Unleash Your Potential With Us

As a next-generation public research institution, we are an inclusive community of thinkers, doers, creators, innovators, healers, and leaders striving to shape the future and solve the world’s most challenging problems. No matter what your role is, when you join Knight Nation, you become an integral part of our mission to become a university for the future. You’ll be met with opportunities to connect and collaborate with uniquely talented faculty, staff, and students across 13 colleges and multiple campuses and regional locations. That means greater challenges to tackle, more meaningful opportunities to grow, and rewarding experiences that go beyond a paycheck.

The Opportunity

The Department of Legal Studies (LS) in the College of Community Innovation and Education (CCIE) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) seeks a dynamic and innovative leader to serve as professor and department chair, a full-time 12-month, tenured position, anticipated to begin Summer 2023. 

The Department of Legal Studies provides excellence in teaching, research and service related to the law and legal community. Dedicated to its students, the faculty delivers outstanding instruction at the undergraduate and graduate level, incorporating learning, service, and inquiry. By actively developing meaningful partnerships, it provides exemplary service to the college, university, and the broader professional and academic community. The Department of Legal Studies, with approximately 700 majors, is one of the largest of its kind in the country. With 14 full-time and additional adjunct faculty, the department offers B.A. and B.S. degrees in legal studies including fully online options, a legal studies minor, a graduate certificate in conflict resolution and analysis along with 7 undergraduate certificates. The department consistently attracts and cultivates a diverse student population for success in law schools, graduate studies, and the legal profession. Program graduates have been admitted to some of the top tier law schools in the country. Located at UCF Downtown , students are within walking distance of the Orange County Courthouse, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and many other jobs and internship opportunities. Students can also join program-related organizations, including honor societies, Moot Court, and Mediation teams, while the department hosts regional and national tournaments. Community collaboration is the foundation of the Department of Legal Studies’ mission. For more information about the department, please visit the homepage at https://ccie.ucf.edu/legalstudies/ .

The Department of Legal Studies is committed to excellence and innovation on a large scale that leads to positive impacts. With this commitment to positive impact in mind, we are looking for an experienced candidate to provide academic and administrative leadership (i.e., management of human resources, budget, academic programming, and fundraising), facilitate programs of individual and collaborative research, support and mentor faculty to seek and obtain external funding and secure promotion, as well as promote a collegial and collaborative work environment.

The selected candidate will report to the dean of CCIE and serve on the college’s executive and academic council. Specific duties include the following:

• Provide academic leadership in developing and defining the department's strategic plan. Lead the faculty, staff, and students in fulfilling the goals of the department.

• Create an environment within the department that encourages quality scholarship and research to inform the discipline.

• Promote community-based partnerships that positively impact students, faculty, and the community.

• Collaborate with other administrators within CCIE to support CCIE and UCF goals and initiatives.

• Advocate for LS priorities among CCIE and university administrators.

• Support faculty and students as they contribute to local, regional, national, and international conversations regarding legal studies.

• Lead and manage the development of departmental missions in teaching, research, and service.

• Build and maintain a collegial and collaborative organizational culture within the department.

• Coordinate the execution of the department's educational programs with faculty through equitable assignments of duties to teaching, research, and service.

• Lead faculty in addressing key issues within the unit, including future direction of the department, acquiring resources (e.g., efforts to generate auxiliary funds, strategic enrollment plans, etc.), strengthening promotion and tenure standards, and aligning with CCIE and UCF initiatives.

• Lead all faculty and staff recruitment activities, supporting the best interests of LS.

• Coordinate budget allocation and planning with the CCIE offices.

• Conduct annual evaluations of faculty and staff, as appropriate.

UCF College of Community Innovation and Education is a one-of-a-kind academic unit with distinct, interdisciplinary expertise and potential for partnership with community stakeholders, conceived to address societal challenges and work alongside the community. Established in 2018, the college offers undergraduate and graduate programs on the main campus and UCF Downtown. At the heart of the college's mission is the institutional commitment to transform lives and strengthen society by developing a unified vision and innovative solutions to complex social issues. CCIE promotes innovation through state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research with social impact, contemporary teaching and learning practices, and preeminent service for the disciplines, the institution, and the community.

Located in Orlando, Florida, UCF is classified as a Very High Research Activity (R1) university by the Carnegie Foundation. With a diverse student body of more than 70,000 students, UCF is one of the largest universities in the country. The university offers more than 240-degree programs. UCF is committed to diversity and was designated a Hispanic Serving Institution in 2019.  For more information, visit https://www.ucf.edu .

Minimum Qualifications:

A Juris Doctorate or a doctoral degree in a closely related field from an accredited institution and be eligible for appointment at the rank of professor with tenure.

To be eligible for appointment as a professor with tenure upon hire, the selected candidate must have a strong record of research and scholarship, teaching, and service at a comparable or peer institution commensurate with a tenured faculty appointment at the rank of professor in a department related to law and legal studies as well as at UCF. The selected candidate must have the ability to articulate and further the vision of the department.

