The Grand Challenges Initiative within Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University invites applications for an Instructional Assistant Professor to serve as Assistant Program Director of the Grand Challenges Initiative beginning in August 2020. The University is dedicated to enhancing diversity and inclusion in all aspects of recruitment and employment. More information on diversity and inclusion at Chapman University is available at https://www.chapman.edu/diversity.
The Grand Challenges Initiative provides foundational skills in critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and teamwork for every undergraduate student entering the Schmid College of Science and Technology (www.chapman.edu/science) and the new Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering (www.chapman.edu/engineering). Our students collaborate in small teams to solve complex problems from the perspective of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Each team spends their first two years studying a grand challenge of their choosing, ranging from how to design effective large-scale energy storage systems to how to cure neurodegenerative disease. The assistant program director will facilitate student teams in the program, inspiring and empowering them to explore new ideas and test innovative solutions. Student teams in the Grand Challenges Initiative are mentored by postdoctoral teaching and research fellows. The program has quickly become one of the largest and most comprehensive programs in the country for empowering the next generation of teacher-scholars. The assistant director will become a key part of this community, collaborating with our fellows to bring new evidence-based teaching methods to the classroom. More program information is available here: www.chapman.edu/GCI
Chapman University is a nationally ranked institution offering traditional undergraduate and graduate programs in the heart of Orange County, one of Southern California's most diverse and vibrant regions. The university achieved R2 status in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, a distinction held by just 10 percent of all U.S. universities. Our faculty include academic leaders who excel in research, publishing and world-class teaching in our 11 schools and colleges, including Schmid College of Science and Technology and Fowler School of Engineering. Dedicated to forward-looking, personalized education, we create an environment for unlimited achievement by both our students and faculty. More information about the university is available at https://www.chapman.edu. The successful candidate will be appointed as a non-tenure track instructional assistant professor and assistant program director with opportunities for advancement per the Faculty Manual.
They will provide significant teaching, as well as leadership, for the Grand Challenges Initiative.
Key responsibilities will include curriculum development and assessment, collaboration with postdoctoral fellows to improve the student experience, and implementation of key program events designed to enhance equity and inclusion. There are significant opportunities for the successful candidate to drive the program in innovative ways that enhance the learning and success of our students. This includes additional teaching release on receipt of extramural funding related to the program.
The successful candidate will hold a Ph.D. in a field of STEM or STEM education. The ideal candidate will be:
* committed to inspiring and empowering our students to use STEM as a means of solving problems and excited to work with students from across disciplines, * experienced in evidence-based approaches for teaching STEM in areas such as curriculum development, project-based learning, and/or assessment strategies, * dedicated to fostering an environment of equity and inclusion in order to attract and retain diversity in STEM and have an understanding of the particular challenges for students transitioning into a university setting, and * engaged in promoting a positive team-oriented environment and have excellent interpersonal skills.
Chapman University is one of California's oldest and most respected private universities, offering distinguished undergraduate and graduate degrees in the context of a liberal arts and sciences university. For more than 150 years, Chapman University has served as a symbol of educational access and excellence in the state of California. Founded as Hesperian College in 1861 in Woodland, California by members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), we admitted men and women and people of color from our earliest days. Endowed by the Valencia orange magnate Charles Clarke Chapman, the institution changed its name to Chapman College in 1934, and by 1954 had moved to the former campus of Orange Union High School in Orange, California. The college again extended higher educational access when it began offering classes to military personnel at El Toro Marine Base.In 1965, Chapman took undergraduate education to the high seas when it began running World Campus Afloat, the program that would eventually become Semester at Sea, a tradition that continues at Chapman through our world-wide study abroad programs.Since our founding, Chapman has grown into a highly regarded university that at...tracts high-achieving undergraduate and graduate students from all over the United States, and more than 60 nations around the world.Our mission statement: To provide personalized education of distinction that leads to inquiring, ethical and productive lives as global citizens.
