Department Chair and Associate/Full Professor, Tenured, Engineering

This position is part of the

BUFA (Employee Group)

Brock University is one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities, a Top Employer in Hamilton-Niagara, ranked #3 as Canada’s Best Employers and ranked top 10 as one of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity compiled by Forbes and Statista. We are an inclusive, welcoming community that offers a wide range of unique career opportunities for those with passion, energy and expertise.

We are looking for team members who want to help us continue to deliver an exceptional student experience, perform impact-driven research and generate life-changing breakthroughs for our world. Ignite new possibilities for your career. Break through at Brock.

Post End Date:

Note to all candidates: This posting will close at 12:01 am on the date listed .

February 28, 2025

The University

Brock University is a comprehensive teaching and research institution with rich academic programs and world-class scholarship. Located in the historic Niagara region, Brock offers all the benefits of a young and modern university in a safe, community-minded city with beautiful natural surroundings. With more than 19,000 students in seven diverse Faculties, 600 faculty members, and over 100,000 accomplished alumni—Brock has earned a reputation as a one of Canada’s top post-secondary institutions.

Brock was recently named the third best employer in Canada by Forbes through an independent survey of more than 40,000 Canadian employees working for companies with more than 500 employees. Brock is also home to twelve 3M Teaching Fellowship Award Winners—Canada’s most prestigious recognition of excellence in educational leadership and teaching at the post-secondary level—and eight Canada Research Chairs.

Brock University is located on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement.

The Location

Brock University is situated within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and in an area known for viticulture, tourism, natural beauty, and its proximity to major Canadian and American cities. With a focus on access and student success, Brock attracts a vibrant and diverse student population from the Niagara Region and the Greater Toronto Area, as well as from Ontario, Canada, and abroad. Brock’s location plays a key role in its identity, as more than 200 community collaborations allow the University to be a vital partner that helps advance Niagara’s cultural, economic, and intellectual transformation.

Niagara is a unique region of Canada’s, representing a diverse collection of communities connected by rural landscapes and unspoiled nature, and bordered by two Great Lakes, the mighty Niagara River, and New York State. Niagara is wine country, craft breweries, arts, music, theatre, sports, beaches, hiking, biking, recreational trails, festivals, attractions, night clubs, pubs, and renowned farm-to-table culinary destinations, all only an hour from Toronto, and just across the border from Buffalo. Visit Niagara Canada to learn more.

About Engineering at Brock

The Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering is located within the Faculty of Mathematics and Science at Brock and is one of only three Integrated Engineering programs in Canada. With a focus on flexibility and humanist thinking, Integrated Engineering combines a grounding in core engineering practices with the necessary interdisciplinary outlook to make a significant impact. By blurring the lines between traditional engineering disciplines, we provide our students with an experience that will prepare them to address the technological, engineering, and social innovation challenges of the future.

The program is structured around four principal themes that represent and address emerging trends important to both the Niagara Region and to Canada. These include:

Feeding the World: Sustainable agriculture and land-use, bioengineering in developing food markets, and emerging technology for environmental remediation, especially looking towards the needs of the Niagara Region Shaping the Future: Automation, human and machine interactions, the technical and policy analyses of energy use in manufacturing, the environment and the economy. Connecting the World: The technology and methods of collecting, managing and analyzing the shared data of the modern world; how cities and organizations can harness information to create better places to live Healthy Communities: Technology for improving our personal health and the health of our communities; engineering for assistive living and augmented biology, improving the methods that keep our municipalities healthy and functioning

Brock is seeking a passionate, creative, and collaborative individual who will be a champion for its new Integrated Engineering program and incorporated themes.

The successful candidate will be a researcher who see no borders, just frontiers to explore, and who is excited by the prospect of furthering engineering at Brock. The successful candidate will also demonstrate a commitment to transdisciplinary integration in their teaching and research and be able to translate this into the Integrated Engineering program at Brock. 

About the Position 

The Faculty of Mathematics and Science invites applications for the Chair of the Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering at the rank of Tenured Associate/Full Professor, beginning July 1, 2025. The expected term of appointment as Chair is three years and the appointment is renewable. The rank will be commensurate with the successful applicant’s qualifications and experience in teaching and research.

