Senior Director, Writing Programs (Department of English) (Associate/Full Professor, Tenured)

The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) and its Department of English invite applications for the position of Senior Director, Writing Programs, starting Fall 2027.

The successful candidate will have a distinguished record of scholarship and academic achievement, demonstrated leadership and administrative skills, and demonstrated commitment to collaboration and engagement with a broad range of scholars and stakeholders. As a faculty member, the candidate will be expected to maintain a strong and productive research program at University of Arizona, and national and international standing in their field; effectively mentor and advise graduate students, exhibit excellence in graduate and undergraduate teaching; and demonstrate commitments to service to the university and public engagement and outreach. The candidate will also help to develop innovative approaches to enhancing student engagement and expanding collaborations through community, state, and international interaction and outreach.

Review of applications will begin on November 30, 2026. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The Sr. Director of the Writing Programs (WP) provides leadership for the WP's curriculum, instructional faculty and graduate teaching assistants, staff, and students. Consistent with expectations for all SBS Heads and Directors, the Director is expected to build on the program's strengths in undergraduate writing education, support scholarship and professional growth, foster engagement across campus, provide effective stewardship of program resources, and cultivate a culture of belonging within the program.

The areas below describe core responsibilities and competencies. In each area, the Director works in collaboration with the WP Assistant, Associates, and area Directors (e.g., Online and Second Language Writing), WP staff, the English Department Head and Program Directors, and the SBS Dean's Office, practicing shared governance and consultative, transparent decision-making.

The Sr. Director will be expected to hold a tenured appointment at the level of Associate Professor or Professor in the Department of English with expertise in fields of Rhetoric, Composition and Teaching of English (RCTE) or Professional and Technical Writing (PTW) and should have an academic record commensurate with such an appointment.

The University of Arizona is a research-intensive, land-grant university that embraces a distinctive interdisciplinary culture and tradition. The Senior Director of Writing Programs will hold a tenure home in the Department of English within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The university's Foundations Writing Program plays a central role in undergraduate education, helping students develop the writing, critical thinking, and rhetorical skills essential to academic, professional, and civic life.

The Department of English provides a vibrant intellectual community encompassing literature, creative writing, English as a second language, and rhetoric and composition. Its graduate program in Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English prepares scholars, teachers, and writing program leaders through research and teaching. The Senior Director will join a community committed to excellence in writing instruction, faculty development, and student success. Further information is available on the Department of English website and the Foundations Writing Program website.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here.

1.
Program Leadership, Planning, and Advocacy

Vision
and Strategic Planning: Advance a clear vision for the
future of the WP and lead strategic planning for the program on a multi-year
(ideally five-year) horizon, in alignment with English Department, SBS, and
University priorities. Initiate and facilitate the collection of data that
explains the impact of WP practices beyond assessment of student learning
outcomes (for example, the effects of class size or Graduate Teaching Assistant
(GTA) workload), and use that evidence to inform planning and decision-making.

Policies
and Governance: Create avenues for shared
governance within the WP. Oversee the development and periodic revision of
program policies and core documents, such as the Students' Guide,
course descriptions, and syllabus templates, and ensure they are disseminated
clearly to instructors and students.

Hiring: Lead hiring for the WP, including chairing search committees for
career-track faculty and staff positions, in coordination with the Dean's
Office and English Department and in accordance with College and University
hiring policies and processes.

Evaluations,
Reviews, and Workload: Ensure timely and fair evaluations
and reviews in accordance with unit, College, University, and Arizona Board of Regents
policies. This includes finalizing Annual Performance Review scores for WP
faculty, reporting results to the College and Department, and meeting with
first-year faculty and any others who wish to discuss their reviews; conducting
administrative reviews of WP Assistant, Associate, and Full Directors; and
conducting annual evaluations and Career Conversations with WP staff.

Mentoring
and Professional Development: Support the professional
growth of WP faculty and staff. Coordinate career-track promotion committees
and write letters of support for WP faculty seeking promotion. Advise faculty
interested in Career-Track Faculty Professional Refresh, coordinate applications,
and provide supporting letters.

Advocacy,
Culture, and Belonging: Foster a productive and supportive program community. Advocate for WP staff, instructors, and
administrators at the department, College, and University levels on matters of
salary, workload, working conditions, promotion, and equity, and promote
equitable processes and opportunities for growth.

Communication
and Conflict Resolution: Keep WP faculty, staff, and GTAs
informed, and communicate changes in WP positions, curriculum, administration,
or awards to the English Department Head and Program Directors when they affect
the broader department. Report to the SBS Dean and Provost on the WP as needed.
Serve as the final point of resolution for student and faculty concerns that
are not resolved by course directors or other directors.

Reporting: Prepare the WP annual report and other reports and self-studies as
needed (for example, Academic Program Review self-studies or reports on class
size changes).

