The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University (ASU) is pleased to invite applications for the position of Watts Endowed Director of the School of Community Resources and Development (SCRD) and Full Professor, with a term commencing no later than July 1, 2025. We are seeking an innovative, engaging leader to advance the strategic vision of this important academic unit. ASU is repeatedly ranked #1 in innovation and for our engagement with international students. This growing, highly regarded institution is known for being ahead of the curve in anticipating and responding to the evolving nature of higher education.

This is a full-time, fiscal-year (12-months), benefits-eligible, tenured administrative appointment. The endowed Directorship comes with $100,000 of annual funding that may be used to advance scholarship or any school related initiatives the director envisions as appropriate. The SCRD currently hosts two Centers and one Institute that focus on areas such as sustainable tourism, non-profit leadership and management, and life-long learning.

The inaugural Watts Endowed Director will join a talented senior leadership team that works across a variety of disciplines including public policy and administration, social work, criminology, nonprofit leadership and management, sustainable and cultural tourism, parks and recreation, community sports, and emergency management to advance our mission to build more vibrant, health, equitable and sustainable communities.

About the College

This large, comprehensive college of public service serves over 8,000 students annually. With over $30M in annual research expenditures, this highly ranked, interdisciplinary college is a unique ecosystem with highly motivated faculty, committed staff, and inspiring students working together to advance innovative solutions to some of the most complex social challenges facing our local communities today. Working together, our faculty, staff, students, and community partners develop, test and evaluate new community-embedded solutions. Much of this occurs through our hands-on, service-learning opportunities through which our students contribute over 600,000 hours of community service each year.

About the School

The School of Community Resources and Development (SCRD) is one of four degree-granting units in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at the Downtown Phoenix campus and one of ASU’s transdisciplinary schools encompassing faculty in several areas of study.

The SCRD has more than 600 students studying in our Phoenix-based programs, with 18 tenured or tenure-track faculty, 11 career-track faculty and several adjunct faculty members who support the programs. We also serve over 1000 students who study onsite in Hainan, China with six tenured or tenure-track faculty and 13 career-track faculty who are appointed to this signature international program. SCRD’s unifying theme is community development, evinced through several distinctive, yet complementary areas of education and scholarship, through programs organized within three primary thematic areas: nonprofit leadership and management, parks and recreation management, and tourism development and management. The activities of the school’s faculty, staff, and students exemplify the design imperatives of the New American University through our unifying theme, with each program contributing to SCRD’s vision to advance healthy, resilient, and sustainable communities that amplify its core mission to promote community wellbeing.

Our campus is conveniently located in downtown Phoenix in the heart of the fifth largest city in the United States. Degree programs are also offered internationally at Hainan, China as part of the Hainan University-Arizona State University International College (HAIC). This global initiative prepares the next generation of professionals to leverage knowledge in the areas of economic, social, cultural, and environmental aspects of community development and management.

SCRD is a comprehensive school with a full range of programs that serve not only its majors but many students in a variety of programs at ASU. Depending upon the program, instruction takes place in-person, online, or in hybrid modalities. We currently offer bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and a Ph.D. in the following fields:

● Tourism Development and Management

● Parks and Recreation Management

● Nonprofit Leadership and Management

● Community Sports Management

● Community Resources and Development

● Sustainable Communities

● Recreational Therapy

● Event Management

The school also offers several minors and certificates and continues to strategically add new programs based on fit with our mission and goals when there is clear demand among students. They include opportunities for students to earn credentials such as the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) and the Certified Therapeutic Specialist (CTRS) distinction. Additionally, SCRD is home to three renowned and mission-aligned units, including the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation, the Center for Sustainable Tourism, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. These units advance research and practice to thousands of learners through continuing and professional education offerings. The SCRD and affiliated units are dedicated to problem-solving and solutions-driven approaches, emphasizing interdisciplinary community engagement and collaboration. In addition, the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, together with the Ministry of Education and Hainan University, located in Haikou, China, established a unique program called the Hainan University-Arizona State University International College (HAIC). This program was created to address the increasing need for highly educated professionals in parks, recreation, sustainable tourism, and public administration. Together, this global initiative prepares the next generation of professionals to leverage knowledge in the economic, social, cultural, and environmental aspects of community development and management. Two degrees are in ASU’s School of Community Resources and Development: tourism development and management, which is matched with Hainan’s hotel-management degree, and parks, recreation, and sport management, paired with Hainan’s geography and urban and rural planning degree. For more information on this program, please visit: https://publicservice.asu.edu/haitc/about.

For more information about the SCRD’s opportunities for research, instruction, practice, student internship experience, and community-based service learning opportunities, please visit our website at http://scrd.asu.edu.

Our Commitment to Inclusive Excellence

The School of Community Resources and Development actively seeks and supports a faculty committed to inclusion and access. We seek applicants and nominations from those who have demonstrated experience in advancing an inclusive mindset in their teaching, mentoring, and developing research.

Job Responsibilities

The Director is a member of the leadership team of the College, has general executive responsibility for all aspects of the SCRD’s activities, and is accountable on all matters to the faculty, the Dean of the College, and the central administration of Arizona State University.

The Director’s primary job responsibilities are to:

● Carry out faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure at the highest standards of excellence

● Support faculty in advancing high-quality, impactful research

● Foster an academically rigorous and innovative curriculum that is responsive to the needs of students and the community

● Ensure that budgetary decision-making and execution are driven by sound principles, consultation, and accountability

● Cultivate and support faculty efforts in securing external funding

● Build on the school’s strategic direction

● Advance the academic profile of the School of Community Resources and Development at ASU, in the community, in the profession, and nationally

● Encourage and enhance academic connections with other units in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, and across the University,

● Foster vibrant, collaborative relationships with the community

About ASU

All we do at ASU is guided and inspired by the University Charter, which reads:

Arizona State University is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.

Successful candidates will demonstrate throughout their materials how their teaching, research, and service will contribute to the fulfillment of this charter.

Required Qualifications

● Ph.D. in park and recreation management, tourism, nonprofit leadership and management, community development, or other related fields (e.g., psychology, sociology, sports, urban/rural planning) from an accredited institution

● A record of distinguished scholarly research and professional accomplishments that merits appointment as a full professor with tenure

● Consistent with ASU’s Charter, a demonstrated commitment to inclusion

● Leadership vision that is consistent with the university, college and school

Desired Qualifications

● Present or prior faculty rank of full professor

● More than two years of administrative experience with employee management, development, and budgeting

● Demonstrated record of excellence in research, teaching, service, and community engagement

● Commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship

Application Procedure

Salary and start-up funding will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications. Complete application materials must contain the following items:

1. A complete curriculum vitae that details your educational, professional history, and complete contact information (mailing address, email address, and phone number).
2. A statement no more than 3 pages which includes the following:

○ Your interest in this position and your fit relative to the required and desired qualifications;

○ Your experience in leadership and administration in higher education;

○ A discussion of your scholarly accomplishments; and

○ Your demonstrated commitment to inclusion

3. Information for four professional references including at least one supervisor (name, organization, position title, email, and phone number). Please note that references are not contacted until a candidate is identified as a finalist for this position.

Application Deadline

The initial application deadline is December 12, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Arizona Time. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they are received until the position is filled.

Please direct all questions about the position to the search committee chair, Beth Huebner, at Beth.Huebner@asu.edu