Director of First-Year Seminar (FYS)
About The Position
Merrimack College seeks a mission-driven administrator and educator to serve as the Director of First Year Seminar (FYS). This 12-month administrative role, housed within the Office of Mission and Ministry, oversees the operational implementation of Merrimack's foundational core requirement, FYS1947: Who Am I?. The Director ensures operational efficiency and a unified vision across dozens of course sections each semester. Additionally, this position bridges administrative leadership with classroom instruction, carrying a teaching load of 4 courses per academic year distributed evenly across semesters (2/2 course load), primarily focusing on the FYS curriculum and the humanities.
Requirements
- Terminal degree preferred (master’s degree considered) in an academic discipline aligned with the liberal arts and core curriculum fields.
- Experience in administrative roles, preferably in higher education leadership, core curriculum administration, student success units, or mission-driven student programming.
- Demonstrated record of excellent undergraduate classroom teaching experience.
- Proven capacity for high-level administrative logistics, schedule coordination, and budget management.
- Deep understanding of first-year student development theory, high-impact practices, and university retention strategies.
- Strong alignment with Merrimack’s Augustinian identity and community-oriented educational values.
- Successful completion of a criminal background check.
Responsibilities
- Direct logistical and operational functions of the FYS program (including, e.g., section scheduling, coordinating teaching teams, classroom resource allocations).
- Supervise the Associate Director of FYS, Graduate Fellows, and student workers.
- Lead programmatic assessment efforts, collecting data on student learning outcomes, program efficacy, and first-to-second year retention metrics to drive continuous improvement.
- Manage the operational budget for the FYS program, authorizing expenditures and strategically allocating resources.
- Partner with campus units to support large-scale first-year programmatic milestones, including Orientation, Conversations with Warriors, Wellness Week, and the Campus Passport.
- Represent FYS on multi-departmental campus retention committees and student success task forces.
- Support the Associate Vice President of Mission & Ministry to recruit, onboard, and support faculty and staff instructional teams across all sections of FYS1947, and to assess and update the FYS curriculum.
- Teach four (4) undergraduate courses per academic year under a 2/2 fall/spring distribution.
- Incorporate high-impact educational practices within the classroom, serving as a model instructor for other FYS faculty.
- Facilitate student self-exploration, critical thinking, and engagement.
- Maintain regular office hours to support enrolled students academically and personally.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
