| A New Kind of Leader for a New Department
Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), one of the nation’s top technological research universities, invites nominations and applications for the position of the founding Kummer Department Chair of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science. Since its inception in 1960, the Nuclear Engineering degree program has been administered both as a stand-alone department and within the Department of Mining and Nuclear Engineering. However, driven by a vision for the future, as of October 2020 the program is now the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science (NERS), an independent department under the Missouri S&T College of Engineering and Computing. The department will be led by the Kummer Department Chair, an endowed position created as a result of the recent establishment of the Kummer Institute.
About the Kummer Institute
The Kummer Institute for Student Success, Research and Economic Development was established in October 2020 through a gift of $300 million from June and Fred Kummer, longtime benefactors of Missouri University of Science and Technology. The Institute will transform Missouri S&T and the south-central Missouri region by cultivating leadership and technological innovation; nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset; fostering expansion of academic-industry partnerships to directly address emerging needs of industry; and creating economic growth for the region.
Position Description
The Founding Kummer Department Chair of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science will possess the skills, knowledge and experience to:
•Drive strategic and operational efforts to establish the Department as an internationally recognized leader in the education of nuclear engineers;
•Engage alumni and faculty to attract philanthropic support and diversify department revenue streams;
•Collaborate with, mentor, and support faculty to increase research activity.
Key Attributes of the Founding Kummer Department Chair
•Effective leadership in an environment requiring vision development, strategic planning, and consensus building.
•An ability to obtain internal and external resources.
•Networking ability and a high profile in relevant professional societies.
•An ability to act as a strong advocate for student, faculty, and staff success.
•Finely tuned communication skills that persuade and influence diverse audiences on vital matters, including strategies, concepts, decisions, activities and outcomes.
•Relational approach to leadership that inspires trust, motivates top performance, and creates results.
•Experience in resource management and budgeting.
•Keen judgment to make timely, effective decisions and implement solutions that address
problems and are developed with creativity, stakeholder input, and a nuanced understanding of complex issues.
•Unwavering commitment to work effectively with, and leverage the strength of, people who differ in race, age, gender and other important background traits, including effective recruitment and hiring of diverse candidates.
•Firm understanding and strong adherence to the university’s values of lifelong success, creativity, integrity, sustainability, partnerships, and inclusion.
•Additional factors that will be considered in theselection process include the candidate’s:
⇒Scholarly activities.
⇒Effectiveness as an educator.
⇒Ability to mentor early- and mid-career faculty.
⇒Ability to recruit talented students, faculty and staff.
Qualifications
•An earned doctoral degree in Nuclear Engineering or in a related STEM discipline (e.g., Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, etc.) from an accredited university.
•Academic credentials commensurate with appointment as a tenured full professor within the College.
•Extensive work experience in a Nuclear Engineering related area.
•Candidates from academia, national laboratories, industry, or federal agencies are encouraged to apply
About Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science
The undergraduate program is the only B.S. program in Nuclear Engineering in the State of Missouri and is one of only 21 nuclear engineering degree programs in the nation. The educational mission of the department is to offer students unparalleled, career-focused educational opportunities in nuclear engineering, nuclear energy, medical applications of radiation, nuclear nonproliferation, radiation science applications, and related engineering and science fields. Our research mission is to perform transformative interdisciplinary research focused on addressing societal grand challenges. Specifically, we aim to become nationally recognized leaders in areas of small modular reactors and micro reactor development, medical imaging and radiotherapy applications, and materials under extreme environments and their application in advanced nuclear systems. College Choice ranks S&T’s undergraduate nuclear engineering degree seventh nationally. U.S. News & World Report places the program at 63 among Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs and 21 in Nuclear Engineering Programs (graduate). The department is home to five tenured/tenure-track faculty, one teaching faculty, four adjunct faculty with joint appointments, three staff, 130 undergraduate students (34 B.S. degrees were awarded last year), and 36 graduate students (including 23 Ph.D. students). The department is also home to the Missouri S&T Reactor (MSTR), a 200 kW MTR-type reactor used for student operator training and research since 1961. As members of the University of Missouri system, faculty and students in the program also have opportunities to conduct research at the 10 MW Missouri University Research Reactor (MURR), the highest-power university-owned reactor in the U.S.
About Missouri S&T
Missouri S&T is one of the nation’s leading technological research universities. Founded in 1870 as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy and later known as the University of Missouri-Rolla, Missouri S&T is celebrating its 150- year anniversary during the 2020-21 academic year. A U.S. News & World Report top-100 public national university, Missouri S&T’s rigorous, student-centered, applied education is offered to over 7,600 students, including over 1,550 master’s and Ph.D. students. Known for its engineering, computing and science programs, S&T offers 99 degrees in 40 fields of study, including business and information technology, education, and the humanities and liberal arts. With the creation of the Kummer Institute, Missouri S&T is increasing its degree offerings and fields of study to expand on its base of academic excellence. Renowned for offering an outstanding return on investment to its students, with average starting salaries and mid-career salaries that are among the highest in the nation, Missouri S&T also has a strong and growing research enterprise, with ever-increasing accolades to its 400 titled faculty members. Learn more at mst.edu.
Application Process Interested candidates should electronically submit their application consisting of 1) a cover letter, 2) a current curriculum vitae, 3) a research statement, 4) a teaching statement, 5) a diversity statement, and 6) complete contact information for at least four references to Missouri S&T’s Human Resources Office at: http://hr.mst.edu/careers/academic/ using Reference Number 00077874. Acceptable electronic formats are PDF and MS Word. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and the review of applications will continue until the position is filled. For full consideration, applicants must apply by January 15, 2020. For more information prior to submitting an application, please contact the Search Committee Chair, Wayne Huebner, at 573-341-6129, or huebner@mst.edu.Missouri S&T is an AA/EEO employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable state or federal law. Females, minorities, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. The university participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please contact DHS at: 1-888-464-4218. |
(posted 2020/12/08)