Professor and Chair, Modern Languages and Literatures

University of Central Florida•Orlando, FL

79d•Onsite

About The Position

The College of Arts and Humanities (CAH) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) invites applications for a 12-month tenured professor and chair in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures (MLL). This position is located at the UCF main campus with an anticipated start date in August 2026. MLL is committed to innovative teaching and research that address challenges related to composing, rhetoric, and literacy in school, workplace, civic, and community settings. We seek an outstanding scholar-leader who can help us to collectively develop, rally around, and execute a strategic plan that will allow us to grow our academic programs to national prominence and expand our role as a valued source of expertise on public and academic language-related issues. The chair provides leadership for the department by connecting department goals to college and university objectives. Guiding both short- and long-term visioning, including development of an academic vision and facilitating program development, interdepartmental collaboration, and productive relationships within the university structure, the chair serves as an advocate for the department. The chair's duties include program administration, personnel, teaching, research, student recruitment, as well as developing relationships with community partners including those in humanities-related arts organizations and industry. The chair reports to the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. The successful candidate will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department and coordination between as well as oversight of department programs. Other responsibilities include: MLL is a vibrant, independent department. It employs 17 tenured and tenure-earning Language and Literature faculty members, 25 full-time instructors and lecturers, 2 full-time support staff members, and over a dozen graduate teaching assistants in its ongoing efforts to support comprehensive language, literature, and cultural enrichment. We currently lead 23 programs (some at both graduate and undergraduate levels) and are responsible for teaching 12 languages and TESOL. One of the nation's largest universities (over 69,000 students), UCF is a metropolitan research institution, with the Carnegie Foundation's highest classification for research activity and community engagement. UCF has a diverse student population, with approximately a quarter being first-generation students and a large percentage being multilingual. A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), UCF awards the second highest number of degrees to underrepresented students in the nation. For more information on the department, please visit https://cah.ucf.edu/languages/.

Requirements

To be eligible for appointment as a tenured professor upon hire, the selected candidate must have a demonstrated record of teaching, research, and service commensurate with a tenure faculty appointment at the rank of professor.
A Ph.D. in Languages, Linguistics, or a related field from an accredited institution
Prior academic administrative experience at the college/university level
Experience planning, growing, evaluating, and innovating academic programs.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated record of successful and sustained experience in academic administration, including performance of duties such as operational processes, budget and personnel management, supervision and evaluation of faculty and staff, program administration, and faculty and student recruitment
Demonstrated commitment to faculty growth and success
Evidence of an active research agenda that resonates with and enhances those of current MLL faculty members
Demonstrated support or use of innovative teaching methods and/or curriculum development
Evidence of successful academic program planning, development, and assessment
Experience with or ability to integrate emerging technologies and align programs with industry standards,
Experience with or ability to cultivate strategic partnerships with other academic units, stakeholders, and/or community partners,
Evidence of successful outreach and cultivation of strategic partnerships, which may include acquiring grant funding, fundraising, industry relationship and competency building, training programs, industry certifications, external professional development initiatives, and other forms of external relations
Demonstrated commitment to collaboration and interdisciplinary, including community outreach.

Responsibilities

Mentoring faculty in support of developing research and teaching agendas
Fostering the growth of the department's research culture, which includes undergraduate, graduate, and faculty participation in research
Active and visionary student recruiting and program building
Maintaining an atmosphere of transparency and inclusion
Promoting a spirit of collegiality and shared governance that encourages faculty across all ranks and staff to leverage their individual abilities and interests in support of a common vision of success for the department
Managing programs, personnel, course scheduling, and budget
Coordinating fundraising and public-facing outreach
Evaluating faculty and staff performance

Benefits

Benefit packages, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending, and Employee Assistance Program.
Paid time off, including annual (12-month faculty) and sick time off and paid holidays.
Retirement savings options.
Employee discounts, including tickets to many Orlando attractions.
Education assistance.
Flexible work environment.

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