skip to content
 
 
 
You are here:

Head of Academic Outreach

Located in culturally diverse, historic, and dynamic Richmond, Virginia, convenient to the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the recreation destinations of the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Commonwealth University is one of Virginia's largest universities and among the nation's leading research institutions. The VCU Libraries, one of Virginia’s outstanding research library systems, advances the University’s teaching, research, service, and patient care mission with holdings exceeding 2.5 million volumes, 61,000 serials, 600,000 e-books, and nationally prominent collections in the health and biological sciences, social work, the arts, the history of medicine, and comic and book arts.

The Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries invites applications and nominations for the position of Head of Academic Outreach. The successful candidate for this newly created position will provide leadership for the Libraries’ reinvigorated program of outreach and engagement with upper-level undergraduate and graduate students and faculty throughout departments, school, colleges and interdisciplinary programs. The Head participates in related library and campus committees and ad hoc groups. The successful candidate will join a culturally and academically diverse faculty of the highest caliber.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Public Services, the Head of Academic Outreach will collaborate with colleagues in the library, especially the research and education division of the Tompkins-McCaw Library and across campus to develop programs and services that focus on students and faculty, including:

  • Create and implement a program for creative academic outreach, with responsibilities for academic outreach librarians to the Monroe Park campus to undergraduate and graduate students and their faculty in humanities, arts, business, sciences, engineering, social sciences and public affairs.
  • Take strategic responsibility for the development, promotion and delivery of research support, enabling all University members and external partners to locate, access and organize information using the most appropriate tools.
  • Advocate for library services and offerings to the academic community.
  • Provide guidance, mentorship, and supervision to discipline-based academic outreach librarians in all aspects of their work.
  • Collaborate with teaching faculty to develop course content, participating in assessing and design student learning outcomes
  • Lead outreach programs to the campus and appropriate local communities.

The successful candidate may also be assigned one or more curricular or co-curricular subject areas.  The Head of Academic Outreach is expected to be active professionally and to contribute to developments in the field. Faculty with the VCU Libraries are evaluated, and promoted, on the basis of job performance, scholarship, and professional development and service.

Qualifications

Required: ALA-accredited graduate degree or accredited graduate degree in another appropriate discipline. Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU.  Preferred:   Direct experience in a research library providing subject-based services.  Experience supervising librarians and/or staff in the provision of library services. 

Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Libraries

Virginia Commonwealth University is Virginia’s largest research university, enrolling over 32,000 students. Located in Richmond, Virginia), it is classified by Carnegie as Research University (very high research activity). VCU offers 38 doctoral, 74 masters, 3 professional, and 63 baccalaureate degree programs. Thirty-four of VCU's graduate, professional programs are ranked by U.S. News & World Report as among the best in the nation, with 18 programs ranking in the top 25 and two programs — sculpture and nurse anesthesia — ranked number one. Over 1,900 faculty comprise the University's teaching force. Research strengths at the University include health and life sciences, education, engineering, social work, behavioral sciences, public affairs, advertising and design, and the fine arts. Sponsored research funding totals over $260 million, placing VCU among the top 100 research institutions in the United States. VCU’s strategic plan embraces an acceleration in the growth of VCU’s library system and includes a new Master Site Plan that envisions additions to both library facilities operated by the VCU Libraries. Architectural work has begun on a major addition to and renovation of the James Branch Cabell Library that is expected to open in 2015.

Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University (including the James Branch Cabell Library on the Monroe Park Campus and the Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences on the MCV Campus) employ 60 professionals and 73 support staff with an annual budget exceeding $16.6 million. VCU also operates programs in Doha, Qatar, including a library supporting the program there; Northern Virginia; and in various additional locations throughout the U.S. and the world. The VCU Libraries is a Resource Library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and a member of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, SPARC, CNI, BioMed Central, and the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), a statewide networking consortium for shared access to electronic and print resources. The VCU Libraries has adopted Primo as its discovery layer and is one of the first libraries worldwide to have implemented Alma as its next generation cloud-based system for library management. CONTENTdm and DSpace supplement the foundation of its system architecture to enhance access to its collections and services.

The Monroe Park Campus of VCU is located in Richmond's Fan District, a large, residential neighborhood of townhouses, shops, and cafes. The campus is home to most of the University’s undergraduate and many of its graduate programs, including the School of the Arts, the College of Humanities and Sciences, and the Schools of Business, Education, Engineering, and Social Work. In addition, VCU’s Qatar campus in the Middle East offers degree programs through the School of the Arts.

Salary: Salary commensurate with experience, not less than $60,000 annually. This is a full-time, non-tenured faculty position. Normal faculty benefits apply, including 24 vacation days annually and choice of retirement and annuity plans. For more information about benefits, see http://www.hr.vcu.edu/benefits/.

For more information about the VCU Libraries, please visit our home page at http://www.library.vcu.edu/.  Review of applications will begin April 10, 2013, and will continue until the position is filled.  Submit cover letter, resume, and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references to:

Pamela H. Fraga

Assistant to the University Librarian

VCU Libraries, Virginia Commonwealth University

901 Park Avenue

PO Box 842033

Richmond, VA 23284-2033

804-828-1107

804-828-0151 (fax)

phfraga@vcu.edu

“Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university providing access to education and employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, veteran’s status, political affiliation or disability.“