The Pennsylvania State University seeks to fill the Department Head position for the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education (EPCSE) in the College of Education at the rank of professor (or with someone eligible for the rank of professor). EPCSE is an interdisciplinary department of scholars that offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Rehabilitation and Human Services, Educational Psychology, Special Education, Clinical Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counseling, School Counseling, and Counselor Education. We are committed to preparing competent, multiculturally oriented professionals who create access and make an impact in a variety of educational, counseling, rehabilitation and human services settings.

The Department Head serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of EPCSE. They are expected to provide dynamic and collaborative leadership, promote educational and research excellence, promote innovation and inclusion, and ensure the overall success and growth of the Department. The Department Head should be a mentor for early career/pre-tenure, associate, and non-tenure line faculty, and guide faculty through the promotion and tenure process. We seek a visionary and dynamic leader who will be a strong advocate for our department. The person will effectively communicate the strengths and needs of the department, programs, and faculty with the College and University.

The person will have a strong research profile, value research, and scholarship, and have experience acquiring external grant funding.  We welcome applicants who have a record of excellence in rigorous empirical work, which may include, but is not limited to action research, community-engaged scholarship, critical research methods, interdisciplinary scholarship, mixed methods, qualitative methods, and quantitative methods.

The person is innovative and entrepreneurial, including ability and interest in reinvigorating programs for efficiency and competitiveness with peer institutions as well as collaboration/efficiency/ synergy across the department.  The person must value high-quality and innovative undergraduate and graduate education, understand schools and the psychology of learning, consider the needs of and support for students with disabilities and exceptionalities across a range of sociocultural and linguistic identities, and be knowledgeable about services in diverse educational, counseling, rehabilitation, and mental health settings.

Required qualifications:

  • Earned doctorate in Counseling, Educational Psychology, Rehabilitation Services, Special Education, or a related field
  • Evidence of an accomplished and robust program of research
  • Evidence of external funding to support research
  • Evidence of teaching, advising, and mentoring students in research and/or practice at the university level
  • Willingness to teach residentially and/or online (reduced teaching load)
  • Demonstrated leadership and administrative abilities within an academic setting
  • A commitment to equity-oriented approaches to leadership
  • A demonstrated commitment to building an equitable, inclusive, and diverse scholarly environment by bringing together and mentoring diverse groups of students, faculty and staff members, and community members
  • Applicants should be a Full Professor (or eligible for the rank of Full Professor)
  • Exceptional interpersonal skills

Preferred Qualifications: prior leadership and budgetary experience in a post-secondary institution or other comparable organization.

Applicants must submit a cover letter documenting qualifications for the position (no more than three pages), a leadership and diversity statement (no more than two pages), a current CV, up to three representative reprints or preprints of scholarly publications, and at least three professional references (including name, address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers).

Completed applications received by February 15, 2025, are assured full consideration; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Reference letters will be requested of finalists. We encourage applications from individuals who are members of minoritized and/or marginalized groups. For questions, please contact: Dr. Julia Green Bryan (jub49@psu.edu) and Dr. Matt McCrudden (mtm402@psu.edu), Department Head Search Co-Chairs.

Here is a link to the position:

https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=179034333&Title=Department%20Head%20of%20Educational%20Psychology%2C%20Counseling%2C%20and%20Special%20Education

Those interested may submit their application here:

https://psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Academic/job/Penn-State-University-Park/Department-Head-of-Educational-Psychology–Counseling–and-Special-Education_REQ_0000063326?source=HigherEdJobs