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POSITION SPECIFICS

Job Description

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), located in the College of Health and Human Development (HHD), at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) University Park invites applications for the position of Department Head.

About the Department

The CSD Department has a long history of tradition and excellence and has consistently ranked in the top 10% of communication sciences and disorders programs in the nation. The department strives to be leaders in research, education, and community outreach, and to connect globally. We believe that communication is essential to all aspects of life and is fundamental to health and human development. All individuals have the right to functional communication that promotes their participation in educational, vocational, healthcare, community, and social activities across the lifespan. The CSD Department is home to 24 tenure-track, clinical, and teaching faculty. It is the home to thriving undergraduate and graduate academic programs with ~350 undergraduate and ~60 graduate students. Academic programs include an undergraduate major and minor in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a minor in American Sign Language, an accredited master’s program, and doctoral program.

The CSD Department runs The Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic at Penn State. The Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic serves the community and supports supervised training of graduate students while enhancing the teaching-research-outreach missions of the Department. The Clinic serves clients across the lifespan and is committed to fair and equitable treatment for all. While the services of the clinic have been in place at Penn State since 1929, a brand-new state-of-the-art facility was opened in Fall of 2023.

CSD faculty are at the forefront of their respective fields enhancing evidence-to-practice in areas of language and language disabilities, augmentative and alternative communication, speech production and perception, and oral motor control, speech, voice, and swallowing.

About the College

CSD is one of eight academic units in the college, which focuses on providing interdisciplinary programs sharing a common goal of enriching the lives of others. We continually examine contemporary issues facing people in today’s changing times and develop cutting-edge solutions for addressing them. Our impact extends from our classrooms across communities and industries and around the globe.

The College of HHD is home to approximately 4,200 undergraduates and 350 graduate students at the University Park (UP) campus. HHD also serves nearly 1,000 additional students through Penn State’s nationally recognized online World Campus and collaborates on educational programming with several of Penn State’s other twenty-three physical campus locations throughout the Commonwealth. With annual extramural funding in the $70-$80 million range, HHD is one of the most research-active colleges at UP. The college is home to four multidisciplinary research centers, including the Center for Child Health Research, the Center for Health Care and Policy Research, The Center for Healthy Aging, and the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center. These centers support a vibrant research climate within HHD, facilitate cross-department collaboration, and house several interdisciplinary T31/32 training grants.

Under the College leadership of Dean Craig Newschaffer, the college has outlined an innovative vision and strategic plan that emphasizes creating an environment to support student success while in college and beyond and growing the impact of the college’s research scholarship. The Head of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, as a member of the college’s leadership team, plays a critical role in the realization of the college’s strategic vision and goals and ensuring that the Department of CSD efforts align with and support these goals.

Primary Job Responsibilities

Reporting to the Dean of the College, the Head of Communication Sciences and Disorders is responsible for visioning, strategic planning, overseeing academic and research programs, managing operations, finances, faculty and staff affairs, sustaining and building external relations, and fundraising in support of the department’s aspirations. This includes further integrating, shaping, and building an excellent and cohesive multidisciplinary department that leverages strengths across all programs; advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all; nurturing and developing interdisciplinary collaboration; innovation and creativity in educational and clinical enterprises; recruiting, developing, and retaining a faculty and staff of excellence; advocating for the department and enhancing its visibility and reputation; and maintaining an appreciation of work-life balance.

As a key academic leader, and in keeping with the strategic initiatives of the University and the College, the Department Head is expected to stimulate and facilitate research productivity and teaching excellence, encourage interdisciplinary research, and promote and assist faculty with securing external funds. In addition, the CSD Department Head is responsible for oversight of The Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic at Penn State. 

The successful candidate will have administrative responsibility for all operational, fiscal, and procedural actions associated with the department, including conducting fundraising (development) activities. The candidate also will be encouraged to continue a focused line of research and supervise graduate student research. The Department Head will be expected to identify and facilitate new opportunities in undergraduate, graduate, and online education. The new Head will support and nurture an environment where creativity and innovation thrive and foster a positive and inclusive climate, inspiring confidence and trust among students, staff, and faculty by bringing strong interpersonal skills and a compassionate, collaborative, and community-oriented leadership style.

Qualifications

Earned doctorate, evidence of an active, focused program of research in speech, language, or hearing, or a related field; and previous teaching experience. The new Head must also possess the scholarly record required to merit a tenured appointment as an associate or full professor in the college. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) certification is preferred.

