Faculty Position Opening
Chair Search
Michigan Technological University, Chair of Humanities
The Department of Humanities at Michigan Technological University invites applications for the position of Chair to begin in the 2009-2010 academic year. The Chair will be responsible for managing the academic and financial affairs of the department, fostering the growth of our undergraduate and graduate programs, and developing resources for the department.
We seek an individual with the vision and ability to lead a highly interdisciplinary department, continue the department’s prominence in scholarship, and further our strong tradition of educational excellence. We want a Chair who will encourage new interdisciplinary initiatives and work with current departmental strengths. The Chair will also be expected to foster collaborations within the department and with other departments, centers, and institutes.
Required qualifications:
- commitment to support of faculty research and scholarship
- commitment to interdisciplinary learning and research
- understanding of and commitment to the productive role that the humanities play in a technological university
- commitment to the enhancement of diversity
- strong interpersonal skills
- evidence of leadership
- excellent communication and organizational skills
- resource management skills
- distinguished record of research and teaching
- academic rank of Associate or full Professor
- PhD in one of the areas of the department
Review of applications will begin on October 1, 2008, and continue until the position is filled. Send letter of application, vita, four letters of reference, and a statement of your administrative philosophy to:
Chair Search Committee
Department of Humanities
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
If you have questions or want further information, feel free to contact us by email: huchairsearch @ mtu.edu.
Michigan Tech is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Educational Institution/ Employer.
About the department
The Department of Humanities at Michigan Tech is a diverse, interdisciplinary group of people and programs. Twenty-nine full-time faculty research and teach in the fields of communication, composition, cultural studies, gender studies, linguistics, literature, media and visual studies, modern languages, philosophy, rhetoric, and technical communication.
The department is home to the nationally recognized, interdisciplinary graduate program in Rhetoric and Technical Communication (which includes a new Peace Corps Master’s International Program). It is the only department in the nation to earn three Program of Excellence Certificates from the Conference on College Composition and Communication for our undergraduate program in Scientific and Technical Communication, our second-year writing program (UN2002 Revisions), and the Michigan Tech Writing Center.
The department is home to two national journals: Pank: A Review of New Writing and Art and The Community Literacy Journal. It also hosts Michigan Tech’s Summer Reading Program, the only such program at a technological university in the United States. And in 2005, the department sponsored the Fifth Biennial Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference: Affirming Diversity, attended by approximately 350 people from all over the country and from Canada, the Middle East, and Mexico.
Faculty in the department have won university-wide Distinguished Teaching Awards three times since 2001.
Graduate program
- Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Undergraduate majors and concentrations
- Communication and Culture (Communication in Contemporary Culture; Communication in Human Interactions in Global Contexts; Communication Media)
- Liberal Arts (English, English Education, Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts)
- Scientific and Technical Communication
- Associate Degree in Humanities
Undergraduate minors
- Communication Studies
- Diversity Studies
- Ethics and Philosophy
- French
- German
- Spanish
- International French
- International German
- International Spanish
- Journalism
Undergraduate certificates
- French
- German
- Spanish
- Media
- Writing
The department also plays an important role in the General Education program of the university and offers ESL courses that help prepare international students for their academic work.
About the university and surrounding community
Michigan Tech offers more than 120 degree programs in arts, humanities, and social sciences; business and economics; computing; engineering; forestry and environmental science, natural and physical sciences, and technology. Michigan Tech has one of the nation’s largest programs in scientific and technical communication, within the humanities department. In the fiscal year 2009 State of Michigan funding formula, Michigan Tech is slated to receive a 4.39 percent increase, more than the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University, or $8,518 per full year equated student, second highest in the state, behind Wayne State University, but more than the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. US News & World Report has ranked Michigan Tech in the top tier of national universities, and the Princeton Review also rates us among the nation’s best universities and as a “tech powerhouse.” Michigan Tech is also ranked number seven among PC Magazine’s 2007 Top-20 Wired Colleges. Most recently, Reader’s Digest has rated Michigan Tech the third-safest campus in the nation. Michigan Tech is located in Houghton, near the south shore of Lake Superior. Houghton was recently named one of the 100 best small towns in America and the local community provides excellent resources conducive to quality family life. This rural area is known for natural beauty, pleasant summers, abundant snowfall, and numerous all-season outdoor activities. The university maintains its own downhill and cross-country ski facilities and golf course. In addition, there are numerous cultural activities and opportunities available on campus and in the community.