POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
Director/Professor
Paul Simon Public Policy Institute
Southern Illinois University Carbondale invites
nominations and applications for the position of Director of the Paul Simon
Public Policy Institute. The Institute at Southern Illinois University was
founded in 1997 by former Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) when he retired from the U.
S. Senate. Since Senator Simon's death in December of 2003 the Institute has
been led by Mike Lawrence who is retiring and who previously was a distinguished
journalist and member of the administration of former Republican Governor Jim
Edgar of Illinois. The Institute is a bipartisan public service center with a
broad-ranging mission to study and act on significant and controversial issues
impacting the region, the state, the nation, and the world. It is committed to
developing and working to implement approaches that could bring concrete,
positive results by tackling some of the most difficult challenges in the public
policy arena. The Institute focuses its efforts on fostering:
*Ethical conduct in government;
*Opportunity and fair treatment for citizens in America and throughout the
world; and
*Promoting responsible citizenship for all Americans- but particularly for young
people.
Emphasis is placed on identifying problem areas where there is a need for
innovative thinking and research and where other organizations are not making a
major commitment of resources. The late Senator Simon often characterized the
Institute as a "do tank" rather than as a "think tank" to emphasize its activist
and pragmatic mission. Since its founding, the Institute has regularly convened
symposia of experts in a number of diverse fields such as Social Security, water
resources, mental health, literacy, public education, public health, poverty, campaign finance, American foreign policy, and the role of the American military
in peacekeeping. These conferences have led to concrete and specific
recommendations for change in state and national policies and those
recommendations have had some impact on setting the public agenda both in
Illinois and in the United States. The Institute has also brought to the
University campus a number of distinguished speakers who have addressed a wide
variety of important public policy topics. The Institute has also sought and
received grants and endowments to support a number of its major programs.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Director: The Director is responsible
for the management of
all facets of the Institute's mission and the implementation of its short-term
and long-range plans. The Director will ensure that Senator Simon's original
commitment to a visible, activist and relevant public policy institute is
continued and amplified. The Director is ordinarily expected to teach one course
per semester in his or her academic discipline or area of specialization. The
Director is responsible for the management of a staff of six full-time employees
and a small number of student workers and graduate assistants. The Director also
takes the lead in securing gifts for the Institute's endowment and in seeking
grants and contracts to support its programs. The Director reports to the
Provost of the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus and also to a
national Board of Counselors.
Qualifications: The Director will be a person who has achieved
recognition and respect in the
field of public policy at the state or national levels. The Director must have
qualifications to be
appointed to the rank of University Professor which includes wide recognition
for professional
accomplishment and a respected record of public and/or professional service.
Preferences will
be given to those who can teach in Journalism, Political Science, History, or
closely related
disciplines.
Salary: Salary will be commensurate with professional record and
experience.
Effective Date of Appointment: The position will be available for
occupancy on November 1, 2008, or as soon thereafter as possible.
Application Deadline: Review of applications will begin on September 22,
2008, and continue until the position is filled.
Application Procedure: To nominate or apply, send a letter of nomination or
application. Nominees will be contacted by the search committee to determine
their interest in making an application. Applicants should include a statement
of their interest in the work of the Institute and how they would lead it in the
future. Applications and resume or curriculum vitae and the names and addresses
of at least three references should be sent to (letters of reference will be
requested only for those candidates in the finalist pool):
Dr. John S. Jackson
Chair of the Director Search Committee
Paul Simon Public Policy Institute
Mail Code 4429
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
1231 Lincoln Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901
phone: 618-453-4009
email: jsjacson@siu.edu
SIUC is an Affirmative Action/Equal
Opportunity employer that strives to enhance its
ability to develop a diverse
faculty and staff and to increase its potential to serve a
diverse student
population. All applications are welcomed and encouraged and
will receive consideration.