Director of the Ann and John Tickle Honors College

Description: The Opportunity King University seeks a founding Director and Endowed Chair for the John and Ann Tickle Honors College, launching its inaugural cohort in fall 2028. This is a rare opportunity in Christian higher education: the chance to build a signature academic community from its first seminar to its first graduating class. Since 1867, King has been compelled by its dual commitments to Christ and neighbor to provide an excellent, liberal arts-based education to students across the Appalachian Highlands and beyond. The Tickle Honors College is the highest expression of that mission. It is defined by four core commitments - academic excellence through rigorous, interdisciplinary coursework; Christian formation and vocation, integrating faith, learning, and calling; community engagement, through deep, sustained partnerships with Bristol and the surrounding region; and global perspective, through transformative intercultural experiences. The Director will draw upon existing programs and resources, create new experiences and collaborate across King to make these commitments real - in the seminar room, in the honors residence, in Bristol's schools and civic organizations, and abroad. Why This Role Matters The Honors College is one of King's strategic initiatives both for attracting, retaining, and graduating academically talented, highly motivated students and for deepening its connections with Bristol and beyond. The proposal envisions cohorts of twenty students growing to a full community of eighty by year four, supported by dedicated scholarships, an Honors Hub in the historic Tadlock building, and an honors living community in Parks Hall. It also envisions something larger than enrollment strategy: graduates of character, purpose, and excellence who stay engaged with the Tri-Cities region and contribute to its economic and civic flourishing. The Director develops the program, recruits students and families, appoints Faculty Fellows, collaborates to support community partnerships and global studies, and represents the college to donors, churches, schools, and civic leaders. The Person We Seek We seek a dynamic teacher-scholar-builder - someone with the intellectual range to lead interdisciplinary seminars on the central intellectual, moral, and public questions of our time; the sensibilities necessary to connect classroom learning with service, internships, and real-world projects; and the entrepreneurial energy to launch something new. The right candidate has likely done several of these things already: taught interdisciplinary or seminar-style courses, led experiential or community-engaged learning, directed study abroad or global programs, mentored undergraduate research, and built or grown an honors program, cohort, or living-learning community. Above all, the Director must love three things: students, ideas, and place. This is a role for someone whose scholarship and faith are integrated; who believes formation happens not only in seminars, but in local nonprofits and global immersion opportunities; and who finds joy in the long, patient work of building an institution - and blessing a city - that will outlast them. Job Description Position Title: Director of the Ann and John Tickle Honors College and Honors College Endowed Chair Division: Academic Affairs Reports To: Dean of Arts and Sciences Appointment: Full-time, 12-month appointment with administrative responsibilities and faculty rank in an appropriate academic department; teaching load of between three and four courses per year (2-2 or 2-1), dependent upon seniority and record Start Date: July 1, 2027, with a preference for an earlier start in order to accommodate planning and lead recruitment of the inaugural cohort before the fall 2028 launch Position Summary The Director provides strategic, academic, and spiritual leadership for the John and Ann Tickle Honors College. Reporting to the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Director is responsible for launching the college on the timeline in the approved proposal: developing honors programming and curricula, recruiting and enrolling the inaugural cohort of twenty students, appointing and developing Faculty Fellows and Faculty Mentors, establishing the Honors Hub in the Tadlock building and the honors living community in Parks Hall, and building the campus, local, national, and global partnerships the college's experiential model requires. The Director teaches in the honors sequence, mentors students, cultivates community and donor relationships, and serves as the college's chief advocate on campus and its public face in Bristol and beyond. Application Process Candidates should submit (1) a letter of interest engaging the vision of the Tickle Honors College - its commitments to excellence, community, and calling, (2) a curriculum vitae, (3) a personal statement of Christian faith, (4) a statement of teaching philosophy addressing the integration of faith, learning, and experiential education, and (5) contact information for three references to honorssearch@king.edu. Review

Minimum Qualifications: Required - An earned doctorate or equivalent terminal degree from an accredited institution. - A record of teaching excellence at the undergraduate level, preferably including interdisciplinary or seminar-style teaching; qualifications appropriate to appointment as an experienced faculty member holding an endowed chair. - Demonstrated experience with at least two of the following: honors education; experiential, service, or community-engaged learning; global or study-abroad program leadership; undergraduate research mentorship; living-learning communities; or academic program development. - A mature, articulate Christian faith and enthusiastic support for King University's mission and its dual commitments to Christ and neighbor; the ability to lead students' integration of faith, learning, and vocation with theological depth and pastoral warmth. - Demonstrated ability to build external partnerships - with community organizations, businesses, schools, or international collaborators - and to sustain them over time. - Strong administrative gifts: budgeting, planning, cross-divisional collaboration, and the follow-through to move a launch plan from paper to practice. - Evident relational energy - the kind of person students seek out, faculty trust, community partners rely on, and parents remember from a campus visit.

