Founding Director of Master of Public Health Program
POSITION TITLE: Founding Director of Master of Public Health Program
FLSA EMPLOYMENT CATEGORY: Salaried; Exempt; Administrative; 12 months
DEPARTMENT: IPHS
SUMMARY: Alma College (Alma, Michigan) seeks an individual with vision, a passion for cultivating relationships, and a deep commitment to quality to serve as the director for our new low-residency Master of Public Health program. Key responsibilities of this position include: graduate student recruiting, internal and external communication and marketing, career and professional development, pursuing accreditation with Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), and graduate program event planning. Candidates for the position should have
significant professional experience working in higher education. The ideal candidate will be a skilled and creative administrator who values collaboration and embraces the challenge of bringing a vision to life.
The director will hold an administrative appointment. The director, working in coordination with an interdisciplinary advisory group of faculty and reporting to the provost, will oversee all elements of the new program. Responsibilities include:
• Assure that Alma College values regarding Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are evident in all aspects of the program;
• Oversee program development and organization of the unit;
• Supervise the work of faculty and students in the program, assuring quality and integrity;
• Represent the program in meetings, help shape the direction of the program, and address issues relevant to the program’s goals of excellence and growth;
• Coordinate the design and implementation of student recruitment and retention strategies;
• Contribute to the development of program budgets and maintain spending in line with projections;
• Establish and encourage mutually beneficial collaborations with other research and academic facilities;
• Build and maintain communication with friends of the program, as well as local, state, and national professional associations and prepare to engage alumni;
• Maintain an atmosphere of respect, collegiality, support, and encouragement for
diligence, creative effort, and professional excellence among faculty, staff, and students;
• Develop and implement academic standards and policies;
• Promote ongoing outreach to alumni, the Alma campus, and the external community.
Public Health program is housed within the Integrative Physiology and Health Science (IPHS) department at Alma College. For curriculum implementation and revision, the director will work with the department and the faculty advisory group to ensure that the program is developed in accordance with Alma College’s standards and accrediting body requirements. Specific tasks include revising the proposed curriculum, creating ongoing links to the Alma campus and the
professional community, and completing all necessary program approvals. Once implementation has been completed, the director, depending on interests and qualifications, may assume duties in teaching.
Candidates should demonstrate a deep knowledge of CEPH standards, strong professional connections (preferably in higher education), and prior leadership experience gained within an academic environment, preferably in a CEPH accredited public health program. The director must be an individual who is collaborative, decisive, and adept at balancing vision with the pragmatics of implementation. A Ph.D. in Public Health or related field is required.
Interested candidates should submit a letter outlining their qualifications to lead this new program, a C.V., a 1-page diversity statement, and the names of three professional references to Ms. Megan Brown at brownmm@alma.edu. The letter should describe your goals for the program and the three or four steps you think are most important in establishing a program of quality.
A Phi Beta Kappa institution, Alma is a selective baccalaureate liberal arts college committed to academic excellence and an equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff and student body. For more information about the college, visit www.alma.edu.