The University of Texas at Austin

Director & Professor

THE STAN RICHARDS SCHOOL OF ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin invites applications for the position of tenured full professor and Director of the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations. The Director will hold the Isabella Cunningham Endowed Chair, named in honor of the former longtime department chair.

THE POSITION

Reporting to the Dean of Moody College of Communication, the next Director and Professor of the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations will serve as the leader for advancing the School’s mission and vision while providing intellectual leadership for its highly ranked and regarded advertising and public relations programs. Engaging faculty, students and alumni, the Director will ensure that the School remains distinctive in its eclectic mix of programs, distinguished for the excellence of its curriculum and strengthened by its ongoing commitment to both theory and practice.

Given the School’s large and talented undergraduate student population, the new Director will be expected to facilitate ongoing curricular innovation to keep programs in sync with their rapidly evolving fields.  The Director will also guide continued success and progress in the School’s excellent Master’s and Doctoral programs. In addition, the Director will help define directions of growth for the faculty and identify and build relationships with departments and programs within Moody as well as beyond the College – in business, medicine, law and the arts, for instance. The Director will be expected to bridge these areas in support of multidisciplinary collaboration and must therefore have an appreciation for them as well as an understanding of the benefits of such multidisciplinary collaborations.

The School has a strong tradition of close relations with both professional and academic communities and seeks a Director who will maintain and expand these relationships in ways that will inform curricula and pedagogy while also benefitting its graduates as they enter the professional and academic worlds. The Director will work closely with the Dean on alumni relations and fundraising in support of student, faculty and facilities needs and will sustain donor relations to the benefit of the School and of Moody College of Communication.

QUALIFICATIONS

In addition to a Ph.D., or equivalent in advertising, public relations, marketing, strategic communication, mass communication, or a related field of communication, the Director must have an outstanding reputation and academic achievements commensurate with appointment as a full professor with tenure at UT Austin. The Director will be a collaborative leader who can develop and articulate a compelling vision for the School in the context of the evolution of advertising and PR as academic fields and as professions. The Director will strengthen the School by further developing its distinctive combination of academic and professional resources. Attentive to the careers that students will pursue after they complete their education at Moody, the Director will work with faculty and alumni to extend the relationships students can begin to form while at Moody and can continue to build as they pursue their careers.

Additional qualifications include:

• Demonstrated leadership abilities, administrative skills and experience in fostering collaboration and building consensus amongst colleagues, preferably within an academic environment.
• An appreciation for the merits of a school comprised of both professionals who have chosen to enter academia and research-focused career academics.
• An entrepreneurial spirit that is open to experimentation with curriculum and ways of learning that can make the school unique.
• Experience working in or with advertising and/or public relations agencies is preferred but not required.

More information about the position can be found here.

The Moody College of Communication has engaged Opus Partners to support the recruitment of the Director and will begin considering candidates on October 28, 2024. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.  Craig Smith, Senior Partner and Abigail Maynard, Senior Associate are supporting the search. Applicants are invited to email documents including a cover letter describing their interest/qualifications and curriculum vitae/resume to . Nominations, recommendations, expressions of interest, and inquiries should be sent to the same address. UT policy requires that a background check be conducted on the selected candidate. The search process is confidential until the finalist phase; the finalists’ visits to campus will entail engagement with a broad range of constituents.

* The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The university is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities and admissions.