Preferred Qualifications: Preferred Experience launching or significantly growing an academic program, honors college, center, or comparable initiative. A scholarly record sufficient for appointment at the rank of associate or full professor. Experience leading faculty-led international travel or intercultural immersion programs. Experience with student recruitment, enrollment strategy, or scholarship stewardship. Experience in donor relations or grant-seeking. Familiarity with the Appalachian Highlands / Tri-Cities region, or demonstrated success embedding an academic program in its local community.

Responsibilities: Essential Responsibilities Vision and Launch Leadership (Years 1-2 emphasis) - Translate the approved proposal into an operational launch plan with clear milestones: curriculum development and approval, marketing and recruitment, scholarship awarding, faculty appointments, facility activation, and the inaugural first-year seminar and symposium in 2028-29. - Serve as the college's founding voice - casting its vision of excellence, community, and calling consistently and compellingly to prospective students and families, faculty, trustees, donors, and church, school, and civic partners. - Lead the scaling of the college from its first cohort of twenty to its full capacity of eighty students by year four, and prepare for alumni engagement as the first classes graduate. - Engage on-campus and off-campus partners in the Year 6 evaluation of program performance against the college's vision and goals, and revise program operations accordingly. Curriculum and Teaching - Oversee the design, approval, and delivery of the honors academic sequence: interdisciplinary courses that engage central intellectual, moral, and public questions while drawing on faculty expertise across disciplines, taken alongside students' major programs. - Teach the first-year foundations seminar and/or subsequent honors courses each semester, modeling discussion-based, formation-centered pedagogy. - Direct the senior project program, in which students synthesize their learning in capstone work developed, wherever possible, in partnership with local organizations and presented publicly to peers, family, and community partners. - Lead structured reflection experiences that integrate students' service, internship, and global experiences with their academic and vocational goals. - Lead ongoing assessment of student learning and program outcomes - including retention, graduation, and post-graduate placement - reporting annually to the Dean and Provost. Experiential Learning and Community Engagement - Build and sustain the local partnership network at the heart of the college's model: relationships with Bristol and Tri-Cities community organizations, businesses, schools, and civic institutions that generate service placements, internships, and senior project collaborations serving the immediate needs of the region. - Design and oversee the local service program (approximately twenty students per year), with intentional pathways from service into internships and post-graduate opportunities that help retain talented graduates in Bristol and the Tri-Cities area. - Coordinate the funded global travel experience - a faculty-led intercultural immersion for each cohort in years 2-3 - including destination and partner selection, faculty leader development, student preparation, risk management, and post-travel integration. - Cultivate relationships that enable expanded opportunities for students and the community, including internships, the speaker series, and public-facing events that position the college as a civic asset to Bristol. - Coordinate student and faculty research and scholarship opportunities, including conference participation and travel. Student Recruitment, Admission, and Success - Partner with Enrollment Management and Marketing to recruit high-performing students from both the Bristol region and across the country, meeting the annual cohort target of twenty students. - Work with partner offices to develop specific strategies to reach Bristol's academically excellent students, including admissions preference and enhanced scholarship awards for local high school students as outlined in the proposal. - Partner with Enrollment to oversee honors admission - application review, interviews, and selection - ensuring both academic excellence and mission fit, and steward the scholarship program that keeps the college accessible regardless of resources. - Build the cohort-based advising and mentoring structures that support students' academic and vocational pathways and drive the retention and graduation outcomes the college promises. Formation and Residential Community - Collaborate with Student Affairs to shape the honors living community in Parks Hall and the life of the Honors Hub in the Tadlock building, in partnership with Student Life - integrating shared meals, guest lectures, worship, service, and common intellectual life into the college's weekly rhythm. - Cultivate a culture where Christian formation and intellectual seriousness reinforce one another - where students grow in character, discern vocation, and connect their studies to church, community, and public life. - Establish the traditions - the inaugural symposium, cohort rituals, public presentations of senior projects - that give the college its identity across generations of students. Faculty Engagement and Development - Recruit, appoint (with the Provost and deans), and develop the Faculty Fellows who teach honors courses and the six to eight Faculty Mentors who supervise senior theses; coordinate course releases, stipends, and assignments with department chairs. - Lead faculty development in seminar pedagogy, mentoring, experiential and community-engaged teaching, and global program leadership. - Foster goodwill for the college across the faculty, ensuring it is experienced as a rising tide for all of King rather than an enclave within it. External Relations and Resource Development - Partner with University Advancement to steward the college's founding benefactors and cultivate additional support for scholarships, facilities, and programming. - Represent the college to churches, secondary schools, honors education associations, and the Bristol civic and business community. Administration - Develop and manage the college's annual operating budget, including scholarships, program administration, faculty mentor stipends, and student experiences funding; supervise the Program Assistant and student assistants. - Prepare reports for the Dean, Provost, President, and Board as requested; ensure the college meets all accreditation and institutional policy requirements. Personal Attributes The successful candidate will be a builder; a bridge-person, holding together academic rigor, spiritual formation, and community partnership; and a good neighbor - someone who understands that the college's promise runs not only to its students but to the flourishing of Bristol itself. He or she will understand the landscape of higher education and the role of honors in that competitive landscape and demonstrate a commitment to learning and continuous improvement.

Language: Proficiency in written and spoken English required

Campus: Bristol, TN