Chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages

Department: Col of Humanities and Soc Science

Classification: 9-month Instructional Faculty

Job Category: Instructional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: On Site Required

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The Department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of languages: Arabic, Chinese, Classical Studies, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. From our basic language offerings to our undergraduate and graduate courses in linguistics, literature, and cultural studies, our integrated curriculum fuses students’ acquisition of linguistic proficiency with their development of cultural knowledge and critical thinking. We offer five undergraduate major concentrations (Arabic; Chinese; French; Korean; and Spanish), eleven minors, a graduate-level certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education, and one Master’s program with five concentrations (Chinese; Spanish; French; Spanish & French; and Spanish/Bilingual-Multicultural Education).

About the Position:

The Chair provides leadership to the department to facilitate the achievement of college and university strategic objectives. The Chair will serve a four-year term beginning August 25, 2025. The position is potentially renewable. The standard duties of a department chair are outlined in the Faculty Handbook, section 2.12: https://provost.gmu.edu/administration/policy. The Chair is responsible for overseeing all departmental operations and plays a key role in collaborating to promote the study of languages and cultures, particularly in promoting intercultural competence across disciplines at the university. The Chair reports to the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Responsibilities:

• Provides strategic enrollment management, budgeting, and academic planning;
• Manages and consulting with faculty and staff;
• Teaches undergraduate and graduate courses;
• Engages in research and scholarship;
• Serves as liaison and an advocate for the department; and
• Cultivates a culture of excellence and respect through balancing faculty workload in scholarship, teaching, and service.

Required Qualifications:

• Terminal degree in an area related to world languages, literature, linguistics, cultural studies, or related discipline;
• Must be eligible for appointment with tenure at the rank of full professor;
• Experience in leadership and academic administration;
• A strong record of scholarship and teaching;
• A commitment to actively supporting inclusiveness and collegiality; and
• A commitment to working with various global and local language communities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Record of program-building and collaboration across disciplines and academic units, and ability to foster interdisciplinary collaborations through national and international initiatives;
• Proven experience communicating with multi-lingual and cross-disciplinary audiences;
• Experience with online instruction and curriculum development;
• Experience teaching any of the languages regularly offered in the department (Arabic, Chinese, Classical Studies, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Russian, or Spanish). Experience with lesser taught languages is also welcome;
• Strategic vision for world language education and scholarship in a national and global context, including fund-raising and grant writing; and
• Commitment to fostering a culture of research and teaching excellence.

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include a cover letter; curriculum vitae; a leadership statement to describe your vision for the department, your qualifications in relation to this job ad, leadership philosophy, style, and experiences, keeping in mind the multicultural and multilingual faculty, staff, and student constituencies in MCL (2-3 pages max); a research statement (1 page max); and a list of three professional references with contact information.

Posting Open Date: November 1, 2024

For Full Consideration, Apply by:  January 6, 2025

Open Until Filled:  Yes