The Chair of the Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering will:

• Oversee the academic leadership and daily management of the department.
• Foster a safe and healthy work environment.
• Coordinate with the Dean’s Office to ensure all courses and programs meet or exceed accreditation and quality standards, aligning with the University’s Strategic Plan and community needs.
• Manage and support budget activities for program areas, ensuring financial targets are met.
• Lead continuous faculty development initiatives.
• Participate in the hiring and development of full-time and contract faculty and staff.
• Collaborate with the Dean’s Office on multi-year capital planning.
• Priorities will include, for example:
• Developing authentic and effective assessment strategies leading to the accreditation of engineering programs.
• Building research capacity in engineering.
• Collaborating with scholars within the University and across the international research community.
• Advising Brock’s academic community on learning objectives and outcomes, curriculum design, curriculum mapping and other curricular initiatives.
• Providing guidance in delivering all aspects of program development, program review and program accreditation, ensuring that learning outcomes are achieved, and core competencies are addressed through pedagogical effectiveness, the use of technology and robust evaluation. Leading the co-creation of innovative and imaginative professional academic programs in engineering, including experiential-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs currently in the initial stages of development.
• Establish and mentor curriculum teams to develop content, courses, and teaching methodologies for engineering, with a focus on real-world problem-solving and design-based learning pedagogies.
• Establishing links to industry and other external stakeholders.
• Assisting with fundraising activities and supporting donor relations.
• As the Department Chair, and in keeping with the duties and responsibilities outlined in the Collective Agreement, the incumbent will act as an academic leader to represent and foster a new and growing academic unit at Brock. This includes:
• Updating, revising, developing, and supporting programs
• Orienting Departmental faculty and staff policies, practices, and procedures
• Mentoring faculty members in their research and teaching careers
• Fostering an environment of academic excellence
• Consulting with members of the Department on needs and academic goals
• Overseeing a range of faculty and academic life matters (e.g., recommending teaching duties to the Dean, allocating non-teaching responsibilities, advising the Dean on performance reviews of faculty members and staff, etc.)
• Managing and overseeing the administration and operations of the Department, in consultation with its members
• Overseeing the use of space and equipment assigned to the Department
• Advancing the interests of the Department and its programs both internally and externally to the University (e.g., advancement and fundraising, recruitment, communications, accreditation, etc.)

Qualifications 

The qualified candidate should have:

• A doctorate degree in a relevant engineering discipline
• An engineering license to practice in Canada
• Evidence of managing engineering academic units (e.g., a Department) at a recognized post-secondary institution
• Record of positive engagement with the engineering education community.
• Experience with innovative WIL (work-integrated learning) or PBL (problem-based learning) pedagogies
• Experience in accreditation process (preferred)
• Classroom involvement, delivering authentic design and problem-solving experiences
• Knowledge of co-op and internship learning models
• Demonstrated understanding of how external partners can engage in the learning and training of university students
• Experience with how to build a successful, individual research program in engineering
• A collegial and effective leadership and communication style

Notes:

Brock University offers competitive salaries and benefits, and ample support for research and sabbaticals. Research resources include conference support, start-up funding, subscriptions to major databases and access to various research funding vehicles. For candidates considering relocation, moving expenses will be administered according to the Brock University Faculty Association Collective Agreement.

All documents must be submitted in electronic format (a single, well-organized PDF document is preferred) via the online application system. (Note: file maximum of 5MB per attachment upload). Candidates must submit

A letter of application (max. two pages) A statement of research interests (max. three pages A statement of teaching philosophy and interests (max. two pages) A vision statement for the engineering department (max. two pages) An equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) statement (max. two pages) Evidence of successful high-quality teaching A curriculum vitae The names and contact information for three references as part of their application. Applicants should also arrange for at least three letters of academic reference to be sent electronically to deanfms@brocku.ca.

The closing date for applications is Feb.28, 2025, at 12:01am. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Thad Harroun, Acting Dean, Faculty of Mathematics and Science at deanfms@brocku.ca.

This position is subject to final budgetary approval.

Our Commitment

Brock University is actively committed to diversity and the principles of employment equity and invites applications from all qualified candidates. Women, Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) peoples, Black people, people with disabilities, members of visible minorities/racialized groups, and Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+) persons are encouraged to apply and to voluntarily self-identify as a member of a designated group as part of their application. Candidates who wish to be considered as a member of one or more designated groups should fill out the Self-Identification Form and include the completed form with their application.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority.

We will accommodate the needs of the applicants and the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) throughout all stages of the selection process, as outlined in the Employment Accommodation Policy https://brocku.ca/policies/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/Employment-Accommodation-Policy.pdf. Please advise: talent@brocku.ca to ensure your accessibility needs are accommodated through this process. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.

We appreciate all applications received; however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. 

Learn more about Brock University by visiting www.brocku.ca

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