Job Description:

The University of Massachusetts Boston’s newly-formed Department of Urban Public Health seeking applicants for Department Chair at the Associate/Professor rank to start September 1, 2024. The Chair will report directly to the Dean of the Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences (MCNHS).

The inaugural Chair will guide and shape the direction of the Departments’ educational programs and the overall research agenda of the Department, which includes emphases on epidemiology, environmental health, social determinants of health, and health promotion solutions to advance health equity. The inaugural Chair will lead the effort to obtain accreditation from the Council for Education in Public Health. The Chair will mentor faculty, develop a plan for the implementation and continued success our educational programs, and build strong relationships with other academic departments across the Boston campus and the other campuses within the University of Massachusetts system (Lowell, Dartmouth, Amherst, Chan Medical School).

Required qualifications include holding a PhD in Public Health or a related field. Applicants should currently hold the position of full professor or advanced associate professor with evidence for qualifications for promotion to full professor. Applicants should have experience in an academic supervisory capacity (ideally as Department Chair); knowledge of innovative curriculum development and implementation; mentorship of faculty; experience with fiscal management responsibilities; experience with community and other external partners; and demonstrated commitment to inclusion and diversity.

The successful candidate will demonstrate commitment to creating an inclusive learning and working environment. The Department seeks exceptional candidates with 1) leadership experience, 2) high expectations for racially minoritized students, 3) experience mentoring/advising first-generation college students and underserved students, particularly racially minoritized students of color, 4) excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, 5) a record of high-quality research and scholarship, and 6) a record of achieving external funding to promote research and/or program development.

Expectations of the Chair include, but are not limited to 1) support the mission and vision of the college and university, 2) provide visionary leadership to advance a culture of collaboration, transparency, and excellence, 3) enhance racial equity, diversity, and inclusive excellence among faculty, staff, and students, 4) manage and build financial resources, 5) execute and adapt the strategic plan to ensure alignment with and support of our college and university strategic plans, 6) possess excellent interpersonal skills, and demonstrate a strong sense of stewardship, and 7) enhance our strong state, national, and international reputation, increasing our reach and impact.

About the College and the University

MCNHS also includes the Departments of Nursing, Exercise and Health Sciences, and Gerontology, as well as the Gerontology Institute. These departments offer bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impact is both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country - more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minoritized communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who engage the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

The College and University offer strong internal and external mentoring programs for faculty, including grant proposal and manuscript preparation, and a wide range of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborative research opportunities. Current faculty collaborations include major academic and medical institutions in and around Boston, including UMass Chan Medical School, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and many community, public, and private health care agencies. The National Cancer Institute funds the University of Massachusetts Boston-Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center U54 program; this longstanding collaboration has enabled faculty at both institutions to strengthen and extend partnerships for research on health disparities, pre- and post-doctoral training, and community outreach.

Application instructions:

Applicants should provide a Curriculum Vitae, a cover letter that includes a summary statement of administrative experience, research interests, and teaching and service experience, with contact information for three references. Inquiries may be directed to the search committee Chair, Professor Alex More at Alexander.More@umb.edu . Review of applications will begin on December 1 2023 and continue until the position is filled. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to provide letters of support from three references along with a research statement and a teaching statement that addresses ways anti-racism and social justice are incorporated into their professional activities to promote ethnic diversity and inclusivity within our College.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact the ADA/504 Coordinator Andrea Haas  or 617-287-5148.