Professor in Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, Lexington, Kentucky

Posting Details

Master Degree, PhD or terminal degree in chosen discipline

Applicants should possess outstanding academic and professional accomplishments in public policy, public administration, public finance, or other fields related to policy scholarship to warrant appointment as a tenured, full-time faculty member at the rank of associate or full professor at the time of application.

N/A

The University of Kentucky invites nominations and applications for the Director of the James W. Martin School of Public Policy and Administration (Martin School). The Martin School seeks a nationally recognized scholar with exceptional leadership skills. Reporting to the Dean of Graduate School and Associate provost of Graduate and Professional Education, the Director will be charged with setting a strong vision for the Martin School while maximizing current strengths, enhancing the internal and external visibility of the School, and continuing the School’s focus on quality research and teaching. The Director should understand the opportunity that working at a public flagship institution has, and be actively engaged in relevant forms of outreach, whether to local/state governments, federal bodies, or non-profit organizations.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
Founded in 1865 as a land-grant institution adjacent to downtown Lexington, UK is nestled in the scenic heart of the beautiful Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. UK’s campus covers more than 918 acres and is home to more than 30,000 students and approximately 13,500 employees, including more than 2,300 full-time faculty, and operates an annual budget of nearly $3.9 billion. UK is one of eight universities in the United States that has colleges of agriculture, engineering, medicine, and pharmacy on a single campus, leading to groundbreaking discoveries and unique interdisciplinary collaboration.

The state’s flagship University consists of 16 academic and professional colleges where students can choose from more than 200 majors and degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. These 16 colleges prepare the next generation of business, industry, and academic leaders. Supporting and emboldening the university’s scholarly community is a comprehensive research library system made up of nine facilities, including the world-class William T. Young Library.

The student body is diverse, representing more than 90 countries, every state in the nation, and all 120 Kentucky counties. The University continues to attract the best and brightest from Kentucky and beyond.

In the last several years, UK has received nearly 100 national rankings for excellence in academics, research, health care, and economic development. U.S. News and World Report ranks several of UK’s graduate programs among the nation’s best. The University of Kentucky earned 28 Top 10 rankings and 50 Top 25 rankings over the last several years.

An R1 institution, the University of Kentucky supports and empowers innovative research in all forms practiced across its diverse campus, varied disciplines, and more than 70 centers and institutes. UK faculty, staff, and student researchers create, discover, and apply new knowledge, and explore the most complex problems facing Kentucky, the nation, and the world. The University’s collaborative, cross-disciplinary research environment provides a rich training ground for the next generation of thinkers, creators, and leaders. Landing 61st nationally in the NSF HERD R&D rankings, and 40th out of all public institutions on total R&D expenditures, the University of Kentucky’s FY22 total R&D expenditures was $476.5M.

LIVING IN LEXINGTON, KY
Surrounded by rolling hills and scenic horse farms of the Bluegrass, Lexington, Kentucky is known for its natural beauty and moderate weather.

A metropolitan area with a population of over 500,000, Lexington supports myriad cultural attractions, including an opera, multiple ballet companies, Broadway theater productions, a philharmonic orchestra, and countless art galleries. The city is alive with talented bluegrass, country, jazz, blues, and rock musicians. Sports fans are blessed with the winningest men’s college basketball team in the history of the sport; a myriad of men and women’s sports competing in the SEC; minor league baseball; and professional sports teams in soccer, baseball, and football.

The Bluegrass offers a wide variety of activities for outdoor enthusiasts, ranging from canoeing and kayaking on miles of streams and rivers, hiking in the famous Red River Gorge to cycling through horse country. More leisurely pursuits include afternoons at Keeneland Racetrack, visiting a horse farm or the Horse Park, or making the rounds on Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. Lexington is a wonderful place to rase a family with ample golf courses, swimming pools, city parks, and other recreational activities. The city also boasts an amazing array of restaurants, breweries, and vineyards.

In addition to being the world center of the thoroughbred racehorse breeding industry, central Kentucky is home to major corporations such as Ashland, Toyota USA, Alltech, Lexmark International, Tempur-Pedic International, and Link-Belt. Nevertheless, Lexington maintains the ambiance and charm of a university town, with the offerings of a much larger city. Lexington provides easy access to the Cincinnati and Louisville metro areas and its airport has regular flights to Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, DC., and Dallas.

