Director of Faculty Development - Social Work

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) appreciates your interest in employment at our growing institution. We want your application process to go smoothly and quickly. Final applications must be submitted prior to the close of the recruitment.

If you need assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please contact our recruitment helpline at (775) 784-1495 or [email protected].

Job Description

The Director of Faculty Development is a key member of the Dean’s Office. This position provides strategic leadership for faculty development and advancement across the School of Social Work, strengthening support for full-time faculty in teaching, research, and service while fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, mentorship, and professional growth. This permanent academic faculty position is 12-month and on-site at the University of Nevada, Reno. 

Position Responsibilities

In collaboration with the Dean’s Office, the Director will provide leadership in the following areas:

• Faculty Development and Mentorship: Design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive faculty development initiatives aligned with the School’s mission, institutional goals, and strategic priorities. Develop structured mentoring and professional development opportunities that support faculty growth, retention, and career advancement. 

• Faculty Evaluation: Lead the School’s annual faculty evaluation processes, including annual performance reviews, ensuring consistency, transparency, fairness, and alignment with School and University policies and standards.

• Faculty Orientation and Professional Growth: Develop and implement comprehensive faculty orientation programs and ongoing professional development and training opportunities for faculty across all ranks and career stages.

• Promotion and Tenure: Support tenure-track faculty in navigating the promotion and tenure process, including providing guidance on portfolio development, documentation, and preparation for retention, promotion, and tenure reviews. Provide similar career advancement support to non-tenure-track and teaching faculty. Facilitate the school's tenure and promotion processes.

• Career Advancement and Mentoring: Provide direct mentorship to junior, teaching, and other full-time faculty, with particular attention to professional development, career planning, advancement, and successful integration into the School.

• Policy and Academic Leadership: Collaborate with the Dean and Associate Dean on faculty-related policies, procedures, and initiatives that strengthen academic programs and promote effective faculty engagement and success.

• Assessment and Continuous Improvement: Contribute to a culture of assessment, innovation, and continuous improvement by evaluating faculty development initiatives and using findings to inform future programming and School-level priorities. Will also be engaged in Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation-related assessment and activities.

Teaching Responsibilities

In addition to administrative and faculty development responsibilities, the Director will contribute to the School’s instructional mission by teaching undergraduate and graduate Social Work courses across program modalities, including in-person and online instruction.

This position offers an experienced faculty leader a unique opportunity to shape the professional development and career advancement of faculty across all ranks while contributing to the School of Social Work's continued excellence, innovation, and growth.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in social work or related field.
• Master of Social Work (MSW) from a CSWE-accredited institution and 2 years of post-MSW experience.
• 5 years of progressively responsible academic leadership experience in higher education, with demonstrated experience in faculty development, mentoring, evaluation, and academic personnel processes.
• Tenured or tenure-eligible.
• Experience with CSWE accreditation review.
• Record of teaching and scholarly achievement commensurate with appointment at the Associate level or Professor level.
• Excellent oral, written, interpersonal, and executive communication skills.
• Ability to manage timelines, projects, documentation, and competing priorities with accuracy and discretion.
• High level of professionalism, confidentiality, accountability, and service orientation.
• Demonstrated commitment to anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.

Preferred Qualifications

Knowledge of promotion and tenure standards and processes within a research-intensive university, preferably an R1 institution. 

Schedule and Travel Requirements

Travel occasional 

Compensation

Associate Professor 

Full Professor 

To view the salary schedule for this position, please visit Salary Schedules and select (12-month contract) Academic Faculty. 

 Perks of working at UNR

• Health insurance options including dental and vision - Health Insurance

• Generous sick leave, life insurance, and long-term disability – Faculty Benefits

• E. L. Wiegand Fitness Center offers an annual or semester membership and family membership options.  E.L. Wiegand Fitness Center

• Mountain EAP supports employees (and eligible dependents) through life's difficult moments. Mountain EAP is located in Reno and specializes in counseling and advising services for personal or interpersonal issues.

• Faculty Senate is the principal representing body for faculty. Its membership includes representatives from each academic and administrative major unit of the University. Faculty Senate

• No state income tax!

Grants-in-aid for Faculty Employees

The University is proud to provide a reduced-rate tuition benefit to faculty and qualified dependents. Faculty can take up to six credits per semester at a reduced rate. Dependents of faculty have unlimited credits, but in order to be eligible children must be unmarried and under the age of 24 and must receive at least 50% of their financial support from the employee and/or employee’s spouse or domestic partner.  Faculty Grants-in-Aid

Faculty Dual Career Assistance Program

The University of Nevada, Reno recognizes the importance of addressing dual-career couples’ professional needs. We offer a dual career assistance program to newly hired faculty spouses/partners that provides resources and assists them to identify career opportunities in Northern Nevada. Dual Career Assistance Program

College/Department Information

https://www.unr.edu/social-work 

Interested candidates attending CSWE's annual conference between October 22nd and 24th in Atlanta, GA, can reach out to Dean Lillian Wichinsky (email: [email protected]) or Associate Dean Eugenia Weiss ([email protected]) to schedule a brief in-person meeting during the conference to learn more about the position. 

