Director of Applied AI and Academic Innovation & Co-Director for the Center for AI Enablement

Midwestern University•Glendale, AZ

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Applied AI and Academic Innovation serves as Co-Director of Midwestern University's Center for AI Enablement (CAE), alongside the Co-Director of Digital Innovation. The role provides strategic, pedagogical, and operational leadership for the CAE's academic branch across the Glendale, Arizona, and Downers Grove, Illinois, campuses. It aligns artificial intelligence solutions with health sciences curricula to support student engagement, faculty productivity, and institutional distinction while maintaining academic integrity and compliance. The Director establishes goals, manages program resources, assesses community needs, presents options and recommendations, and supports implementation. When available options do not meet constituents' needs, the Director escalates the matter to senior leadership for review with stakeholders. The role leads academic AI integration and strategy, supports AI governance and compliance, develops training and enablement programs, and oversees CAE academic operations and resources. The Director collaborates with IT, faculty, university leaders, clinical units, and regional health partners, and represents the university at relevant conferences and forums. Midwestern University is a private, not-for-profit graduate and postgraduate health sciences institution with campuses in Illinois and Arizona. The university reports more than 6,000 full-time students, over 500 full-time faculty members, and 400 staff members. The position requires regular, in-person, predictable attendance and the ability to remain alert and work safely. The work environment is generally a moderately noisy business office, such as an office with computers and printers and light traffic.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution; instructional design and technology, higher education leadership, educational technology, healthcare informatics, or a related discipline is preferred.
At least 5–7 years of progressively responsible administrative or faculty leadership experience in higher education, including direct supervisory and budget management experience.
Demonstrated expertise with advanced AI tools, learning management systems (LMS), and cloud ecosystem platforms.
In-depth understanding of compliance frameworks, data safety, and privacy standards in healthcare and higher education, including FERPA, HIPAA, and intellectual property guidelines.
Proven experience leading human-centered change management, faculty development programs, and cross-functional teams.
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with a history of presenting at regional or national higher education forums.
Computer proficiency with Google and Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and governmental regulations; write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals; and present information effectively to top management and boards of directors.
Ability to solve practical problems involving varied concrete variables and limited standardization, and interpret written, oral, diagrammatic, or scheduled instructions.
Intermediate mathematical ability, including calculating figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume, and applying basic algebra and geometry.
Regular, in-person, predictable attendance and the ability to work in a constant state of alertness and safely.
Ability to routinely lift 20 pounds; vision correctable to 20/20 in one eye; hearing correctable to normal; and ability to tolerate prolonged sitting, stoop, stand, use fingers, hands, and arms, and perform repeated routine tasks.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree.
Eight or more years of leadership experience within higher education, specifically supporting faculty, clinical workflows, or continuing medical education (CME) administration.
Background bridging scientific disciplines and instructional technologies, with experience in regional accreditation processes, assessment, or grant management.
Active involvement or recognized thought leadership in national or regional educational technology initiatives, such as EDUCAUSE or Google Education summits.
Formal credentials or certifications in AI prompt engineering, content creation, process optimization, or data analysis.

Responsibilities

Establish, facilitate, and maintain the university's AI community of practice.
Lead academic integration of AI across health sciences curricula, aligning technology with pedagogical goals and clinical education standards.
Partner with IT and faculty to design and build custom clinical simulations using institution-approved platforms.
Establish short- and long-term goals, key performance indicators, and strategic initiatives for academic AI adoption aligned with university priorities.
Serve as the primary academic AI subject matter expert on campus committees, university working groups, and external leadership bodies.
Evaluate emerging academic technology tools and vendor platforms to maintain instructional quality and technology alignment.
Assist in ensuring compliance with regional accreditation standards, higher education legal requirements, and HIPAA and FERPA privacy requirements in instructional and clinical AI applications.
Support AI platform architecture from the perspective of applied AI and academic innovation.
Champion institutional values in academic AI initiatives, policies, and personnel practices.
Co-direct university-wide listening tours and needs-assessment sessions across academic and clinical units.
Design, deploy, and manage tiered professional development pathways, institution-approved platforms, and certification tracks for faculty, staff, and students.
Establish and manage an institutional AI grant application process to fund and showcase innovative projects at annual campus AI summits and forums.
Oversee day-to-day academic operations of the CAE and pursue continuous quality improvement using data-driven metrics, learning analytics, and stakeholder feedback.
Recruit, supervise, evaluate, and mentor academic and administrative staff supporting the CAE's pedagogical initiatives.
Build partnerships with Deans, faculty, clinical chairs, and regional health partners.
Represent the university at national conferences, including EDUCAUSE and education summits.
Evaluate needs, present options and a recommended path, and help implement the selected option within the constituent's field; escalate issues to senior leadership when available options do not serve constituents.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Life insurance
Short- and long-term disability insurance
Pet insurance
Flexible spending accounts, including healthcare reimbursement and child/dependent care accounts
Competitive paid time off, including paid holidays, sick/flex days, personal days, and vacation days
403(b) retirement plan
Tuition reimbursement
Child care subsidy reimbursement program
Identity theft protection
Employee assistance program
On-site wellness facility with a fully equipped fitness facility