LEADERSHIP
Padraic Kenney began his role as the Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost of Graduate and Professional Education at University of Kentucky in October 2023. He previously served as the Associate Dean for Graduate Education and for the Social and Historical Sciences at Indiana University (IU). At IU, he led in various roles, including Chair of International Studies and Director of the Russian and East European Institute. In 2016, he served as President of the Association of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies.

An internationally prominent historian and researcher, Dean Kenney’s research focuses on the dynamics of communist societies, especially Poland; on democratic revolutions in contemporary history; and on human rights.

ABOUT THE MARTIN SCHOOL
The James W. Martin School of Public Policy and Administration is an academic, research, and service unit of the University of Kentucky Graduate School. It was named in honor of Dr. James W. Martin, a scholar, public servant, and teacher whose accomplishments have created a lasting legacy of scholarship and service. The first class entered the James W. Martin Center in fall 1976. In 1984, the unit was named the James W. Martin School of Public Administration and was designated a “Center of Excellence” by the University of Kentucky in 1985. The name was changed again in 1994 to the James W. Martin School of Public Policy and Administration. This change was made to better reflect the research, public service, and academic activities of the school.

The Martin School offers five degrees ( Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy, Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Policy, Master of Public Financial Management, and Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration) and two graduate certificates ( Public Financial Management and Nonprofit Management).

The Martin School is a comprehensive school of policy and administration, offering degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral level, as well as graduate certificates. It got its beginning in 1976 with the creation of the Master of Public Administration ( MPA) program and has been on a trajectory of excellence since then. Today, its public finance and budgeting specialization ranks 4th in the country and the MPA degree ranks 26th in the country in the latest U.S. News and World Report ranking of public affairs programs. In its most recent review, the National Research Council ranked the Martin Ph.D. program 4th in the country. In addition to its high ranking in public budgeting and finance, the Martin School is know for the strength of its faculty and scholarship in the fields of social policy and public management and leadership. Over the last 45 years, the school gradually extended the array of academic programs it offers.

The Martin School has been entrepreneurial in extending its reach and growing its programs. In 2020, the Martin School launched its first undergraduate degree in public policy, which has shown consistent growth, attracting a diverse and passionate student population from across the Commonwealth and beyond. It has also successfully added online certificates in Public Financial Management and Nonprofit Management and online degrees in Master of Public Financial Management ( MPFM) and Master of Public Administration ( MPA). The Martin School also has a joint Executive Master of Public Policy degree with the Korea Development Institute, which brings Korean public administrators to campus for non-degree programs and to pursue master’s degrees through one of the school’s programs.

Martin School’s Commitment to DEI

The Martin School is committed to diversity through its classes, programs, and by creating a general culture of inclusiveness, where a wide array of viewpoints and lived experiences are heard and respected. Diversity, equity, and inclusiveness are particularly important for a school of public policy and administration as it must educate future public servants who understand the value of diversity and have the tools to confront inequity in its many forms. Both historical and current policies may create or perpetuate inequity through institutional and structural racism, income inequality, gender bias, and more. As policy experts and scholars, the School understands that policy is an important tool to combat discrimination against marginalized groups, and the Martin School can help our students and alumni confront inequity as the School trains them in their coursework and supports them in their careers. Therefore, the Martin School is committed to making diversity and equity a central tenet of its curriculum, extracurricular programming, and recruitment plans. We will ask for feedback from current students, alumni, and other Martin School stakeholders along the way and make adjustments as often as needed to ensure the School’s actions reflect its stated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

MISSION
The Martin School of Public Policy and Administration excels in research, education, and service by applying our intellectual and other resources to public policy and management issues.

We accomplish our unique purpose by:

THE ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR
The next Director will join the Martin School at a moment of incredible opportunity to define the next chapter and expand the vision for the School. Reporting to the Dean of The Graduate School and Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Education, the Director will provide administrative leadership, academic vision, and will engage a diverse faculty to create a productive, collegial environment that advances the school’s goals. The Director will bring fresh ideas to raise the national and international profile of the Martin School; deepen collaborative partnerships across the University; and strengthen the curricular profile of the School to benefit the University of Kentucky, the community, the Commonwealth, and the nation.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

The next Director will be energized by the following opportunities and challenges, among many others:

Raise the visibility and reach. The Martin School has an opportunity to improve its visibility in an increasingly competitive field of public policy and administration programs. While the Martin School has experienced growth over the past few years, the Director will need to develop a strong organizational foundation to support an evolving School. The next Director will bring a renowned scholarly and academic to the role and facilitate efforts to expand scholarly activity among the faculty to continue advancing the Martin School’s strong national reputation. The Director will be a visible presence internally and externally to articulate the distinctiveness, value, and impact of the School’s programs with the goal of broadening its appeal to prospective students and deepening collaborative partnerships on the University of Kentucky campus. The Director will be a well-known scholar in their field and expected to promote the Martin School through participation in national associations and conferences.