2.
Educational Excellence

Curriculum
and Instruction: Oversee the WP curriculum,
including changes, approvals, maintenance, articulation, and instructor
training. Advocate for the conditions that best support teaching and learning,
including classroom space, class size, appropriate curricular control and assessment
practices, and connection to rhetoric and composition faculty in English. In
collaboration with the English Director of Undergraduate Studies and Department
Head, review new course proposals across campus for potential conflicts with
English or WP offerings.

Enrollment
Management and Scheduling: Lead scheduling and enrollment
management for the WP in collaboration with WP staff and Directors,
coordinating with SBS Academic Affairs & Student Success to align course
offerings with student demand and College expectations.

Assessment: Hold final responsibility to the Provost's Office for the WP's
annual program-level outcomes assessment report, working with the WP's
designated assessment coordinator.

Placement: Oversee placement for
incoming students into Foundations Writing.

Student
Success and Academic Integrity: Promote student success in
foundational writing courses. Review and approve or deny grade change requests
for WP courses and respond to grade appeals referred by the Dean's Office with
a recommendation, handling all student matters within FERPA guidelines.

Graduate
Teaching Assistants: Support a strong GTA teaching
experience in partnership with English graduate programs. Provide WP consultation
on GTA extensions within available budget, refine that process in consultation
with Program Directors and department staff, and share updated information on
GTA positions with Graduate Program Directors.

General
Education: Serve as the General Education
Foundations Writing representative or assign a replacement.

3.
Research and Scholarship

Modeling
Success: Maintain an active research and scholarly profile consistent with
the Director's 20% research allocation.

Supporting
Scholarship: Encourage WP faculty and GTAs to
pursue scholarly and professional opportunities, including research on writing
and the scholarship of teaching and learning, and share relevant resources from
SBSRI and other campus offices. Use program data and assessment results to
contribute to knowledge about writing instruction.

4.
Constituency Relationships

Department: Represent the WP within the English Department by participating in
Program Directors' meetings and department events. Maintain regular dialogue
with instructional constituencies, meeting with English Graduate Union
representatives and attending lecturer meetings at least once per semester to
respond to questions and concerns.

College
and University: Participate in SBS Heads and
Directors meetings and campus HeadsUp meetings. Represent the WP in campus
initiatives and University-wide efforts (for example, strategic planning and
General Education discussions), ensuring the appropriate director is involved
where relevant, particularly for online instruction, international students,
and GTAs.

Campus
Writing Partnerships: Build and maintain relationships
with other sites of writing on campus, including the Writing Center, Writing Across
Curriculum initiatives, CATS athletics tutoring, and central student success
initiatives. Participate in annual Articulation Task Force and campus transfer
update meetings, together with the Assistant Director of Placement and
Assessment, to support articulation and transfer pathways.

5.
Fiscal Affairs and Resource Development

Resource
Oversight: Manage WP resources, including
instructional staffing, GTA positions, and space, ethically, prudently, and
transparently, in consultation with SBS Finance & Administration staff.
Ensure responsible use of instructional resources through effective enrollment
management and staffing within available funds.

Development: Identify opportunities to support the WP through external funding
or charitable giving, in collaboration with the SBS Development Office as
appropriate.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to collaborate across constituencies, support shared governance, and address conflicts constructively.
  
• Demonstrated commitment to student success and to fostering a supportive working and learning environment.

• An earned doctorate in rhetoric and composition, professional and technical writing, or a closely related field.
• A record of scholarship, teaching, and service sufficient for appointment with tenure at the rank of Associate or Full Professor in the University of Arizona Department of English, in Rhetoric, Composition and the Teaching of English or Professional and Technical Writing.
• Demonstrated administrative or leadership experience in a college or university writing program.
• Demonstrated experience teaching writing at the college or university level and contributing to writing curriculum development and assessment.

• Experience supervising, evaluating, or mentoring writing instructors and supporting their professional development.
• Demonstrated ability and/or experience managing program resources, including instructional staffing, scheduling, or budgets.
• Experience leading a large or complex writing program serving students across multiple disciplines.
• Experience developing and implementing strategic plans and using program, enrollment, and assessment data to guide decisions.
• Experience with faculty and staff hiring, performance evaluation, workload allocation, and career-track faculty promotion.
• Experience preparing, mentoring, and supervising graduate teaching assistants in collaboration with graduate programs.
• Experience with writing placement, transfer articulation, and general education writing requirements.
• Experience supporting multilingual writers and writing instruction across in-person and online settings.
• Experience building partnerships with writing centers, writing across the curriculum initiatives, and other campus programs.
• A record of scholarship in writing program administration, writing pedagogy, writing assessment, or related areas.
• Experience navigating organizational change and advocating effectively for instructional quality, fair working conditions, and program resources.
• Experience securing external funding or developing philanthropic support for academic programs.