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Faculty Director, Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life, UC Santa Barbara

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Position description

The Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara is seeking a visionary leader and distinguished scholar at the Associate Professor or Full Professor rank who will serve as the Faculty Director of the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life. The position is for an established scholar with a proven record of academic leadership. The Faculty Director will have many opportunities to cultivate the vision and strategic planning of the Capps Center. The appointment is slated to begin on July 1, 2019.

The Faculty Director will hold tenure in an appropriate department with the strong likelihood that the appointment at least partially will be in the Department of Religious Studies. The 100% faculty position carries a reduced teaching load to accommodate the duties of the directorship. In addition to fulfilling the administrative duties of the directorship, the Director will be expected to teach and train undergraduate and graduate students in relevant fields.

The Department of Religious Studies, with 25 internationally recognized tenured/tenure-track faculty and a strong graduate program, seeks to extend its scholarly and curricular strengths in the area of religion in and for public life, including but not limited to religion's political impacts and intersections, its engagement with the secular, and its transformations within contexts of pluralism and contemporary spirituality. For more information about the department see: www.religion.ucsb.edu.

The Capps Center maintains the conviction that attention to values, beliefs, and ethics is crucial to addressing questions of moral choice and our needs for the future. Established through an NEH Challenge Grant in 2002, the Center is an important hub of public humanities programming, engaging the university and the wider community in dialogue about ethical issues in public and professional life. It has sponsored lectures and conversations that have brought distinguished thinkers, activists, and academics to the Santa Barbara area; it created and runs the highly successful Sara Miller McCune Internship and Public Service Program; it funds research in cultural literacy; and it supports essential courses focused on environmental ethics, biomedical ethics, the campus experience, and corporate leadership. For more information, visit the Center’s website at http://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/

The future Director will play a crucial role in furthering the Center's mission and interests by overseeing the Center's budget and staff, fundraising, chairing the Center's governing structure, and planning, implementing, and assessing the Center's programs and projects. Applicants should demonstrate the ability to create innovative public programming and provide evidence of strong administrative and management skills and the capacity to work with and expand the Center’s broad constituency.

The Division is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service.

ELIGIBILITY: Eligible applicants must hold a PhD in the humanities or humanistic social sciences. Candidates must hold the rank equivalent to the Associate or Full Professor title. Additionally, candidates will have public programming experience and demonstrated administrative and management skills. University teaching experience and a distinguished record of scholarship are also preferred.

TO APPLY: Applications are accepted via the UCSB Academic Recruit online system (https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/apply/JPF01300) and must include 1) a letter of application outlining current and future research plans and leadership experience; 2) curriculum vitae; 3) one writing sample; 4) names and contact information of three references. (Initial review of applications will begin after December 1, 2018.) Please direct questions to Interim Director of the Capps Center, Professor Kathleen Moore at kmoore@religion.ucsb.edu.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Letter of Application - Outlining current and future research plans and leadership experience.

  • Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

  • Writing Sample

  • Misc / Additional (Optional)

Reference requirements
  • 3 required (contact information only)

Job location

Santa Barbara, CA