Announcement of Search for New Director of the Institute for Faith and Learning
Associate or Full Professor (tenure-track or tenured); home academic unit to be determined.
Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning invites nominations for the position of director, with service beginning by August 2024. Names of prospective candidates, internal or external to Baylor, may be sent to the search committee co-chairs, Drs. Sara Perry and Darren Middleton.
The Institute for Faith and Learning (IFL) was founded in 1997 to promote the university’s mission of integrating academic excellence in research and teaching with deep Christian commitment. Since its founding, the Institute has developed several major programs in support of this mission, cultivating high-quality research, sponsoring conferences, mentoring students, and encouraging teaching that is faithful to the Christian intellectual tradition.
The IFL seeks to deepen the sense of what it means to be a university by bridging perceived divides among disciplines and building relationships around our common mission. Hospitality, conversation, and friendship are the high ideals of the Institute. The next director, therefore, must possess a desire to engage meaningfully across the university to develop a vision for our common good. The Institute serves faculty and participants from a broad range of Christian faith traditions, and the next director will be expected to continue to invite a diversity of perspectives.
The director of IFL oversees the planning and implementation of the Institute’s strong record of significant activities, including the annual Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture and the Crane Scholars Program. The director will guide IFL’s current programming of faculty formation experiences (seminars, reading groups, retreats) and contribute to the development of new initiatives for faculty spiritual well-being. The director is also expected to promote the Institute’s university- and nation-wide partnerships and to contribute to the national discussion of the role of religion in higher education through an active program of research and publication. The director will teach Baylor students, undergraduate or graduate, at least once per academic year within an appropriate academic unit.
The successful candidate will be familiar with conversations surrounding faith and learning issues in higher education, as demonstrated in a record of leadership, research, publication, and/or teaching on the topic. He or she will have a history of demonstrated commitment to faculty development and success in developing collegial relationships. The ability to establish valuable connections with faculty across the institution is critical to the success of the next director.
The director reports to the vice provost for faculty affairs and supervises an associate director, an assistant director, and an administrative assistant. Excellent team leadership and strong interpersonal communication skills are requisite for this role. This is a 12-month faculty appointment. Appropriate faculty rank (Associate or Full Professor, tenure-track or tenured) will be determined based on Baylor University policy and academic unit guidelines. Salary and benefits are competitive.
Preferred qualifications are a Ph.D., seven years of teaching, research, and/or administration in a university setting, and a record of engagement with faith and learning in higher education. A terminal degree, leadership experience, and at least five years of post-secondary teaching experience are required. Applicants should have a mature Christian faith and embrace the goals of Christian higher education.
Interested candidates, external or internal to Baylor, should apply through Interfolio. Applicants are asked to submit a written letter of application detailing their qualifications for the role and interest in joining Baylor; applicants should describe, in no more than five pages, their personal understanding of the integration of faith and learning in higher education and offer examples about how this view would inform their leadership of the IFL. Applicants will also provide a current curriculum vitae and three professional references. For full consideration, please apply by November 13, 2023. The search committee review of applications will begin on November 14 and will continue until a successful candidate is identified. The last date to submit application materials for consideration is December 15.
About Baylor University: Located in Waco, Texas, Baylor University is the oldest college in Texas. With a population of 21,000 diverse students, Baylor is one of the top universities in the nation, having been named an R1 institution by the Carnegie Classification in January 2022. Baylor is also on the honor roll of the "Great Colleges to Work For" from The Chronicle of Higher Education; Baylor offers competitive salaries and benefits while allowing faculty and staff to live in one of the fastest-growing parts of the state. Our strategic plan, Illuminate, guides the University as we continue to live up to Baylor's mission of educating men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community.
Baylor University is a private not-for-profit university affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. As an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, Baylor is committed to compliance with all applicable anti-discrimination laws, including those regarding age, race, color, sex, national origin, military service, genetic information, and disability. Baylor’s commitment to equal opportunity and respect of others does not undermine the validity and effect of the constitutional and statutory protections for its religious liberty, including, without limitation, the religious organization exemption under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the religious exemption to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, among others. Baylor encourages women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities to apply.