Call for Applications - TEK Director

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 10, 2023) — University of Kentucky Provost Robert S. DiPaola sent the following message to faculty on Friday, April 7, 2023.

Dear Colleagues, 

Thank you for all you do for our students and our community. I would like to invite internal faculty applications for the appointment of our new director to lead the Office of Transdisciplinary Educational approaches to advance Kentucky (TEK). The TEK director is an important role as part of the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), a requirement of reaffirmation through the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). 

The TEK director will be supported by the program’s administrative director on all aspects of implementation and will have specific responsibilities including, but not limited to: (a) working with the University Senate to establish courses and badge(s) and to embed courses programmatically, (b) working directly with the faculty instructional consultant to oversee the implementation of the TEK Faculty Fellows program and (c) working with the Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness (OSPIE) and Institutional Research, Analytics and Decision Support (IRADS) to develop assessment tools and train evaluators.  

In addition to managing TEK, the director has the following responsibilities: 

• Lead the development of all TEK curricula.  
• Serve as spokesperson and advocate for the TEK office throughout the UK community.  
• Promote the TEK Faculty Fellows program and work with the TEK team to recruit and support TEK Faculty Fellows across disciplines. 
• Lead, in partnership with the TEK team, Implementation Advisory Committee and IRADS, to monitor outcomes and adjust TEK activities to meet student learning outcomes and program goals. 
• Develop annual and summative reports. 
• Collaborate with Undergraduate Research to coordinate TEK strand of Undergraduate Research Showcase and community involvement.  
• Lead and supervise TEK team by providing effective feedback and professional development. 
• Manage the office’s annual budget that is intended to promote extraordinary transdisciplinary opportunities for students to learn critical skills needed for workplace success. 
• Work collaboratively with other programs at UK to achieve the mission of advancing Kentucky. 
• Oversee integration of first-year experience courses, e.g., UK101, in conjunction with the QEP and CORE. 

Qualifications and Expectations: Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or other terminal degree in their field of study and must be tenured faculty members of any UK college. A candidate at the rank of professor is strongly preferred. 

Candidates should demonstrate national recognition for scholarly achievement reflecting excellence in both research and teaching as well as knowledge and appreciation of qualitative and quantitative research across all disciplines, with a demonstrated record of transdisciplinary collaboration. Candidates should have a record of superb teaching at the undergraduate level and of successfully advising undergraduate students conducting research and/or writing theses or undertaking similar projects. Candidates should have a demonstrable record of commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), with the ability to clearly articulate the value and benefit of DEI in undergraduate education. Candidates should have some prior administrative experience (e.g., developing and managing budgets, leading/managing diverse groups of faculty and/or staff). 

The percentage of effort related to this role is to be negotiated. The TEK office is administratively housed within the Office of the Provost, reporting to the provost. 

Application Process: To apply, please upload a letter of interest, a CV and a list of three references, one of which should be a former student. These references will be contacted only with a candidate’s prior knowledge. All materials should be submitted here via Qualtrics.

Confidential inquiries may be directed via email to Shavonna Ross, Director of Operations, at shav.ross@uky.edu. Applications are due by Friday, April 14, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Following a review of applicants, an interview process will occur.

Thank you, 

Robert S. DiPaola, MD
Provost