Candidates should possess the vision and energy to lead and grow this nationally and internationally acclaimed department, promoting excellence in the full range of missions that are embodied at a comprehensive, land-grant, and research-intensive university such as Penn State. In achieving these objectives, the next Head must be a collaborative, transparent, and inclusive leader with strong leadership skills, strategic thinking, and an innovative spirit to advance the department’s vision and goals.

Successful candidates must demonstrate:

• Successful administrative abilities in an academic setting, which can include academic program management, clinical training, research program management, other budget management, and/or community outreach activities.

• Productive scholarship in an aspect of communication and science disorders consistent with the interdisciplinary range of scientific expertise in the department.

• Willingness, informed by experience, to engage in progressive and innovative thinking about the identity and future trajectory of the department inclusive of the clinical, research, educational, and outreach missions of the department.

• Effectiveness in contributing to, shaping, and growing the department’s educational mission at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

• Demonstrated commitment to fostering a positive organizational culture with an emphasis on inclusivity and transparency among all constituents (e.g. students, staff, faculty).

• The ability to build support across a wide variety of stakeholders, including the capacity to position the department positively to create, maintain and build upon relations with alumni, partners, and the research community.

• Experience raising funds through philanthropy and/or performance-based budgeting is also desirable.

Please direct nominations and inquiries to the Search Committee Chair, Meg Bruening via e-mail at mmb203@psu.edu. To receive full consideration, candidates should submit the following by December 1st, 2025 for priority review:

• A cover letter (up to 3 pages) detailing the applicant’s interest in the position. Please highlight relevant experiences in leadership positions, a leadership vision and description of personal leadership style and values, including how they resonate with Penn State Values (e.g., Please share how you would contribute to creating/maintaining an inclusive and respectful environment). Please also describe your vision for teaching and scholarship and your approach to integrating the clinical and research priorities of the department.

• Curriculum vitae.

• Names and contact information for 5 individuals willing to serve as references (to be contacted only prior to invitations for on-campus interviews).

About Penn State

Penn State is a public, land-grant, research-intensive university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing education offered through resident instruction and online delivery. Annual enrollment at its 24 campuses totals more than 100,000 graduate and undergraduate students, making it one of the largest universities in the United States. As an R1 research institution Penn State’s annual research expenditure exceeds $1billion. This rich university environment offers unparalleled opportunities for cross disciplinary partnerships in education, community outreach, and research. Of particular note, is Penn State’s unique approach to university-level research institutes. Penn State’s seven well-resourced university-designated research institutes (https://www.psu.edu/research/interdisciplinary-institutes/) are not siloed “closed shops,” but entities that exist principally to strategically disseminate funding that fosters cross-college, transdisciplinary research collaborations and makes needed shared resources widely available. This approach has led to Penn State being recognized as standing out for effective promotion of team research collaboration. HHD maintains robust partnerships with nearly all of these institutes.

Penn State’s University Park campus is located in the town of State College in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Employment at Penn State at University Park will allow you to live amid the beauty of the central Pennsylvania outdoors while enjoying all the culture, sports, and entertainment that a large university community can bring. More information on the area and all of its amenities can be found here: http://www.visitpennstate.org.

Our campuses are located on the original homelands of the Erie, Haudenosaunee (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora), Lenape (Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe, Stockbridge-Munsee), Monongahela, Shawnee (Absentee, Eastern, and Oklahoma), Susquehannock, and Wahzhazhe (Osage) Nations. As a land grant institution, we acknowledge and honor the traditional caretakers of these lands and strive to understand and model their responsible stewardship. We also acknowledge the longer history of these lands and our place in that history.

The Pennsylvania State University is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, respect, and belonging. We embrace individual uniqueness, as well as a culture of belonging that supports equity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of inclusion in society, and provides opportunities for engagement intended to help all members of the community thrive. We value belonging as a core strength and an essential element of the university’s teaching, research, and service mission.

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

 

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. Due to the financial and fiduciary responsibilities of this position, successful completion of a credit history check will be required in addition to standard background checks.

 

 

 

BENEFITS

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional wellbeing. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.

 

For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page.

 

CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

The Pennsylvania State University is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, respect, and belonging. We embrace individual uniqueness, as well as a culture of belonging that supports equity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of inclusion in society, and provides opportunities for engagement intended to help all members of the community thrive. We value belonging as a core strength and an essential element of the university’s teaching, research, and service mission.

 

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