Department: Dance

Position: Department Chair

Rank: Associate Professor or Professor

Description:

The Ohio State University seeks a department chair who will provide innovative, socially engaged, and collaborative leadership for its Department of Dance. Anticipated start date is July 1, 2022. The chair will serve as the administrative head of the department, with oversight of faculty, staff, curriculum, budget, and strategic direction. The new chair will continue to build on the strong reputation of the department, developing its strengths and keeping it competitive with respect to the changing academic climate. The successful candidate will be an effective facilitator and transparent leader for the diverse variety of academic and training programs the department offers.  The ideal candidate will be a visionary and inspiring leader who is committed to fostering an inclusive and interdisciplinary future for the department, who is skilled in directing change with a varied group of people representing diverse areas of study, and who is perceptive in developing the academic and creative potential of faculty, staff, and students. 

The new chair will be a skilled leader and a flexible, innovative thinker in terms of curriculum development, outreach, engagement, visibility, organization, and governance, taking into account the department’s position within a College of Arts and Sciences that includes 37 other academic units. The new chair should be poised to engage with students, faculty, staff, and alumni in order to help position the strengths of the department to engage in deep collaborations with arts and humanities departments and interdisciplinary initiatives across the College, broader campus, and regional campuses, including bolstering partnerships with The Wexner Center for the Arts, The Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design, and collaborating with university and arts leaders to finalize Ohio State’s emerging Arts District.

The successful candidate will be a dedicated educator and highly recognized in the field.  She/He/They will be deeply invested in practices and scholarship, with expertise in one or more of the department’s areas of teaching, scholarship, and practice.

Qualifications:

• MFA and/or PhD in Dance, Dance Studies, or allied fields.

• National/international record of scholarly or artistic achievement commensurate with the rank of a tenured Associate Professor or Professor at The Ohio State University, including a distinguished record of creative and/or scholarly achievement, teaching excellence at the post-secondary level, and professional service; and evidence of continued excellence in creative and/or scholarly achievement.

• Demonstrated experience in leadership and administrative management, including fundraising and budget planning, in or beyond the academy.

• Evidence of a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with demonstrated ability to lead effective change with a diverse body of students and colleagues. 

• Possessing an innovative vision for the future of the department and its various disciplines, and ability to lead a department with multiple areas of strength, as well as to work successfully across disciplines within a diverse and complex organization. 

• Extensive work in graduate education to be able to support and further develop the department’s existing PhD and MFA programs.

• Experience with successful collaborations, for example those with other academic units in and outside of the university, community partners, and professional arts organizations.  

About the Department:

As one of the premiere dance programs in the United States, the Department of Dance at OSU is at the forefront of contemporary dance through choreographic and performance exploration, creative use of technologies, and reimagining the documentation of dance traditions. One of the oldest dance departments in the country, and a founding member of the National Association of Schools of Dance, it consistently ranks in the top programs in dance. We provide intersecting investigations with courses in varied movement and choreographic practices, repertory, dance history, production and lighting, dance pedagogy, cultural studies, screendance, dance documentation, dance-technology, theory and analysis. The breadth of our program values diverse perspectives and prioritizes educating students in a comprehensive way within the lively discourse of a major research university. We have a bold commitment to cultural, racial and ethnic diversity, reflected throughout our curriculum and in recruitment of faculty, students and staff.

Our department is staffed by 13 tenure-track faculty, adjunct educators, international guest artists, visiting scholars, and 18 graduate associates. We serve 100 BFA undergraduates, 30 MFA/PhD graduate students, 250 dance minors, and 1200 general university students each semester. Currently, 90 graduates are in tenure-track and leadership positions in higher education nationally.

Our newly renovated facilities feature state-of-the-art performance spaces, six studios, a costume shop, and a media lab. 

About Columbus:

The Ohio State University campus is located in Columbus, the capital city of Ohio. Columbus is the Midwest’s fastest-growing city and the nation’s 14th largest city. Columbus offers a diverse array of welcoming neighborhoods and a vibrant arts and culture scene.  Additional information about all that the Columbus area has to offer is available at https://visit.osu.edu/experience.

Application Instructions:

A complete application consists of a cover letter in which you address your leadership vision, teaching, and research and/or creative scholarship; a curriculum vitae; the names and email addresses of three references; and a diversity statement which should articulate your demonstrated commitments and leadership in contribution to diversity, equity, and inclusion through research, teaching, mentoring, and/or outreach and engagement. Review of applications will begin November 5, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.  Inquiries may be directed to Shannon Winnubst at Winnubst.1@osu.edu.

The Ohio State University is committed to establishing a culturally and intellectually diverse environment, encouraging all members of our learning community to reach their full potential.  Over the next few years, The Ohio State University is committed to welcoming 350 new faculty hires, many of which will contribute to growing our role as a premier research university equipped to answer and interrogate the critical domestic and global societal challenges that deter equality and inclusion.  We are responsive to dual-career families and strongly promote work-life balance to support our community members through a suite of institutionalized policies. The university is a member of the Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC).

The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.