Academic Career & Executive Search is pleased to assist Austin College in its search for its Founding Director and Professor of Engineering.

For full consideration, please apply by January 3rd. 

Austin College invites applications for its Founding Director and Professor of Engineering for the emerging Bachelor of Science Program in Engineering. 

The ideal candidate will bring their visionary and strategic skills combined with their respect and appreciation for the strengths and values of a liberal arts education to start and grow this new engineering program.  Austin College is a founding member of the Texoma Semiconductor Innovation Consortium recently designated a Tech Hub authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act.  The region is experiencing rapid growth and Austin College is committed to developing an excellent engineering program well poised to serve our students and lead our region 

The Founding Director will lead the development of the program from its inception by building upon the existing strengths, values, and liberal arts mission of the College. This role is ideal for a person seeking to be a part of a growing academic enterprise on the cutting edge of discovery, learning, and engagement. The Founding Director will facilitate the program through ABET accreditation as well as develop a vision with respect to emerging subdisciplines.  The Program Director will be expected to teach courses in support of the program as well as the institution’s core “Compass” curriculum.  

The Program Director is a full-time twelve-month open-rank position with tenure track teaching responsibilities. The Founding Director will report to the Dean of Sciences and work closely with the existing Physics Department. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build a new program: Plan, organize, and implement a high-quality Engineering program that is consistent with the strengths and mission of Austin College and is in accordance with the standards and requirements of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), including curriculum design, space planning, and laboratory and equipment specifications. 
• Acquire ABET Accreditation: Plan and shepherd the program though the process of acquiring ABET accreditation.  
• Teach Courses: Design and teach courses that contribute to the engineering program and to the college's "Compass" general education curriculum and participate in undergraduate student research activities.
• Foster Industry Relationships: Work with regional industry to maintain employment, internship, and research opportunities. 
• Recruit students: Collaborate with Institutional Enrollment to recruit a high quality and diverse pool of student applicants.  
• Administer program: Provide ongoing administration of the Program’s operation, including fiscal management; curriculum oversight; and continuous review, analysis, and improvement of the Program. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES 

• A visionary who likes new challenges: The College is seeking a creative and innovative leader possessing the personal and professional skills to develop a new program that is consistent with Austin College’s liberal arts mission and builds on its values and strengths. 
• Collaborative leadership style: The Founding Director should be an excellent communicator and collaborative leader who is effective at reaching across programmatic and institutional boundaries to build partnerships both within and outside the institution.  
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion: Each member of the Austin College community is responsible for creating and maintaining a culture of inclusion that engages students and valorizes each other’s contribution to our shared educational mission. The successful candidate will be committed to promoting an inclusive institution for students, faculty, and staff. 
• Familiarity with ABET accreditation: The college is seeking someone with personal experience taking or teaching undergraduate courses in engineering within an ABET-accredited program.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD in Engineering (any engineering discipline) or a closely related field, or a master’s degree in engineering with significant teaching and/or industry experience.  
• Experience in teaching undergraduate college-level courses in engineering or a closely related subdiscipline, and/or equivalent industry experience. 

About Austin College 

A private, residential liberal arts college, Austin College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under its original charter. The college serves 1,200 students on a beautiful 100-acre campus in Sherman, Texas. Since its founding in 1849 by Presbyterian Daniel Baker, Austin College has maintained an unwavering commitment to the transformative power of liberal arts education.  

Austin College is committed to excellence in education in the liberal arts and sciences. Faculty and staff describe the College’s students as intellectually curious, adventurous, open-minded, and engaged in their communities. Our rigorous academic programs combine a traditional liberal arts education with intentional exploration of related perspectives beyond the classroom. 

The College offers undergraduate programs in more than 55 areas of study and a graduate program in education that can culminate in a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in one additional semester after completion of the B.A. degree.  In addition, the College offers a Master of Medical Science – Physician’s Assistant degree.  

The campus encompasses a student body, faculty, and staff who vary with respect to race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, socioeconomic status, disability status, religion, and more. Every member of the community is valued in a way that nurtures, rather than erases, differences. Austin College is a close-knit and caring community. Faculty, staff, and students alike are supportive and respectful of one another. This warm and friendly campus environment is a signature feature of life at Austin College and is commented upon by virtually all visitors.

