Director, School of Public Policy

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Director, School of Public Policy

The School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) invites applications for its Director. As the leader of the School, the successful candidate holds a Ph.D. that complements the School’s areas of focus and faculty strengths (e.g., analytic methods, education policy, health policy, public management, urban policy) and demonstrates career achievements commensurate with appointment as a Full Professor. The candidate should have demonstrated leadership and administrative skills, a strong commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching, an active research program including evidence of securing external research funding and mentoring graduate students, and a dedication to and demonstrated experience in fostering inclusive excellence.  Moreover, the newly created School is seeking a dynamic candidate who can further advance its reputation as a thought leader in the field of public policy. The new Director will likely have the opportunity to increase the core faculty of the School in this pursuit.

The School of Public Policy houses an interdisciplinary graduate only program that enrolls approximately 135 doctoral and master’s students. We are among the top public policy programs nationally in terms of Ph.D. enrollment and Ph.D. degrees granted in public policy. In addition to the School’s core faculty, the School works closely with affiliate faculty in several departments and programs, including the departments of Africana Studies, Economics, Education, History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology/Anthropology, as well as the intercampus Doctoral Program in Gerontology and the Language, Literacy and Culture doctoral program. The School includes the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR), which currently reports approximately $23 million in external funding. Faculty in the School are encouraged to develop close working relationships with MIPAR as well as other research centers on campus.  Additional information regarding the School of Public Policy can be found at (http://publicpolicy.umbc.edu/).

UMBC, which is classified as a Doctoral University: Higher Research Activity by the Carnegie Foundation, enrolls nearly 14,000 students, including approximately 2,600 graduate students. UMBC is one of the 12 campuses of the University System of Maryland. Located on 500 wooded, rolling acres just outside of Baltimore and about 45 minutes from Washington, DC, UMBC’s location enables faculty to draw on the extensive opportunities for policy research and related activities in both cities, as well as at the state and federal levels. The area is also enriched with vast economic and cultural opportunities. BWI-Thurgood Marshall International Airport is five minutes away, as are MARC Rail, AMTRAK and light rail stations making travel to and from national and international destinations convenient.

UMBC is especially proud of the diversity of its student body, and we seek to attract an equally diverse applicant pool for this position. We particularly encourage applications from women, members of minority groups, veterans and individuals with disabilities.

We ask candidates to submit a letter of application, a current curriculum vita, and the names of three references.  In their letter of application, we ask candidates to discuss their leadership vision, administrative experience, research program and its relevance to the School, teaching interests and their relevance to the School, and experience in promoting diversity, inclusion, and multicultural competence in an educational and work environment.

Steve Leo, Partner and Lindsay Allison, Associate, of Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, are assisting the search committee and UMBC. Questions, requests for information, and all nominations and applications should be sent by email to: UMBCPublicPolicy@storbecksearch.com. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.