Director - Asian Studies Center - Michigan State University

From Indopedia

• Director Asian Studies Center

-- November 3, 2008

-- Michigan State University (MSU), the nation's premier land-grant university, seeks applications for the position of Director of the Asian Studies Center (ASN) who provides leadership in shaping and implementing innovative initiatives to advance strategic international engagement.

-- Responsibilities: The ASN Director provides intellectual and programmatic leadership to advance and promote excellence in MSU's diverse research, teaching, and outreach activities relating to Asia. This includes supervising the Center's programs and staff and representing the Center at MSU, across the nation, and internationally. As leader of the first all-Asia Title VI National Resource Center, the Director develops and sustains strategic partnerships with higher education and other institutions in South, Southeast, Inner, and East Asia to advance collaborative research, teaching, and engagement activities that positively impact critical global issues and transform the lives of people. The Director will have particular responsibility for overseeing current and new partnership development initiatives in South and East Asia, and China. The Director facilitates and catalyzes collaborative, multi-disciplinary and cross-college faculty research with emphasis on priority research themes; builds collaboration between social science/arts/humanities and STEM/health disciplines; develops proposals for external funding for such research; and secures Title VI and other external funds for Center programs. Additional duties are to advance knowledge of Asia and its strategic application; enhance instruction of Asian languages and course offerings with Asian content; oversee the Asian Studies undergraduate specialization program; and build and strengthen relationships with diverse constituent and stakeholder groups such as faculty, administrators, students, academic programs, K-12 institutions, local communities of Asian descent, government and policy organizations, and others elsewhere in the United States and Asia. In fulfillment of these duties, the Director will be required to travel to Asia periodically to develop and enhance MSU’s strategic partnerships there and advocate for MSU with relevant Asian institutions. The Director's appointment will be at least 50%, and up to 75% in the Center, with the exact percentages there and in an academic department, the tenure home, to be mutually agreed between the successful candidate, the Dean of ISP, and the host academic department. The Director appointment is on an annual (12-month) basis for a five-year period with renewal possible. Salary and rank are commensurate with experience.

-- The Asian Studies Center: The Asian Studies Center (ASN), named a National Undergraduate Resource Center (Title VI NRC) since 2000 by the U.S. Department of Education, directs one of the largest, most diverse programs of education about Asia in the Midwest. Unlike comparable programs, ASN's is distinguished by its comprehensive attention to East, Central/Inner, South and Southeast Asia in the design of its curriculum, focus of faculty research, and scope of outreach activities. Presently, the Center's one hundred plus affiliated faculty represent disciplines from across the university curriculum. In addition to research, ASN's all-Asia emphasis reflects the university's overall commitment to internationalization. Two-thirds of MSU's foreign students and over half of the university's 1200 foreign scholars come from Asia and nearly 2,000 undergraduates are Asian-Pacific Americans. The increase in students and scholars from Asia and demands from MSU students and faculty, and business and government in Michigan and the Midwest have led to the development of an Asian Studies curriculum aimed at meeting new needs and advancing the genuinely multicultural quality of MSU. ASN also conducts extensive outreach programs for K-16 educators, non-governmental organizations, governments, the media, and business communities.

ASN is a unit of International Studies and Programs (ISP) at MSU, and its Director reports to the ISP Dean. ISP incorporates MSU’s extensive study abroad programs and international student and scholar services. The ASN actively partners with other Title VI centers including the African Studies Center, Center for the Advanced Study of International Development, Center for International Business Education and Research, Center for Language Education and Research, and the Women and International Development Program to pursue trans-regional and interdisciplinary strategic initiatives. Other partners on-campus include the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages; Canadian Studies Center; Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies; the Muslim Studies Initiative; and the Institutes of International Agriculture, International Health, and International Studies in Education, and International Business. ASN has more than one hundred affiliated faculty members in the humanities, social and natural sciences, agriculture, business, law, and other professional programs who carry on research, and undergraduate and graduate teaching related to Asia. More information about ASN and its broad range of activities can be found at: asianstudies.msu.edu.

-- Qualifications: Candidates from all academic disciplines will be considered, and are expected to have an outstanding record of research and scholarship with experience working in, and expertise about the region. Candidates must have an earned Ph.D. or its equivalent and meet the standards for appointment to the rank of associate or full professor (with tenure) in an academic department or school in one of MSU's academic colleges. Candidates are expected to have demonstrated leadership and administrative skills, and abilities to secure external funding from diverse sources; establish and sustain strategic partnerships with universities and other institutions in Asia; facilitate and catalyze programs of collaborative, multi-disciplinary research on priority research topics; build collaboration between social science/arts/humanities and STEM/health disciplines; and actively contribute to the ISP leadership team. The position requires policy development and implementation capabilities, with the ability to work collaboratively with faculty, administrators of academic units, and other area studies and international thematic centers in promoting international research, education, outreach, and service programs. In addition, the ideal candidate will possess proficiency in at least one Asian language. An understanding of, and a commitment, to the mission of a premier land-grant/AA U university is essential.

-- Application: Inquiries, nominations and application materials can be sent to: ASN Director Search, c/o Patricia Lambert, International Studies and Programs, Michigan State University, 209 International Center, East Lansing, MI 48824 or <lamber73@msu.edu> by December 10, 2008. Please include an application letter addressing your interest, qualifications relevant to the items identified above, and vision for the position, a recent vita, and a list of three references with addresses. Electronic submissions are preferred. MSU will begin reviewing applications in December, 2008, however, applications will be received and reviewed until the position is filled.

-- For additional information about the University and its extensive international commitments see www.msu.edu, and www.msu.edu/international, and www.isp.msu.edu .

-- Michigan State University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. The University is strongly committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity and actively encourages applications and/or nominations of women, persons of color, veterans and persons with disabilities.