The strength of the liberal arts and sciences curriculum is expressed through careful selection of courses that provide breadth of understanding across disciplines as well as recognition of the interconnectedness of courses and disciplines. At Austin College, that is articulated through the Compass Curriculum – Navigating Your Future, which breaks down, in the simplest forms, to these elements: 

• Experience—gaining the benefits of applied learning. 
• Engage—preparing for life in a global community with courses in global diversity, language, and more. 
• Discover—absorbing a breadth of knowledge from the Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences. 
• Develop—progressing in written communication skills (through an enhanced writing curriculum) and literacy competency, as well as development of the whole body. 
• Focus—cultivating expertise through completing coursework for major and minor departments. All students must complete a major and a minor, or a second major. 

Through this Compass framework, faculty work with students to help them prepare to leave Austin College ready to participate in today’s changing world as engaged citizens, empowered to lead, and work in their communities.


About the Engineering Program 

Vibrant Pre-Engineering Program: Austin College has been training future engineers for over 115 years. The college actively pursues internship opportunities for current students, which often lead to full-time employment after graduation.  Our students have primarily started their careers as physics students and completed undergraduate or graduate engineering programs at other colleges or universities. Looking forward, we wish to build on these strengths by providing our students with an accredited engineering degree at Austin College. This will allow them to pursue their dream of becoming an engineer on this campus.

Diverse student body: The Austin College student body is remarkably diverse. Fifty-one percent of the student body represents ethnic minorities. First generation college students make up 23 percent of the entering freshman class of fall 2020. While honoring the institution’s covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports each student’s growth and development regardless of religious tradition. 

Commitment to mentoring and student success: Each new student is paired with a faculty mentor to help the student navigate their educational experience. The faculty member mentors the student for the rest of their Austin College education. The mentoring program is very important at the College and is a hallmark of the Austin College education. Student success is also a top priority. The College has invested in a dedicated position to coordinate resources and services for academic growth and personal development as students’ journey toward graduation and beyond. Counseling, Health, and Wellness services work to ensure that students can learn in an environment that focuses on safeguarding physical and emotional health.

 
Living in the Area

Austin College is in Sherman, Texas, a 45-minute drive north of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. A city of 45,000 people, Sherman has the benefits of a small college town with proximity to the nation’s fourth largest metropolitan area. Faculty and staff praise the community of Sherman for its high quality of life, relatively low cost of living, and welcoming family feel.

The Sherman community includes an accomplished symphony orchestra as well as a community theatre, parks, museums, and a nearby national wildlife refuge and reservoir that attracts over 6 million visitors annually.   Sherman’s school district is celebrated for academic excellence. The new Sherman High School campus, funded through a $176 million school bond passed in 2017, opened to students in January 2021. 

The Texoma region, with a population of about 347,000, encompasses the counties of North Texas and Southern Oklahoma that surround Lake Texoma. 

The nearby DFW Metroplex ranks high nationally in population and economic growth and provides students, faculty, and staff with easy access to educational, cultural, employment, and entertainment opportunities. A diverse group of name-brand companies call the region home, reflecting the area’s strong fundamentals when it comes to workforce, access, and cost of doing business. DFW also is home to a thriving convention and tourism industry; professional football, baseball, hockey, and basketball teams; fine restaurants; and numerous museums and performing arts organizations. Texas residents do not pay state income tax. 
  
With proximity to Dallas, robust infrastructure, and a skilled workforce, companies find Sherman to be an excellent location to do business.  The top manufacturing sectors include high tech manufacturing, food and beverage processing, metal fabrication and logistics. Besides semiconductor companies, other global corporations have Sherman facilities, including Fisher Controls, Tyson Foods, Sunny D, Kaiser Aluminum, and Emerson Process Management.  

Austin College is a founding member of the Texoma Semiconductor Innovation Consortium (TSIC).  The consortium actively promotes work force development and innovation relevant to the semiconductor industry. Austin College is committed to providing robust educational support to the consortium, and the Director of Engineering will play a key role in the work of the Consortium.


To Apply 

For full consideration, please apply by January 3rd. 

Please apply through the application link and do not email applications. 

Applications will be reviewed as they are received and should include a cover letter and curriculum vitae. Ideally cover letters should not exceed two pages. All applications are treated confidentially.

Inquiries, referrals, and nominations are also treated confidentially.

Inquiries and questions: Please send to AustinCollegeEngineering@acesrch.com 
Nominations and referrals: Please send the nominees’ name, title, and contact information if available to nominations@acesrch.com 

Institution’s EEO Statement
Austin College does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or status as a veteran in the administration of its educational policies and programs, employment policies and practices, enrollment policies and practices, and athletics program, as well as any other College-administered policy, procedure, practice, or program. Reasonable accommodations are made for individuals with disabilities.