Deepen connections with external partners. The Director will be visible and engaged with local, state, and national policy leaders to ensure the School’s programs are relevant to national issues. There will also be opportunities for the director to give presentations regarding policies, testify in front of state and federal government organizations, and work with local government leaders to strengthen the visibility of the School. Alumni are critical to the success of the Martin School. The alumni network is central to providing mentorship, experiential learning, and employment opportunities for students. The Director will play an active role in nurturing and facilitating relationships with the alumni community. The Martin School benefits from a highly recognized Advisory Board that can help facilitate external engagements and fundraising efforts for the School in conjunction with the next Director.

Continue to evolve the academic program. The Director will provide leadership for the hiring, development, management, evaluation, and goal setting for academic faculty and staff. In nurturing tenure and tenure-track faculty in various career paths, the Director will provide support and reduce barriers to career development and progression. In this leadership role, the Director will advocate for evolving pedagogies and support an environment of continuous improvement to maintain and strengthen the Martin School’s position amongst similar programs. The Director will balance the need to focus on the Martin School’s historical academic strengths with exploring emerging fields and issues in public policy and administration that will be relevant and in demand in the future.

Promote faculty development. The Martin School boasts outstanding faculty members. In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, the School experienced faculty retirements balanced by the addition of excellent junior faculty members. The Director will lead efforts to ensure the development and retention of these faculty members through clear expectations in the tenure process and strong recognition of their accomplishments. The Director will also seek out opportunities to support faculty in their research and scholarship activities by emphasizing publications in high-impact journals and supporting grant-writing efforts among faculty.

Strengthen the commitment to DEI. The Martin School holds a deep commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the Director will be charged with continuing and expanding the School’s work in these areas. In 2022, the Martin School received a donation to establish the Miriam Jane Van Dyke Barager Endowment for Diversity and Inclusion to support programming designed to enhance and strengthen the understanding of key issues and to better prepare students for careers in public service and civic leadership. The Director will also work with the faculty and staff at the Martin School to reinforce its welcoming culture and its atmosphere that promotes inclusion and belonging.

Enhance collaboration across the University. The Director should bring a collaborative leadership approach to the position. There are ample opportunities to work across multiple disciplines across the University of Kentucky for research activities, program development, and new initiatives. The Director should be engaged with faculty and academic leaders throughout the University and empower the faculty at the Martin School to form similar relationships. Further opportunities exist to increase the pipeline current UK students from other Schools and College to enroll in Martin School programs. Additionally, through initiatives such as the University Scholars program, there will be greater opportunities to support interdisciplinary activities with graduate programs across various disciplines at the University.

COMPENSATION
The Director position includes a nine-month contract with the expectation of an additional two months of summer administrative duties between the non-contract period of May 15 through August 16. The Distribution of Effort ( DOE) will reflect responsibilities for administration, instruction, research, service, and professional development as follows:

50% Administrative

25% Research

15% Instruction

5% Service

5% Professional Development

100% Total

Salary is competitive and includes a Director’s stipend, compensation for summer engagement, and a generous benefits package.

APPLICATIONS
Applications should include a letter of interest and a current curriculum vitae. All applications must be submitted directly to the University of Kentucky here:

https://ukjobs.uky.edu/postings/524726

The executive search firm of Storbeck has been selected to recruit for this position. To be considered, you must complete the UK application and contact Storbeck through:

Steve Leo, Managing Director

Brian Bustin, Senior Associate

ukmartindirector@storbecksearch.com

All nominations, inquiries, and applications will be handled in a secure, sensitive, and confidential manner.

The position will remain open until filled.

The successful candidate will demonstrate many of the following skills, attributes, or experiences:

The University of Kentucky is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce by ensuring all our students, faculty, and staff work in an environment of openness and acceptance. We strive to foster a community where people of all - identities, and perspectives can feel secure and welcome. We also value the well-being of each of our employees and are dedicated to creating a healthy place to work, learn and live. In the interest of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our students, employees, patients and visitors the University of Kentucky is a Tobacco & Drug Free campus.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we strongly encourage veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, and all minorities to consider our employment opportunities.

Any candidate offered a position may be required to pass pre-employment screenings as mandated by University of Kentucky Human Resources. These screenings may include a national check and/or drug screen.