Assistant Director, Writing Across the Curriculum

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities has opened a search for an Assistant Director of a well-established Writing Across the Curriculum Program composed of the pioneering intradisciplinary Writing-Enriched Curriculum Program (WEC) and the multifaceted interdisciplinary Teaching with Writing Program (TWW). 

The Assistant Director provides campus-wide instructional support services to undergraduate and graduate faculty/instructor populations who assign various modes of writing. For the WEC Program, they serve as lead contact, facilitator, and resource for a “caseload” of 10–20 undergraduate-enrolling departments and programs engaged in a process of developing, implementing, and assessing comprehensive Undergraduate Writing Plans. For TWW, they design, facilitate, and assess instructional support workshops and research-based discussions, develop instructional support resources, lead writing retreats, and conduct instructional consultations. In addition, this position includes the possibility of teaching one course per semester (two per year) in the University’s Department of Writing Studies. Other responsibilities are described via the application link.

This position serves also as a core member of the WAC team and is suited to people who feel able to toggle between close collaboration and independent responsibility. Responsibilities balance administrative behind-the-scenes tasks with faculty/instructor-facing programming and consulting.

We welcome applications from candidates who prize opportunities to both investigate and support effective writing instruction across academic disciplines, to facilitate quietly radical curricular and pedagogic transformations, and to join our collaborative team. The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission and is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds. All WAC team positions are annually renewable; salary is commensurate with the candidate's experience and qualifications. Application review will begin on June 1, 2023, but the position will remain open until filled. We will conduct a first round of interviews via Zoom.

Minimum Qualifications: at time of application, candidates will have…

• Advanced degree in Rhetoric/Composition, Curriculum and Instruction, or a related field with at least four years of relevant post-degree experience or a BA/BS with at least six years of relevant post-degree experience. 
• More than two years’ (four semesters) experience teaching academic writing (or teaching with writing) as instructor of record for courses offered at a college or university.
• Evidence of effectiveness in organizing and delivering instructional support to faculty members in a college or university writing across the curriculum and/or faculty-development program. This support can have been offered in a variety of modes, but must have included face-to-face workshops and instructional consultations.
• Evidence of outstanding communication abilities (written and spoken).

Desired Qualifications: Preference will be given to candidates with…

• A minimum of five years’ experience conducting WAC/WID-focused faculty development activities that include offering teaching workshops and consultations to faculty members and graduate student instructors in diverse post-secondary disciplines.
• More than four years (eight semesters) of experience teaching first-year writing as instructor of record at a college or university. 
• Administrative experience related to an undergraduate program at a college or university.
• Experience integrating writing and writing instruction across and within undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
• Research in writing/teaching that has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
• Experience designing and conducting institution-wide writing assessment, particularly with collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative educational assessment data.