Position Summary

The Teaching Professor and Faculty Director of Strategic Initiatives is a senior faculty leader who combines teaching excellence with strategic leadership in business development, donor cultivation, and institutional advancement.

Reporting to the Dean, this position serves as both master educator and institutional strategist—representing PSC’s mission while cultivating relationships with donors, corporate partners, and alumni through capstone mentorship and experiential learning.

The ideal candidate brings national recognition, demonstrated excellence in education, entrepreneurial vision, and understanding of how professional education transforms lives. This position connects PSC’s academic mission to revenue generation and donor engagement.

Essential Functions

Teaching Excellence & Mentorship Leadership 

• Master Teacher & Capstone Facilitation: Teach 6 courses annually (calculated by credit hour across both credit and non credit), primarily capstone projects, internship supervision, and experiential learning courses that leverage existing online frameworks while providing high-touch mentorship to students at critical transition points in their professional development
• Experiential Learning Architecture: Design and facilitate transformative experiential learning experiences including experiential project-based learning, community-engaged capstone projects, and employer partnership experiences that prepare students for career impact and civic contribution
• Student Mentorship & Career Development: Provide individualized mentorship to capstone and internship students, leveraging extensive professional networks to create meaningful learning opportunities and career connections aligned with the 4D Experience framework
• Faculty Development Leadership: Serve as senior mentor to faculty colleagues on experiential pedagogy, student-centered teaching, assessment of learning outcomes, and integration of real-world application into curriculum
• Teaching Innovation & Scholarship of Teaching: Model excellence in teaching innovation, contribute to scholarship of teaching and learning, and bring national perspectives on best practices in experiential learning, professional education, career-focused pedagogy, or related fields relevant to PSC's program portfolio
• Program Quality & Accreditation Support: Contribute senior faculty expertise to program assessment, quality assurance, and continuous improvement initiatives across PSC's portfolio of professional education programs

Strategic External Relations & Partnership Development

• Donor Cultivation & Major Gift Development: Partner with University Advancement to identify, cultivate, and steward major donors aligned with PSC's mission, with particular focus on scholarship endowments, experiential learning initiatives, and career development programming
• Professional Network Development: Leverage extensive professional networks to create experiential learning opportunities, advisory relationships, and career pathways; serve as bridge between PSC and professional communities
• Alumni Engagement & Advancement: Build and maintain relationships with PSC alumni, leveraging these connections for mentorship opportunities, employer partnerships, advisory board service, and philanthropic support
• Institutional Representation: Represent PSC and DU at conferences, professional gatherings, community events, and advancement functions, building institutional reputation and cultivating partnership opportunities through authentic relationship-building and thought leadership
• Thought Leadership & Professional Visibility: Maintain active presence in professional associations relevant to adult learning, professional education, or workforce development; to focus on relevance to professional education and student success; and position PSC as innovator in workforce-responsive higher education

Strategic Planning & Organizational Leadership 

• Cross-Functional Integration & Collaboration: Act as senior faculty leader connecting academic affairs, operations, marketing, enrollment, advancement, and student success, ensuring alignment around shared goals and leveraging relationships to solve complex organizational challenges
• Market Intelligence & Strategic Foresight: Monitor trends in professional education, and workforce development to inform strategic planning, drawing on national networks and professional association engagement to anticipate emerging opportunities
• Innovation & Program Development: Champion experimentation with new pedagogical models, partnership structures, and revenue strategies that position PSC for long-term sustainability while maintaining commitment to academic quality and student-centered education

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Distinguished Teaching & Academic Leadership

• Terminal degree (Ph.D., Ed.D.) with established national reputation in education, student development, or related field demonstrating excellence in teaching and scholarship
• Demonstrated mastery of experiential pedagogy, capstone facilitation, clinical supervision, and student mentorship appropriate to professional and adult learners
• Experience leading academic programs, departments, or initiatives including accreditation, program development, faculty development, and strategic planning
• Deep understanding of professional education models, competency-based education, work-integrated learning, and career-focused curriculum design

