and graduate enrollment, with a particular focus on expanding the PhD program.
Support expansion of the research capabilities of the school while maintaining excellence in teaching and service.
Fully embrace UTRGV’s mission to receive R1 “very high research activity” distinction by the Carnegie Commission of Higher Education.
Expand external funding that supports the School and our students (scholarships, paid field experiences, employment, etc.).
Inspire and support faculty, staff, and students and foster an environment of collegiality and shared governance.
Provide leadership and be responsible for the overall management and administration of the school.
Develop and manage the school budget and enforce applicable regulatory policies.
Embrace the value and importance of all three levels of academic programs – undergraduate, masters, and doctoral.
Recruit and retain faculty, staff, and students.
Embrace both traditional (face-to-face) and online teaching modalities.
Provide evaluation, development, and promotion of faculty.
Promote external relations and multi-disciplinary collaborations within the university.
Create strategic planning and goal setting aligned with similar efforts at the school and university level.
Develop curricula, strategic initiatives, and programming to help ensure student success.
Interact with all stakeholders to determine the priorities and direction of the school.
Advocate for the school and ensure that it is aligned with the priorities of the College of Health Professions and UTRGV as a whole.
Communicate with faculty and administration and address questions, complaints, grievances, and suggestions from faculty, staff, and students.
As a faculty member, the director will also be expected to teach a reduced load and participate in research and service activities.
Required Qualifications
The successful candidate will:
Have a PhD in Rehabilitation Counseling or a discipline closely related to the field.
Be a tenured associate professor or higher.
Have a demonstrated commitment to student success.
Have strong organizational and management skills, with a demonstrated ability to lead a complex school.
Have experience with budget management.
Have experience with shared faculty governance.
Have a demonstrated ability to secure grants and external funding.
Have a proven record of scholarship and current knowledge of the state of the field.
Preferred Qualifications
Tenured, full professor.
Experience as chair, assistant chair, or program director.
Experience at a Carnegie classified R2 doctoral university – high research activity – or higher.
Successful experience with accreditations.
Experience and/or knowledge of distributed campus models.
Greenwood Asher & Associates ® is assisting The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in this search. Applications and nominations are now being accepted. For a full application package, please submit a cover letter, CV, and list of five references. Confidential inquiries, nominations and application materials should be directed to Greenwood Asher & Associates. Submission of application materials as three separate PDF attachments is strongly encouraged. The search will be conducted with a commitment of confidentiality for candidates until finalists are selected. Initial screening of applications will begin immediately and will continue until an appointment is made.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. It is the policy of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to promote and ensure equal employment opportunities for all individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information or protected veteran status.
Innovation. Opportunity. Purpose. Careers. That's what the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is about. With campuses throughout the Valley, UTRGV empowers successful futures, enhances daily life, and lets our region shine as a global innovator in higher education, bilingual education, health education, biomedical research, and emerging technology that inspires positive change.
UTRGV was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund - a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