Exempt

Yes

Full-Time Equivalent

100.0%

Required Attachment(s)

Please note that once you submit your application, the only attachments viewable to you will be the attachment/s to the resume/CV section of the application. Any additional required attachments to the cover letter, references, and other documents sections of the application will not be viewable to you after you submit your application. All uploaded attachments will be on the application for the committee to review. To request updates to attachments before the committee review of applications, please contact the candidate helpdesk at [email protected].

 
Attach the following attachments to your application 
1) Resume/CV 
2) Cover Letter

3) Contact Information for Three Professional References

4) Faculty Development and Mentoring Statement (2-3 pages)

• Describe experience developing faculty.

• Mentoring junior faculty.

• Supporting promotion and tenure.

• Building faculty development programming.

• This is probably the single most important supplemental document for this role.

5) Administrative Leadership Statement (2 pages maximum) 

• Leadership philosophy. 

• Experience with evaluation processes. 

• Policy development. 

• Managing change and faculty engagement. 

• Assessment and continuous improvement

Posting Close Time

This posting will close at 12:00 am on the date listed below. The posting will no longer be available to apply to after 11:59 pm the day prior.

Posting Close Date

12/15/2026

Note to Applicant

A background check will be conducted on the candidate(s) selected for hire.

HR will attempt to verify academic credentials upon receipt of hiring documents. If the academic credentials cannot be verified, HR will notify the faculty member that an official transcript of their highest degree must be submitted within thirty days of the faculty member’s first day of employment.

References will be contacted at the appropriate phase of the recruitment process.

Applicants hired on a federal contract may be subject to E-Verify.

As part of the hiring process, applicants for positions in the Nevada System of Higher Education may be required to demonstrate the ability to perform job-related tasks.

For positions that require driving, evidence of a valid driver's license will be required at the time of employment and as a condition of continued employment.

Schedules are subject to change based on organizational needs.

The University of Nevada, Reno is committed to providing a place of work and learning free of discrimination on the basis of a person’s age (40 or older), disability, whether actual or perceived by others (including service-connected disabilities), gender (including pregnancy related conditions), military status or military obligations, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, race (including hair texture and protected hairstyles such as natural hairstyles, afros, bantu knots, curls, braids, locks and twists), color, or religion (protected classes). 

About Us

The University of Nevada, Reno is a leading public research university committed to the promise of a future powered by knowledge. Founded in 1874 as Nevada’s original land-grant university, the University serves more than 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and 63 countries.

Classified by the Carnegie® Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an R1 (“Very High Research”) university, it is also recognized in the Carnegie® Community Engagement classification. The University is also ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the “Best National Universities” and “Best National Public Universities.” It also ranks in the top tier of the WSJ/Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the New York Times’ “Top Colleges for Economic Diversity.”

Since 2009, nearly $1 billion has been has invested in advanced labs, facilities, and residence halls on the main campus. The University is home to Nevada’s first medical school – the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and the Wayne L. Prim Campus at Lake Tahoe, where education, research, and creative work thrive in a stunning mountain setting. The University delivers on its original land-grant mission with outreach across the state through the University of Nevada, Reno Extension, Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Nevada Small Business Development Center, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, and Wolf Pack Athletics.

The main campus is in Reno, Nevada, a burgeoning global technology hub with a vibrant midtown and downtown. Found where the high desert of the Great Basin meets the High Sierra and Lake Tahoe, the beautiful, 290-acre main campus is also a Nevada State Arboretum. The University’s physical infrastructure is expanding with ongoing construction of the newly named John Tullock Business Building, set to open in fall 2025. Groundbreaking is also planned for a new State Public Health Laboratory Building on campus, alongside the recent acquisition of 16 parcels near campus, known as “University Village,” to provide affordable housing for graduate students and early career faculty.

Collaborating with world-renowned organizations, the University fosters innovation through initiatives such as the Digital Wolf Pack partnership with Apple, which ensures equitable access to technology for students, providing new incoming freshman or transfer students with an iPad Air and accessories. Google’s TechWise initiate is an 18-month program that fully supports undergraduate students in becoming entry-level software engineers by graduation.

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced that Nevada – led by the University of Nevada, Reno – was named one of the inaugural 31 Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (TechHubs). Nevada was selected from a competitive pool of 489 applicants from across the United States and its territories. Nevada’s Tech Hub will strengthen America’s lithium batteries, critical elements and other electric vehicle materials industry sectors within the state.

Through its commitment to high-impact education, world-improving research and creative activity, and outreach that’s transforming Nevada’s communities and businesses, the University continues its 150-year tradition of benefitting our state, nation and world.

The University recognizes that diversity promotes excellence in education and research. The inclusive and engaged community on campus recognizes the added value that students, faculty, and staff from different backgrounds bring to the educational experience.

Today, the University delivers on its original land-grant mission of access to education and knowledge by investing in the academics, facilities, support, engagement and vibrant campus life that promote our diverse students’ cognitive growth and academic achievement – all while remaining one of the best values in American higher education.

For more information, please visit the University’s website.

University of Nevada, Reno