Human Resources

Summary

The Department Chair will lead the Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty and staff in their mission of excellence in education, research, and service. We seek an individual who has an earned doctorate in mathematics, statistics, or a closely related field with the vision and experience to grow our undergraduate and graduate programs, elevate the department's prominence in research, and further our strong tradition of educational excellence. We are particularly interested in a chair that can support and complement existing research strengths in the department including statistics and biostatistics, discrete mathematics, and computational mathematics.

The Chair is the chief administrative officer of the department and is responsible for the department's administration, hiring, promotion, and budget, as well as being the leader in continuously improving the culture of diversity, inclusion, and excellence in teaching and research. The Chair serves as the primary liaison between the department and the Dean’s office and represents the department to the rest of the University and external constituents. The Chair is expected to advance the department’s mission through collaborations with partners both internal and external to the university.

The position is expected to begin July 1, 2025.

Michigan Tech is Michigan’s flagship technological university and will be a Carnegie classified R1 institution in 2025. The university provides its graduates with an extremely high return on investment through its academic rigor and focus on experiential learning. Located near the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s scenic Upper Peninsula, the university provides a high standard of living. The community offers a small-town environment with outstanding four-season recreational opportunities.

Michigan Tech attracts world-class faculty and staff who enrich the educational experience of smart, motivated, and adventurous students. Applicants who are committed to promoting a sense of belonging and contributing to an equitable and inclusive learning environment for all are strongly encouraged to apply https://www.mtu.edu/belonging/.

Responsibilities 

Provide leadership in achieving excellence in teaching, research, and service.
Promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Department and the curriculum.

Recruit, mentor, and retain a strong departmental faculty and staff through active mentoring, conducting annual performance reviews, committing to continuous improvement, and making recommendations on reappointment, tenure, and promotion.
In collaboration with the Dean, effectively engage the department and other stakeholders in executing the department's vision and strategic plan, ensuring alignment with those of the College and University.

Manage the department’s resources (financial, personnel, space, and equipment) effectively to achieve long and short-term goals.

Develop and execute plans that enhance scholarly activity and growth in externally funded research activity within the department;

Promote ongoing review of educational offerings to support quality, efficiency, enrollment growth, accreditation, and workforce/societal needs;

Make recommendations regarding faculty hiring, budget requests, enrollment projections, and other areas as requested by the dean:

Collaborate with the dean and the University’s Office of Advancement to identify key priorities for fundraising and effectively engage with alumni and others;

Collaborate with the dean and University Marketing and Communications to assist in promoting the department and its programs to external stakeholders to enhance Michigan Tech’s reputation and recruiting;

Make and take responsibility for difficult decisions that impact the department in collaboration with the dean and others;

Willingly undertake and complete other duties as assigned by the dean, provost, or president.

Commit to learning about continuous improvement strategies and applying them to everyday work. Actively engage in University continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Education, Certifications, Licensures

An earned Ph.D. degree in mathematics, statistics, or closely related fields.

Required Experience

Demonstrated evidence of scholarly, professional, and creative achievement to merit appointment at the full professor rank.

Demonstrated leadership experience in an academic setting.

Desirable Education and/or Experience

Experience in supervising professional staff.
Experience in fostering an agile, supportive, diverse, and inclusive work environment.
Experience with, or a vision for, securing resources through fundraising.
Experience with alumni outreach.
Experience in advocating for and managing resources (financial, personnel, space, and equipment) effectively to achieve long and short-term goals.
Experience with working effectively within a structure of shared governance.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

Demonstrated research success in the mathematical sciences.
Experience in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

Successful record in acquiring and managing external research funding.

Ability to lead in developing innovative and distinctive education and research programs.

Success in mentoring doctoral students.

Demonstrated success in, or potential future contributions to, working with persons from diverse backgrounds, creating a sense of belonging, and fostering a fair, objective, welcoming place to work for persons with a wide variety of personal characteristics and viewpoints.

Language, Mathematics and/or Reasoning Skills

Work Environment and/or Physical Demands

Required Training and Other Conditions of Employment

Every employee at Michigan Technological University will receive the following 4 required trainings; additional training may be required by the department.

Required University Training:

• Employee Safety Overview

• Anti-Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation Training

• Annual Data Security Training 

• Annual Title IX Training

Background Check:

Offers of employment are contingent upon and not considered finalized until the required background check has been performed and the results received and assessed.

Other Conditions of Employment:

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without the need of an employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of your appointment, and maintain eligibility without sponsorship throughout your appointment.

1

FLSA Status

Exempt

Appointment Term

11 months

Shift

Pay Rate/Salary

Title of Position Supervisor

College Dean

Posting Type

Dependent on Funding

Special Instructions to Applicants (if applicable)

The review of applications will commence on  December 2, 2024.  The Committee will give full consideration to applications received by that date.  The search will remain open until position is filled.

Interested candidates should complete the online application and upload the required materials, including (1) a cover letter of interest, (2) Curriculum Vitae, (3) a description of your vision and philosophy as a department chair and how your background and experience position you to provide effective leadership and contribute to the teaching, service, and research missions of the department, (4) research statement, (5) names and contact information for three references. You can find out more about this position, including where to submit your materials electronically at: http://www.employment.mtu.edu/cw/en-us/job/493730.

Applicants will need to upload the following documents:
● Curriculum Vitae
● Cover Letter
● Vision and Philosophy Statement 
● Research Statement

Names and contact information for three (3) reference providers.

We strongly encourage applicants to address the required and desired qualifications in their cover letter along with an explanation of how they will contribute to the Vision and Mission of Michigan Tech.

For more information about the department please visit https://www.mtu.edu/math/. For inquiries about the search please contact the search committee chair David Hemmer at djhemmer@mtu.edu

Additional Information

Michigan Technological University, one of the four major research universities in the State of Michigan, is located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula adjacent to Lake Superior. The community offers a small-town environment with outstanding four-season recreational opportunities. Michigan Tech is located in Houghton, MI on the south shore of Lake Superior.

Michigan Tech is proud to be an ADVANCE Institution that has thrice received National Science Foundation support to increase diversity, inclusion, and the participation and advancement of women and underrepresented individuals in STEM.

Michigan Tech recognizes the importance of supporting faculty members’ partners; candidates selected for on-campus interviews will be invited to bring a guest. Additional details on our Partner Engagement Program can be found at https://www.mtu.edu/provost/programs/partner-engagement/.