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Director, Institute for Women's Leadership

June 1, 2018

Rutgers University–New Brunswick is launching a national search for the position of Director, Institute for Women's Leadership, and is seeking nominations and applications. Reporting directly to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the position offers an individual, committed to promoting women’s leadership by advancing the status of women within and outside the University, a highly visible platform from which to foster new initiatives and research that further scholarship, education, policy, and practice with respect to diversity, feminism, and women’s leadership.

The Institute for Women's Leadership at Rutgers is a consortium of nine units based at the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus and dedicated to the study of women and gender, to advocacy on behalf of gender equity, and to the promotion of women's leadership locally, nationally, and globally. Established in 1991, the Institute for Women's Leadership connects its member units in the mission to examine and advance women’s leadership in education, research, the arts, sciences, business, politics and government, human rights, the workplace, and the world.

The member units all have their distinct missions and reporting relationships and come together within the consortium to develop collaborative programs and research. The Institute supports member units' missions, promotes a collective focus on women’s leadership for social change, and leads in the creation of initiatives that further women’s leadership in all arenas.

The IWL leads activities in three broad areas: model leadership programs for women in the public and private sectors; interdisciplinary research on women's leadership; and collaborative programs that utilize the expertise of unit members for the benefit of the consortium. The strategic focus of the Institute is to develop leaders committed to a new vision of leadership, dedicated to improving people’s lives and creating a world with human rights and justice for everyone. Priorities include creating new knowledge about women’s leadership, developing leaders and fostering environments receptive to women’s leadership, and maintaining the Institute as a model of collaborative leadership.

The IWL initiated and coordinated a $3 million campaign to develop the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies. Established in 2017 with gifts from more than 430 donors, the Gloria Steinem Chair is a collaboration among the School of Communication and Information, the School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Women's and Gender Studies; and the IWL. The Chair serves as the hub of the IWL Consortium Initiative on Women, Media, and Tech, and provides the platform for IWL's mentoring and leadership focus for women in media.

IWL's annual budget is approximately $1.2 million, one-quarter of which is raised from external gifts and grants. The IWL is the home for two endowed lecture series: The Susan and Michael J. Angelides Distinguished Leaders Lecture and the Anita Ashok Datar Lecture on Women's Global Health. The generation of additional resources through external fundraising is an important part of the Director’s responsibilities.

The Institute for Women’s Leadership consortium presently includes the following research, education, and policy units:

  • Douglass Residential College (founded in 1918) is the only residential women's college in the nation that is housed within a comprehensive public research university. Open to all undergraduate women students at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, regardless of major or academic school, Douglass students enjoy a small college atmosphere and programs that support women's leadership and success.
  • Department of Women's and Gender Studies (1969), an interdisciplinary department with both undergraduate and graduate programs and one of the most highly-ranked such departments in the U.S.;
  • Center for American Women and Politics (1971), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics and the nation'’s leading authority on the status of women in government;
  • Institute for Research on Women (1974), a national leader in advancing feminist scholarship through annual interdisciplinary research seminars, distinguished lecture series, and scholarly publications;
  • Center for Women's Global Leadership (1989), a central player in the worldwide movement to define and achieve women’s human rights;
  • Center for Women and Work (1993), a unit of the School of Management and Labor Relations, linking research, policymakers, and working women in addressing issues of women and work in New Jersey, the U.S., and globally;
  • Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities (2006), advancing research, programming, exhibitions, and documentation related to the aesthetic and intellectual contributions of women in the arts and humanities, and promoting policies and strategies to redress gender inequities in those fields;
  • Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (2007), home of Rutgers' NSF-ADVANCE grant, creating and sustaining transformative initiatives to increase and support undergraduate, graduate, and faculty women in science, technology, and engineering fields;
  • Center on Violence Against Women and Children (2007) at the School of Social Work strives to eliminate physical, sexual, and other forms of violence against women and children and the power imbalances that permit them. The Center accomplishes its mission through a collaborative approach that focuses on multidisciplinary research, education, and community engagement.

Members of the IWL consortium pursue distinctive programs of their own, while also working together on a range of joint initiatives and ventures. Their wide-ranging activity has made Rutgers a magnet for talented faculty in many fields who recognize the richness and collective value of the consortial arrangement.

 

The Director of the Institute for Women's Leadership is the intellectual and administrative leader of the consortium. As the primary spokesperson for the IWL, the Director is responsible for the development of scholarly inquiry, programs, and initiatives to foster women’s leadership, and for increasing the national and international eminence of the consortium.

Through compelling personal vision and collaborative work with constitutive units as well as with other areas of the University and external partners, the Director will shape the direction, define the purposes, and set the broad-based agendas of the IWL. The Director will identify and champion the issues that concern women and gender, women's leadership, and other newly identified areas, as well as focusing on those issues central to the work of the members of the IWL. The Director will be a leading advocate for the advancement of women, a university-wide influence, and someone who will bring national prominence to the work done through the IWL at Rutgers.

Typically, the most viable academic candidates will have achieved a record of scholarly accomplishments to be appointed at the rank of full or distinguished professor along with significant leadership experience and a track record of working collaboratively to develop, fund, and implement effective equity focused programs. We also welcome candidates who are non- academics but who would bring significant relevant expertise and leadership experience and a record of leadership accomplishments needed to hold a non-tenure track faculty position. Faculty in all disciplinary areas are welcome to apply. This position will work closely with the Provost to ensure that gender equity and women’s advancement to leadership are infused in the university’s culture and practice. A search advisory committee has been charged with recommending a slate of the most viable candidates to the Provost.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting November 1, 2018. Applicants should submit applications electronically at http://jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/68594. Your application should include the following materials:

  1. a letter of application (no more than two pages) should describe why the candidate is suited for the position and an overview of relevant prior experiences
  2. current curriculum vitae
  3. a list of five references (inside and external) including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses

References will not be contacted without informing the candidate.

Only those applications submitted through the official Rutgers Human Resources System will be considered. Review of applications will start November 1, 2018, and will continue until the position is filled. The preferred start date is April 1, 2019, or as negotiated. All correspondence will be held in strictest confidence. Nominations, inquiries, and questions should be submitted to:

Dr. Cheryl Wall, Chair
IWL Director Search Committee
iwl.director.search@rutgers.edu

IWL Director Position [PDF]