Case Western Reserve University, Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities
Director, Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities (Associate Professor or Professor)
Institution Type: | College / University |
Location: | Ohio, United States |
Position: | Director |
The College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University seeks a distinguished scholar to serve as the Eric and Jane Nord Family Director-Professor of the Baker Nord Center for the Humanities. The position is open to candidates in any field of the humanities.
The successful candidate will hold an academic appointment in one of the CWRU humanities departments, at the rank of associate professor or professor, full-time with tenure, in accordance with the university Faculty Handbook and the appointing department's promotion and tenure guidelines. Associate Professor candidates should have established a significant professional reputation; candidates for Professor should be internationally recognized for leadership and scholarship in their discipline. Normal departmental teaching load is anticipated at one course per year while directing the Baker-Nord Center.
The director’s duties will build on existing strengths and successes, and offer innovative intellectual and administrative leadership for the Baker- Nord Center and its activities, including programming and development.
Strong candidates will demonstrate the following qualities:
An outstanding record of scholarship, teaching, and mentorship in the humanities; Excellence in interdisciplinary collaboration;
Demonstrated and proactive commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice;
A record of championing the centrality of the humanities in society;
Ability to represent the Baker-Nord Center as a leader amongst the many arts and humanities organizations in Northeast Ohio;
Ability to capitalize on the existing momentum between CWRU and area institutions (such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Cleveland Play House, among others), and to envision new initiatives and partnerships;
A desire to improve the visibility of the humanities at Case Western Reserve University by helping to recruit more students to these disciplines;
Ability to advocate for funding for the humanities departments and their initiatives, and able to argue eloquently for the importance of the humanities to the larger University community;
Interest in fostering the University’s Think Big Strategic Plan;
An impressive record of past success in fundraising, and a commitment to fundraising for the future of the Baker-Nord Center and the humanities at CWRU;
Experience managing research grants and the ability to mentor faculty and students who are applying for external funding;
Successful administrative experience, including management of large budgets, staff, and faculty;
Successful record of expanding BIPOC representation and creating welcoming, inclusive environments;
Evidence of emotional intelligence and team building;
Comfort engaging and collaborating with the engineering, medical, and science communities;
Capacity to speak to internationally-oriented interests in the humanities;
An ability to support relationships between humanistic pursuits and evolving communication and research technology;
Experience successfully navigating the quickly changing landscape of higher education.
The Director will oversee existing Center programs, including:
Undergraduate Humanities Programs:
The Baker-Nord Center has extensive undergraduate programming, in particular the Humanities@Work and Baker-Nord Scholars programs. The BNC Scholars program offers invited students the experience of a small liberal arts college within the setting of a world-class research university. BNC Scholars take HUMN 101, a one-credit course designed to introduce them to the humanities and each other and are given special access to invited speakers and events.
Humanities@Work programming is designed to connect humanities students with corporate, government, nonprofit, and other partners through community discussions, networking events and paid career opportunities.
The Baker-Nord Center also supports undergraduate humanities students by offering Undergraduate Research Awards and the annual Undergraduate Humanities Prize.
Cleveland Humanities Festival/Community Partners:
The Baker-Nord Center aims to facilitate cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborations among CWRU faculty and members of other cultural and educational institutions. BNC supports collaborative programming throughout the year, but the primary opportunity for collaboration comes with the Cleveland Humanities Festival which happens annually in the spring. Coordinated by the Baker-Nord Center, the Festival partners with our region’s major museums, educational institutions, and arts organizations and engages the public in addressing some of society’s most challenging issues and pressing concerns. The theme of the 2022 Cleveland Humanities Festival is Discourse; past themes have included Truth (2020), Nature (2019), Health (2018), Immigration (2017) and Remembering War (2016). The Festival typically includes more than 30 partner institutions and more than 40 individual events.
Public Programming:
The Baker-Nord Center offers programming throughout the academic year that is free and open to the public. Public programming includes numerous endowed lectures and lecture series, faculty and graduate student works-in-progress lectures, Cleveland Humanities Festival events, and events co-sponsored with other CWRU departments and centers.
Curricular Development:
In addition to HUMN 101: Colloquium in the Humanities, the Baker-Nord Center HUMN designation is used for HUMN 305/405: Coding in the Humanities; HUMN 212: Interrogating Information: Research and Writing for a Digital Public; and a number of courses related to the Mellon funded “Cleveland Humanities Collaborative” designed to support students at area community colleges who transfer as humanities majors to CWRU.
The HUMN designation will also be assigned to humanities department courses that support the recently approved graduate Certificate in Public Humanities & Civic Engagement. BNC support for this certificate program includes offering a two-day faculty workshop designed to provide relevant tools and resources for faculty interested in developing service-learning courses.
Faculty Support:
The Baker-Nord Center supports faculty through a variety of funding programs, including:
· The Faculty Affiliate program offers faculty the opportunity to present a public lecture on a current work- in-progress.
· The Baker-Nord Faculty Fellowship provides a release from teaching for one semester, accompanied by a release from service commitments. Faculty Fellows offer a public lecture in the academic year that follows their leave.
· The Baker-Nord Center Award for Distinguished Scholarship in the Humanities is presented every other year to recognize the outstanding scholarship of CWRU faculty in the Humanities and their contribution to the university’s reputation.
Baker-Nord offers Faculty Research Grants on a rolling basis throughout the year, and also has two rounds of Faculty Research Travel and Special Project Grants each academic year. Faculty are also eligible to apply for event co-sponsorships and to nominate Hildegarde and Elbert Baker Visiting Scholars in the Humanities who enrich the academic life of the humanities community at CWRU through any combination of guest teaching, lectures, collaborative research, and other scholarly and teaching activities.
Graduate Student Support:
The Baker-Nord Center supports full-time PhD, second year MA, and third year MFA students in the arts and humanities in a number of ways. BNC’s Graduate Affiliate program offers graduate students the opportunity to present a public lecture. BNC also provides Graduate Research Grants on a rolling basis throughout the academic year and sponsors graduate student registration to attend National Humanities Center workshops.
Postdoctoral Support:
The Baker-Nord Center hires and hosts the Virginia and Walter Nord Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities who has a one year appointment that can be renewed for a second year. BNC also provides support and community for all postdoctoral humanities fellows at CWRU by hosting bi-weekly luncheons and creating special programming opportunities for them.
Contact: |
Submit letter of application, CV, a one-page diversity statement, and contact information for three references. The one-page diversity statement should explain how one’s research, teaching, and/or service have contributed to diversity, equity and inclusion within a scholarly field(s) and/or how individual and/or collaborative efforts have promoted structural justice inside and outside institutions of higher learning. This statement should also reflect on the ways in which the candidate’s continued efforts will foster a culture of diversity, pluralism, and individual difference at Case Western Reserve University. The position will remain open until filled, but applications received by January 1, 2022 will receive full consideration. Candidates should submit their applications through CWRU’s Interfolio portal at https://apply.interfolio.com/97586 |
Website: | http://bakernord.case.edu |
Primary Category: | Humanities |
Secondary Categories: | None |
Posting Date: | 12/14/2021 |
Closing Date | 03/14/2022 |