As many of you know, I have had the honor and privilege of being the Interim Director of the Institute for Professional Leadership (IPL) at The University of Tennessee College of Law for the past three academic years.  The IPL is a special part of UT Law.  As the home of an academic program that ties various parts of the traditional law curriculum together, the IPL benefits students with a wide variety of post-graduation goals–helping them to prepare themselves for the inevitable leadership spaces they will occupy in their professional and personal lives.

I have served as Interim Director at the IPL while continuing with a full teaching schedule, scholarship agenda, and service load.  It now is time for me to step back and allow someone else to lead the IPL–someone who will devote full time to carrying out its mission.  Accordingly, we are looking for a permanent Director for the IPL.  The position announcement can be found here.  

As you can see from the position announcement, the permanent Director will be a member of the law faculty, either tenure-track or non-tenure-track.  The qualifications section of the announcement is copied in below, for your ease of reference.

Qualifications

Required Experience and Abilities

  • Law degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
  • Minimum of five years in law practice and/or substantial comparable experience in a law-related professional or educational setting.
  • Tenure-track candidates should have a record of scholarship, teaching, and service at an ABA-accredited law school or a record that suggests the ability to achieve tenure at the University of Tennessee.
  • Experience in significant leadership roles, particularly related to the legal profession.
  • Prior teaching experience in a law school or other higher education setting.

Preferred Abilities and Experience

  • Experience with strategic planning and execution.
  • Experience assessing programmatic needs and successfully implementing new initiatives.
  • Supervisory experience or demonstration of skills that exhibit the ability to carry out supervisory responsibilities with regard to staff and students.
  • Proven ability to prioritize multiple projects and work well with diverse constituents, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and practicing lawyers.
  • Experience with online learning pedagogy and course development.
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills.Reputation for professionalism, integrity, and honesty.

The position announcement also includes valuable information about the IPL and the responsibilities of its Director.  I am happy to answer questions, as is my colleague, Brad Morgan (rmorgan2@utk.edu), who is chairing the search committee.  Please pass along word of this opening to anyone you know who may be interested in this position.