Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships Program Director

Position OverviewThe program director of the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships leads, conceptualizes, designs, and develops the structure and support for the Center's experiential learning programs. The director develops and implements policies and procedures to assure that these programs operate optimally while serving undergraduate KU students. This position is responsible for leading a team that executes outreach, service, and programming to fulfill the goals and objectives of high-impact practice programs for undergraduate research and fellowships. This position manages the nominations process for national and international fellowships in collaboration with assigned faculty fellows. This position manages the undergraduate research service portfolio in collaboration with assigned faculty fellows and supervises undergraduate research staff. The position reports to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.

Unit Overview:
The Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships is part of the Undergraduate Education team in Academic Affairs along with the KU Core, Jayhawk Blueprint Concurrent Enrollment Program, First-Year Courses, and the Center for Service Learning.Job Description40% - Fellowships Leadership

• Manage the day-to-day operations of all nationally competitive fellowship and scholarship initiatives.
• Supervise, hire, train, and evaluate staff who support fellowship initiatives.
• Oversee the Rising Scholars Program to foster student engagement in research.
• Recruit and supervise the faculty fellows' team to serve on committees to select KU student nominees for national and international fellowship competitions and serve as mentors for nominees.
• Provide institutional leadership in the development, implementation, coordination and administration of programs to proactively identify, recruit and track potential fellowships candidates.
• Advise students individually through all steps of the application and/or nomination process.
• Collaborate with the Office of the Chancellor to coordinate endorsement processes and with KU News to publicize KU nominees and fellowship recipients.
• Function as institutional representative and manage the nomination and application processes for the following fellowships with requiring institutional endorsement: Astronaut, Beinecke, Churchill, Gaither/Carnegie Junior Fellows Program, Goldwater, Knight-Hennessy, Marshall, Mitchell, Newman Civic, Rhodes, Truman, and Udall.
• Cultivate KU's status as a national leader in fellowships advising by maintaining engagement with the National Association of Fellowships Advisors and other venues.
• Collaborate with campus advisors for other national fellowships, including Fulbright, Boren, and Gilman.
• Collaborate with campus partners to build awareness of fellowships and associated programs.
• Conduct evaluation and assessment of the learning outcomes and goals to assure alignment with the University's strategic plan.

40% - Undergraduate Research Leadership

• Supervise, hire, train and evaluate staff including full-time staff, graduate hourly and student employees who support undergraduate research initiatives.
• Manage the day-to-day operations of undergraduate research initiatives.
• Recruit and supervise the faculty fellows' team to serve on committees to select KU student and research mentor award winners, assist with faculty training, and serve as mentors for undergraduate research award applicants.
• Lead efforts to engage and educate KU faculty members on the benefits of participating in undergraduate research and scholarship.
• Lead efforts and design programs to enhance opportunities for students.
• Manage and implement the Undergraduate Research Award Program (UGRA) application and awarding process twice each academic year.
• Monitor the progress of 25-50 UGRA recipients each semester.
• Develop content for, coordinate, and assess the impact of the Research-Intensive Course Grant Program.
• Work with academic departments and other university offices to promote research skill development into departmental curricula and other university initiatives, such as First-Year Seminars.
• Develop guidelines for and facilitate evaluation processes for faculty and graduate student mentor awards.
• Conceptualize and implement programs and initiatives to promote best practices with mentors who work with KU undergraduates involved in research inside and outside the classroom.
• Coordinate faculty involvement in affiliated undergraduate research student programs, including the Emerging Scholars Program, (Emerging Scholars) Transfer Scholars Program, and other related CUR programs.
• Oversee the judging component of the Undergraduate Research Symposium.
• Conduct evaluation and assessment of the learning outcomes and goals to assure alignment with the University's strategic plan.

20% - Service to the Unit

• Serve as member of the Undergraduate Education Leadership Team.
• Coordinate with Academic Success Operations team on web, social media, and communication needs.
• Serve on relevant KU committees relative to experiential learning and student success.
• Participate in department and campus meetings and trainings.
• Participate in relevant professional development annually.
• Other duties as assigned by Undergraduate Education leadership.

Required Qualifications

1. Master's degree and three (3) years of related experience in the field or a bachelor's degree and five (5) years of related experience in the field.
2. Two (2) years of supervisory experience.
3. Exceptional communication skills as evidenced by application materials.
4. Three (3) years full-time professional working experience in a higher educational setting.
5. Demonstrated experience coordinating student-facing service or communications as evidenced in application materials.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Prior experience with or familiarity with university fellowships at a Research-1 university as shown in application materials.
2. Prior experience with or familiarity with undergraduate research at a Research-1 university as evidenced in application materials.
3. Experience with student tracking systems such as EAB SSC/Navigate or Academic Works/Blackbaud as shown in application materials.
4. Prior experience collaborating with faculty and other stakeholders as evidenced in application materials.
5. Prior experience with direct student service (academic advising, career advising, and related experience) as demonstrated in application materials.
6. Public speaking experience, as shown in application materials.

Additional Candidate InstructionsIn addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:

Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications. Resume. List of three (3) professional references.

Only complete applications will be considered.

Application review begins Thursday, May 15, 2025 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants are identified.

Contact Information to ApplicantsKim Warren
Salary Rangestarts at $70,815, commensurate with experienceApplication Review BeginsThursday May 15, 2025Anticipated Start DateSunday June 8, 2025 Apply to Job