Strategic Leadership & External Relations

• Proven success in fundraising, donor cultivation, major gift development, or advancement work in higher education with demonstrated ability to build relationships that result in philanthropic support
• Experience developing corporate partnerships, community collaborations, or strategic alliances that create mutual value and advance institutional mission
• Executive presence and relationship-building skills appropriate for engaging C-level executives, major donors, community leaders, and senior institutional stakeholders
• Understanding of higher education business models, revenue diversification, financial sustainability, and market positioning

Professional Stature & Innovation

• National or regional recognition in education, student development, or related professional fields through publications, presentations, professional association leadership, or practice innovation
• Entrepreneurial mindset with demonstrated success launching programs, building partnerships, or leading institutions through change
• Knowledge of higher education disruption, emerging educational models, workforce development trends, and future of professional education
• Systems thinking capability to connect academic quality, student outcomes, market demands, and institutional sustainability

Personal Qualities & Leadership Style

• Authentic, relationship-centered leadership style that builds trust across stakeholders including faculty, students, donors, employers, and community partners
• Collaborative approach to leadership with ability to influence without formal authority and build consensus in shared governance environments
• Comfort navigating both academic and corporate cultures, translating between contexts while maintaining integrity to academic mission
• Deep commitment to student success, public good, and transformative power of education combined with pragmatic understanding of institutional sustainability

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Ed.D. in Education, Higher Education, Student Affairs, or closely related field
• Minimum 12-15 years of progressively responsible experience in higher education with demonstrated excellence in teaching at graduate or undergraduate level
• Experience in academic program leadership such as department chair, program director, or significant administrative faculty role
• Proven track record in fundraising, donor relations, or advancement work with demonstrated success securing gifts, grants, or partnership revenue
• National or regional recognition in professional field evidenced by publications, presentations, professional association involvement, or practice leadership
• Experience with experiential learning, capstone facilitation, internship supervision, or work-integrated learning models
• Qualifications for appointment at rank of Teaching Professor per DU APT guidelines (Section 3.8)

Preferred Qualifications

• Current appointment as Associate Professor or Full Professor at regionally accredited institution with strong performance record
• Experience as department chair or program lead
• Track record of securing major gifts ($25K+), grants, or corporate partnership contracts
• Leadership roles in national professional associations (ACA, ACES, CACREP, NASPA, or related)
• Experience leading institutions or units through significant transformation, credential consolidation, or financial recovery
• Maintenance of active clinical practice demonstrating ongoing practitioner engagement and credibility
• Experience with Guild Education, Riipen, or other employer partnership platforms for workforce development
• Familiarity with 4D Experience framework or similar holistic student development models
• Published scholarship on topics relevant to professional education, student success, education, or higher education innovation
• Prior faculty appointment or significant engagement with University of Denver demonstrating institutional knowledge and commitment

Reporting Relationship & Key Collaborations

The position serves on the Dean's senior leadership team and participates in college-wide strategic planning, budget development, faculty affairs, and organizational decision-making.

This position holds full-time core faculty status in the Teaching Professorial Series with full participation in faculty governance at the rank of Teaching Professor. The Faculty Director works in close, integrated partnership with:

• Associate Dean of Academic Affairs: Curriculum development, program quality, faculty development, and academic assessment
• Executive Director of AI Technologies and Strategic Operations: Operational execution, data-driven decision making, and organizational effectiveness
• University Advancement: Donor cultivation, campaign strategy, major gift development, and alumni engagement
• Enrollment Management & Student Success: Student recruitment, retention strategy, career outcomes, and student experience optimization

Work Schedule
While the University's administrative offices are open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, faculty schedules vary from term to term and are based on courses taught, service commitments, and research agendas. The University's academic calendars are posted on the registrar's website (the law school is on a semester system and has a different academic calendar).

Application Deadline

For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) November 20, 2025.

Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is UC.

Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $140,000 - $145,000

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.