Job Summary

The College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University invites applications for the position of Department Head, English. The college seeks a dynamic leader with creative vision and an outstanding record of research, teaching, and service as well as previous administrative leadership experience to fill this position. Reporting to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the successful applicant will work alongside talented faculty, promote collaboration across disciplines, and play a crucial role in shaping the future of the college.

Department of English Overview

The Department offers the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. Undergraduates may specialize in Literary Studies, Professional Writing, or Creative Writing. At the graduate level, the department offers an M.A. in English (open specialization) and a Ph.D. in Literature, Theory, Cultural Studies and in Rhetoric and Composition. Faculty are also involved in such interdisciplinary programs as the highly regarded Purdue OWL; African American Studies; American Studies; Comparative Literature; Linguistics; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.  The department’s population includes thirty-four tenured or tenure-track faculty, ten lecturers, four clinical teaching professors, and twenty limited-term lecturers. Purdue University’s Department of English is committed to maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment in all areas of faculty effort, including scholarship, instruction, and engagement. 

The department is home to a number of exciting and dynamic ventures in different disciplinary areas, including the CROW (Corpus & Repository of Writing) Lab; the COVE Collective; the Games, Narrative, and Esports Certificate; several grant-funded digital humanities projects; and community engagement projects, such as the Big Read and the Literary Awards Contest. The department is also home to two major scholarly journals: Modern Fiction Studies and Arthuriana, as well as the undergraduate arts journal The Bell Tower.

College of Liberal Arts Overview

This is an exciting time to join the leadership team in the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University. As a vital component of a leading public research university, the college features a wide variety of excellent academic programs across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. We are committed to interdisciplinarity, innovation, and national leadership in higher education, most notably through our nationally recognized Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program, which reaches more than 10,000 students per year across campus.

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Purdue offers substantial support for research and teaching at both the university and college levels. The college’s Office of Research advances scholarship across its fields through a portfolio of targeted programs designed to promote collaboration and research excellence. The college’s commitment to interdisciplinarity and innovation is apparent through its many faculty-led centers, labs, and initiatives.  The college and its faculty are deeply committed to teaching excellence and to the central role that liberal arts play in grounding a university curriculum. The deep integration of graduate and undergraduate students into research and experiential learning is among its major strengths. The college values intellectual rigor, open debate, and the exploration of diverse perspectives in the pursuit of knowledge.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Department / School Heads in the College of Liberal Arts serve as visionary academic leaders and chief advocates for their departments. They are responsible for driving strategic direction while ensuring operational excellence within their units. Primary responsibilities include academic leadership; managing the department’s budget; faculty and lecturer mentorship and career development; advancing undergraduate and graduate student success, which may include teaching at the graduate level; strategic resource management; and fostering external relations. 

Heads collaborate closely with the Dean and the college’s senior leadership team, partnering across departments to champion interdisciplinary initiatives and innovative problem-solving. Because Purdue is deeply invested in leadership development, Department Heads are supported by both the college and the Provost’s Office through programs such as the New Heads Forum and ongoing professional development opportunities.

Required Qualifications

Applicants must have: a terminal degree related to the research areas of the Department of English; a record of scholarly achievement suitable for appointment as a full professor at Purdue; demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring of students and faculty; evidence of effective academic leadership; experience with securing extramural funding; outstanding interpersonal and communication skills with dedication to building and maintaining strong relationships with alumni and other stakeholders; and evidence of successful leadership in promoting a culture of intellectual openness and respectful exchange of ideas across multiple perspectives of scholarship.

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Applications

We encourage qualified candidates to submit application materials online at  https://careers.purdue.edu/job/Head-and-Professor-of-English/44308-en_US/, including a letter of application that describes qualifications for the position, curriculum vitae, names of three references, and statement of administrative / leadership philosophy. Review of applications will begin November 10, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. Questions should be directed to Dr. Fritz Davis frdavis@purdue.edu.  A background check is required for employment in this position.

Purdue University, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of English are committed to free and open inquiry in all matters. Candidates are encouraged to address in their cover letter how they are prepared to contribute to a climate that values free inquiry and academic freedom.

EEO/AA Statement

Purdue University is an equal opportunity/equal access university.