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Director of Honors Program

Employer
Oklahoma Baptist University
Location
Oklahoma, United States
Salary
Competitive Salary
Date posted
Mar 23, 2022

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Position Type
Faculty Positions, Humanities, Classics, Other Humanities
Employment Level
Administrative
Employment Type
Full Time

Overview

At Oklahoma Baptist University, students learn how all knowledge connects and how that framework can be informed by a thoughtful Christian worldview. The Honors Program at Oklahoma Baptist University offers a transformative educational experience, rooted in the Christian faith and in the Great Books Tradition. The Director of the Honors Program oversees the OBU Honors Program from the point of inquiry through graduation. The role has leadership and recruiting responsibility year-round, reporting to the Dean of Theology, Arts, and Humanities. The role will also teach for a sixhour teaching load during the Fall and Spring Semesters. At least half of the teaching load will be teaching the Honors Core if the Director’s teaching discipline allows.

TO APPLY: Applicants must submit application materials below to hr@okbu.edu:

  • A cover letter
  • An OBU Faculty application form: https://www.okbu.edu/hr/documents/applications/faculty.pdf 
  • Summary of the development of your personal, Christian faith and commitment.  Answer the question, "in what ways does your faith affect your personal and professional lives?"
  • Description of your philosophy of Christian higher education
  • Curriculum vita
  • Three current letters of recommendation
  • Graduate transcripts

Job Role and Responsibility

  • Curriculum planning and oversight
    • Participate in the process of schedule building with the Registrar’s Office (and usually through the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences)
    • Oversee curriculum development for the Honors core courses, teaching at least one course per semester if discipline allows
    • Identify faculty to teach the honors courses offered each semester:
      • Honors colloquia through communication with separate faculty and deans
      • Honors Core Courses
      • Approve various student proposals for enrollment XXX4999 with faculty members who will serve as thesis advisors
    • Serve as instructor of record for HON 3779, 4770, and 4889
    • Invite, consider, and act on ideas for Honors colloquium courses (to include proposals from faculty and students), at present to offer at least two different colloquia each semester and 2-3 in J-term
      • Provide appropriate guidelines for faculty who teach honors colloquia and who advise various honors individual study projects
      • Communicate requirements and options regarding enrollment in Honors courses to students in the program prior to registration and approve enrollment of students in Honors courses during the process of enrollment
      • Periodically consider the adequacy of the current Honors curriculum and, as needed, initiate changes to the Curriculum Committee
  • Monitor progress of students in the Program
    • Maintain system of records on which to determine the progress of students in the program
    • Communicate with thesis advisors to determine student progress. This also involves the preparation of a schedule for the presentation of thesis projects and, sometimes, arbitrating issues that may arise between students and thesis advisors
    • At the end of the semester, assign grades for those courses in which the director is instructor of record, and periodically review grade changes in the cases of IP (in-progress) grades that have been assigned (this especially applies to the HON 3779, HON 4770, and HON 4889 capstone courses); work with the Registrar’s Office to update these grades
  • Communicate with students in the Program and applying to the Program
    • Be available to visit with students who need advisement regarding general program requirements, individual status in the program, and specific guidelines for individual study/service/travel projects
    • Provide timely information about upcoming course offerings and other activities that might be of special benefit to students in the program (e.g. OSLEP seminar offerings, OU Undergraduate Research Day conference deadlines, opportunities for service internship completion, and appropriate study abroad options)
    • Reminders of the requirements for proper documentation of capstone experiences
    • Planning for various recognition events (e.g. thesis presentations and the Honors Graduation Luncheon)
    • Letters of recommendation for students applying for extracurricular programs and/or graduate study, etc.
    • Maintain files on applicants for the program and communicate with those students who are accepted into the program, especially to acknowledge their status prior to first freshman enrollment day
    • Visit with prospective students and families (12 months), represent Honors at Admissions events (12 months), and work with Admissions to coordinate various visitation weekends and activities
    • Communicate and build relationships with Classical & Christian academics, homeschool co-ops, and other high school programs to build recruitment pipelines for Honors
    • Communicate as appropriate with high school students inquiring about the Honors Program
  • Administrative representation of the Program
    • Serve as Chair of the University Honors Committee
    • Serve as the campus representative/member of the National Collegiate Honors Council and Great Plains Honors Council (national and regional association of college and university honors programs)
    • Represent the Honors Program at various OBU and community functions (e.g. Admissions Office events and Salvation Army Awards Dinner, etc.
    • Communicate information to the faculty about the Honors Program (curriculum and guidelines for participation, etc.)
    • Serve as OBU’s coordinator for OSLEP (Oklahoma Scholar-Leadership Enrichment Program)
  • Oversight of the Honors Program budget
    • Prepare budget planning forms as requested by the Business Services team
    • Meet with the appropriate administrative officers to discuss budget plans for the upcoming year
    • Approve expenditures from the current budget
    • Initiate budget adjustments, when needed and/or requested due to University-wide adjustment
    • Request budget transfer from the Honors scholarship budget to individual student accounts for students approved for use of these monies to support overseas study

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required

  • Able to communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing exceptionally well
  • Able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others
  • Able to listen and respond to others appropriately
  • Able to lead effectively, and relate to and collaborate well with colleagues in the OBU community and constituents in OBU’s community
  • Able to represent OBU to the wider professional community
  • Handle confidential matters with tact and discretion
  • Possess and demonstrate strong pedagogy
  • Able to assess student ability and adjust teaching as appropriate
  • Able to advise students
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office

Education

  • Required: Doctorate (already attained)
  • Preferred: Ph. D. in an appropriate field of study currently needed at OBU

Experience

  • Required: Experience in Administrative and higher education teaching
  • Preferred: Experience with university honors programming

Special Requirement: Active membership in a local, evangelical Christian church (must be affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention if the candidate’s discipline is taught in the Hobbs School of Theology & Ministry)

 

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