In addition, strong candidates must demonstrate a commitment to high-quality teaching and learning across modalities, including, but not limited to, online and multimodal instruction.

Qualified candidates must have a record of supporting faculty and students from diverse backgrounds and demonstrating skills related to organization, planning, budgeting, and administration as well as experience working in interdisciplinary groups and activities.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Hold the rank of professor at a law school or a research doctoral granting university (very high research activity or high research activity).

• A distinguished record of scholarship, academic, and programmatic leadership.

• Experience with administration of undergraduate and/or graduate programs.

• Demonstrated experience with community-based interdisciplinary research.

• Ability to develop and maintain productive collaborative relationships with university administrators, faculty, staff, students, professional societies/organizations, and alumni.

• Experience overseeing an academic unit, including supervising and evaluating faculty and staff members, managing unit’s budget, and developing departmental initiatives.

• History working with student experiential learning activities such as Moot Court and/or Mediation teams.

• Innovative and creative experience working with educational partners across institutional levels.

• Experience organizing and working with program partners and/or advisory boards.

• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing a robust academic schedule across undergraduate and/or graduate programs.

• Experience in fundraising to secure external funding to support academic program performance and growth.

• Experience using predictive analytics to inform program planning.

• Record of successful contract and grant funding.

• Candidates have prior experience in the active practice of law in the public or private sector; having maintained bar membership in good standing, with no prior disciplinary records.

Additional Application Materials Required:

UCF requires all applications and supporting documents be submitted electronically through the Human Resources employment opportunities website, https://www.ucf.edu/jobs .  In addition to the online application, interested candidates should upload a cover letter, a current curriculum vitae, and a list with contact information for three (3) professional references.

NOTE: Please have all documents ready when applying so they can be simultaneously uploaded. Once the online submission process is finalized, the system does not allow applicants to submit additional documents later.

The selected candidate will be required to submit official transcripts (and, as applicable, U.S. degree equivalency evaluations) documenting the conferral of their qualifying academic credentials. 

Questions regarding this search may be directed to: Dr. Glenn Lambie, Search Committee Chair at Glenn.Lambie@ucf.edu . 

Special Instructions to the Applicants:

N/A

Job Close Date:

Open until filled.

Note to applicants: Please keep in mind that a job posted as ‘Open until filled ’ may close at any time without notice. As such, we encourage you to submit your application and all required documentation as quickly as possible to ensure consideration for the posted position.

Are Benefits Important to You?

Working at UCF has its perks!  In addition to helping drive change and having a positive impact by supporting our students, staff, and faculty, UCF offers:

• Benefit packages including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, healthcare flexible spending accounts, and an Employee Assistance Program.
• Paid time off, including annual and sick leave and paid holidays.
• Retirement savings options.
• Employee discounts, including tickets to many Orlando area attractions.
• Education assistance.
• Flexible work environment.

And more…For more benefits information, go to ‘Prospective Employees’ on the UCF Human Resources website (https://hr.ucf.edu/ ).

Who Are We?

Founded in 1963 to fuel the region’s talent pipeline and support the growing U.S. space program, UCF is built to make a better future for our students and society. It’s one of the reasons U.S. News & World Report ranks UCF among the nation’s top 20 most innovative colleges, while Forbes, Kiplinger , and The Princeton Review rank us a best-value university. UCF is one of 14 universities nationwide designated as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and a Research 1 university. With 13 colleges, including a fully accredited College of Medicine, UCF offers more than 240-degree programs between its main campus, downtown campus, hospitality campus, academic health sciences campus, and 11 UCF Connect centers located throughout the region. In addition, UCF extends its reach to communities in and beyond Central Florida by offering complete online programs leading to bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, Ph.D.'s., certificates, and more.

The University of Central Florida is proud to be a smoke-free campus and an E-Verify employer. Unless explicitly stated on the job posting, it is UCF’s expectation that an employee of UCF will reside in Florida as of the date the employment begins.

Additional Requirements related to Research Positions

Pursuant to Florida State Statute 1010.35, prior to offering employment to certain individuals in research-related positions, UCF is required to conduct additional screening. Applicants subject to additional screening include any citizen of a foreign country who is not a permanent resident of the U.S., or who is a citizen or permanent resident but is affiliated with or has had at least 1 year of higher education, employment, or training in China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Syria, or Venezuela.

The additional screening requirements only apply to employment in research-related positions, including, but not limited to faculty positions (including employed visiting positions), graduate positions, individuals compensated by research grants or contract funds, postdoctoral scholar positions, and undergraduate positions.

Department

Work Schedule

Type of Appointment

Expected Salary

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

As an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, UCF encourages all qualified applicants to apply, including women, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and members of traditionally underrepresented populations. UCF's Equal Opportunity Statement can be viewed at  http://www.oie.ucf.edu/documents/PresidentsStatement.pdf.

As a Florida public university, UCF makes all application materials and selection procedures available to the public upon request.

The University of Central Florida is proud to be a smoke-free campus and an E-Verify employer.