Mass Communications/Professor and Director- USF (Tampa, FL)

Position: Mass Communications/Professor and Director
Salary: Unspecified
Institution: University of South Florida
Location: Florida
Date posted: 12/22/2008


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Mass Communications/Professor and Director. The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Florida invites nominations and applications for the position of director of the School of Mass Communications at the USF Tampa campus for a term beginning no later than August 2009. This is a 12-month position with a rank of professor or associate professor. The salary is competitive, to be determined by experience and education.

Duties. The director of the School of Mass Communications is the chief academic and administrative officer in the school. The director reports to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and is responsible for the school's Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) accreditation compliance. With the assistance of elected faculty committees, appointed sequence heads and the director of graduate studies, the director also oversees all school budget and fund-raising activities, and curriculum modification. The director also oversees faculty and staff hiring and development, and supervises approximately 25 full-time faculty and staff members and an additional 25 adjunct and contract faculty members and student workers.

Minimum Qualifications. An appropriate earned doctoral degree is required as is significant college or university administrative experience as well as professional and teaching experience in one of the school's undergraduate curriculum areas: advertising, journalism, public relations or telecommunications.

Requirements also include scholarly achievement and teaching excellence commensurate with appointment as a full professor with tenure or an associate professor with tenure. In addition, the successful candidate should demonstrate the following qualifications: (1) a commitment to faculty and staff governance and transparency, (2) an understanding of each of the school's four primary undergraduate teaching areas, (3) ACEJMC administrative accreditation experience, (4) a commitment to diversity, (5) a record of leadership skills, and (6) evidence of significant and successful fund-raising.

The University and the School. The University of South Florida is among the nation's top 63 public research universities, is one of 39 community engaged public universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and placed among the nation's top 20 "up and coming universities" in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report annual college rankings. USF is one of Florida's top three research universities. The University was awarded $366 million in research contracts and grants last year. The university offers 219 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the M.D. degree. The university has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 45,000 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference. The School of Mass Communications, housed in a $10 million building completed in 1992 and located in the 13th largest television market in the nation, is reaccredited by ACEJMC until 2013. The school offers a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications through three undergraduate sequences--advertising, multimedia journalism and production, and public relations. Undergraduate enrollment, which is limited to students who meet a GPA standard and pass a qualifying examination, is approximately 1,600 pre-majors and majors. A master of arts degree in mass communications can be earned in one of three studies tracks?media studies, multimedia journalism, and strategic communication management. Approximately 50 students are enrolled in graduate study. There are 19 full-time faculty members with a broad range of professional and scholarly credentials. For more information, please see the school's Internet site at http://masscom.usf.edu/. Application Process.

The position is open until filled. Review of applications will begin on January 16, 2009. Full consideration will be given to those applications received on or before the review of application date. To apply, send a letter describing administrative, teaching, research, service and professional credentials with a vita and the names and addresses of three references to chair, Director Search Committee, School of Mass Communications, University of South Florida, CIS 1040, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-7800. According to Florida law, applications and meetings regarding them are open to the public. For ADA accommodations, please call 813-974-6784 at least five working days prior to need. USF is an AA/EEO institution.