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Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Chairs (2 positions)

Employer
Illinois State University
Location
Normal, Illinois
Salary
Pay is commensurate with qualifications and experience, combined with an excellent benefits package
Date posted
Jan 27, 2023

Job Details

Illinois State University invites applications for the positions of founding chairpersons of the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the newly created College of Engineering.

Founded in 1857, Illinois State is the oldest public university in the state. Located in Normal, 125 miles southwest of Chicago, ISU hosts a diverse community of scholars committed to fostering a small college atmosphere with large university opportunities. Illinois State’s mission is based on a shared set of core values: learning and scholarship, diversity and inclusion, respect, collaboration, individualized attention, civic engagement, and integrity. Students at Illinois State find rigorous academic programs that challenge them to be their best and a welcoming and supportive campus atmosphere that helps them grow and mature as scholars, citizens, and leaders. ISU has a total enrollment of 20,683 students (18,055 undergraduate and 2,628 graduate) situated on a 1,111-acre campus.

Established in 2022, with the first cohort of students expected to enroll in the fall of 2025, the College of Engineering will initially offer electrical, mechanical, and general engineering degree programs in two departments (electrical and mechanical engineering). The college will be uniquely designed with a vision of student success, diversity, and workforce development. Illinois State University aims for its new college to be recognized for excellence in the education of a diverse community of students who possess the attitudes, behaviors, and skills of engineering professionals. Leveraging Illinois State’s reputation as a student-focused institution, the College of Engineering will prepare students for success by melding theory and practice in core engineering disciplines and innovative cross-disciplinary experiences. 

Working closely with the founding dean, the inaugural chairs will be tasked with hiring faculty members for the newly created Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The chairs will collaborate with one another and the dean to foster a culture of student success and research excellence for the new college. The two chairs (as well as future chairs if new departments are formed) will constitute the dean’s leadership team. The chairs will work with faculty colleagues, content experts, and university leaders to ensure the creation of an interdisciplinary, cutting-edge curriculum that supports an ABET-accredited degree programs, contributes to the core engineering curriculum with a focused integration of electrical and mechanical engineering, and fosters the creation of new academic topics in the general engineering degree program. The chairs will work collaboratively with the dean and college leadership team to design the annual evaluation, promotion and tenure, administrative, budgetary, and personnel structures and processes.

Both chair candidates will provide academic and administrative leadership, manage and secure resources for their respective departments, promote excellence in research and teaching, encourage the pursuit of external funding, and foster a collegial atmosphere that supports diversity, equity and inclusion as well as ISU’s mission. Candidates who have experience in creating or starting up new programs, working with a diverse range of faculty, staff, and students, and who can contribute to a climate of inclusivity are especially encouraged to apply.

The successful candidates must have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering or in mechanical engineering, a significant record of research and teaching excellence, demonstrated leadership abilities, and a commitment to shared academic governance. The chairs must possess a record of scholarship, teaching experience, and service that merits appointment as associate or full professor. State law mandates demonstrable oral proficiency in English language as a requirement for this position. This position is security sensitive, and employment is contingent upon the candidate’s satisfactory clearance of a criminal background investigation based on university policy.

Full leadership profiles can be found online: 

https://www.wittkieffer.com/positionfiles/u2365613/Leadership+Profile+-+Mechanical+Engineering+Chair+ISU+FINAL.pdf 

https://www.wittkieffer.com/positionfiles/u2365612/Leadership+Profile+-+Electrical+Engineering+Chair+ISU+Final.pdf

WittKieffer is proud to partner with Illinois State University for both searches. All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by March 20, 2023. 

Applications, inquiries, and nominations can be sent to Jessica Herrington and Luis Bertot at ISUEEChair@wittkieffer.com (electrical engineering) or ISUMEChair@wittkieffer.com (mechanical engineering).

Illinois State University, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding affirmative action, nondiscrimination, and anti-harassment. Illinois State University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, order of protection, gender identity and expression, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, genetic information, unfavorable military discharge, or status as a veteran in employment, educational programs and activities, or admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed by contacting the director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access by email at EqualOpportunity@IllinoisState.edu, by calling (309) 438-3383, or by mail at Illinois State University, Campus Box 1280, Normal, IL 61790.

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Illinois State University, founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois. Illinois State is a co-educational, residential university committed to fostering a small-college atmosphere with large-university opportunities and promoting the highest academic standards in teaching, scholarship, and community service. Serving more than 20,000 students, our six colleges offer 174 undergraduate majors, 97 master’s programs, 17 doctoral degrees, and 40 certificate options. We have repeatedly been named a “Great Place to Work” by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Illinois State University is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in all of its forms. We embrace individual uniqueness, foster a culture of inclusion that supports both broad and specific diversity initiatives, leverage the educational and institutional benefits of diversity, and engage all individuals to help them thrive. We value inclusion as a core strength and an essential element of our mission.

Illinois State University is in the Central Illinois community of Bloomington and Normal, with a combined population of approximately 132,000, and conveniently located approximately two hours from both Chicago and St. Louis. The community is home to GROWMARK, Illinois Farm Bureau, State Farm Insurance International Headquarters, Rivian Motors, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Heartland Community College. The community has distinguished itself for its outstanding school systems and educational attainment, parks and recreation, health care, job growth, economic opportunity, and low crime. Please visit the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention & Visitors Bureau website at www.visitbn.org and Bloomington-Normal Advantage as www.bnadvantage.com for more information.

Illinois State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

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