Ohio Wesleyan University seeks a Director of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation who connects educational development with student success and academic flourishing. This leader will be central to OWU’s collaborative campus community, where faculty are devoted and committed teachers. The inaugural, endowed Director of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation is a full-time, 12-month ongoing position charged with overseeing the strategic design, implementation, and continuing work of teaching effectiveness, engaged learning, and curricular innovation at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Director of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation will be a strategic leader in faculty development and student learning, supporting faculty engagement in evidence-informed pedagogical best practices. Working closely with the Provost, the Director of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation will also drive curricular innovation through new and ongoing initiatives tied to Ohio Wesleyan’s future.

This is an exciting time to join our community. Ohio Wesleyan has a new and reimagined General Education curriculum with an innovative problems-based First Year Seminar, an integrative framework of liberal arts core competencies, and a required high-impact signature experience, the OWU Connection. Ohio Wesleyan seeks to define the future of education at small liberal arts colleges through pedagogies that are cutting edge, learner centered, equitable, and inclusive. Ohio Wesleyan is on the move in its enrollment and retention growth, vision for bold initiatives, and location in one of the fastest-growing counties and metropolitan areas in the nation.

Key Responsibilities and Opportunities :

Leadership, Vision, and Influence

• Elevate teaching and learning innovation and excellence at the University by creating and enacting a clear mission, vision, strategy, and tactics

• Lead and promote structures, programs, policies, and procedures that enhance effective teaching and learning throughout the University

• Be a creative and innovative leader in new programs and initiatives related to teaching and learning, especially those related to the strategic plan and future growth of Ohio Wesleyan

• Serve on the Provost’s leadership team, providing guidance, counsel, and support for the overall functioning and operations of the University under the Provost’s areas of responsibility

• Advance the University’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts with a particular focus on teaching, learning, and innovation

• Work collaboratively with faculty and administrators, Senior Leadership team, Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Holistic Advising, Information Services, and the Registrar to implement pedagogical initiatives, curricular innovation, and new programs

• Engage in committees and working groups that advance teaching and learning, such as the Teaching and Assessment Committee and Moving the Needle student success and retention teams

Faculty Development and Student Learning

• Provide direct support of teaching in various disciplines and contexts, promote high-impact teaching practices, and cultivate an environment of reflective teaching practice campuswide

• Champion curriculum design, assessment, and pedagogical practices that are data-informed and enhance inclusive and supportive teaching, especially in courses with historically high DFW rates

• Consult with faculty on course design, classroom management, assessment and evaluation, student concerns, and other pedagogical matters, including those in General Education and the signature experience, the OWU Connection

• Create opportunities (workshops, trainings, professional learning communities, discussions, etc.) for faculty, staff, and students to gather and talk about teaching and learning in ways that transform pedagogical practice

• Lead the orientation and ongoing mentoring and support of new faculty, part-time faculty, and visiting faculty as well as provide opportunities for faculty support across career stages

• Create opportunities to celebrate teaching and learning, highlighting faculty and staff pedagogical innovation and scholarship

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

• Maintain a deep understanding of educational theory and research to inform faculty development efforts and recommendations for policy and practice

• Provide faculty, administrators, and all campus educators with a consistent, evidence-informed focus on improved student learning and academic flourishing

• Support faculty and staff in their scholarly agendas with practices, communities, and celebrations; model engagement in and application of discipline-based educational research and the scholarship of teaching and learning

• Identify, apply for, and collaborate on grant funding opportunities related to teaching and learning

• Facilitate faculty development by supporting applications for special scholarly leave and administering internal funds for pedagogical, scholarly, and innovative development

Factors Contributing to Success :

Qualifications

• Doctorate degree

• Experience facilitating educational/faculty development programs

• Experience teaching in higher education

• Experience applying educational theory and research to enhance teaching and learning

• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

Completed application packets will include:

1. Cover Letter

2. Resume or Curriculum Vitae

Review of applications will begin December 4 and continue until the position is filled. The position is expected to begin in early to mid Spring semester.

About Ohio Wesleyan :

Located in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area, Ohio Wesleyan is a residential liberal arts college enrolling approximately 1,500 students from across the nation and around the world. The college’s signature program, The OWU Connection , is designed to integrate student knowledge across disciplines, consider diverse and global perspectives, and teach students to apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book Colleges That Change Lives and was recently listed as the No. 1 liberal arts college in Ohio for social mobility by U.S. News and World Report . OWU is located in Delaware, OH, a lively college town under 30 minutes from Columbus, the 14th most populous city in the United States and part of the fastest growing, most economically vibrant areas of the Midwest. Columbus, known increasingly as the “Silicon Midwest,” was named by LinkedIn as one of the top 10 U.S. cities in which to launch your career.

To achieve our mission, we continually strive to foster a diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist campus community that celebrates the value of all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, color, gender identity and or expression, sexual orientation, family configuration, disability, socioeconomic status, religion, national origin, age, or military status. OWU is an equal opportunity institution and seeks applications from individuals who will help us honor and strengthen our commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. For more information about Academic Affairs and its commitment to DEI, please visit https://owu.edu/dei .

What We Offer :

Ohio Wesleyan University offers a rewarding place to work! To discover why this should be your next work home, read our faculty and staff perspectives . Learn more about our benefits at Discover Our Benefits .