Director of First- Seminar; FYS

Position: Director of First-Year Seminar (FYS)
Position Overview

Merrimack College seeks an mission-driven administrator and educator to serve as the Director of First Year Seminar (FYS). Housed within the Office of Mission and Ministry, this 12-month administrative role oversees the operational implementation of Merrimack's foundational core requirement, FYS
1947:
Who Am I?. The Director ensures operational efficiency and a unified vision across dozens of course sections each semester. Additionally, this position bridges administrative leadership with classroom instruction, carrying a teaching load of 4 courses per academic year distributed evenly across semesters (2/2 course load), primarily focusing on the FYS curriculum and the humanities.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Operations & Administrative Leadership

* Direct logistical and operational functions of the FYS program (including, e.g., section scheduling, coordinating teaching teams, classroom resource allocations).

* Supervise the Associate Director of FYS, Graduate Fellows, and student workers.

* Lead programmatic assessment efforts, collecting data on student learning outcomes, program efficacy, and first-to-second year retention metrics to drive continuous improvement.

* Manage the operational budget for the FYS program, authorizing expenditures and strategically allocating resources.

* Partner with campus units to support large-scale first-year programmatic milestones, including Orientation, Conversations with Warriors, Wellness Week, and the Campus Passport.

* Represent FYS on multi-departmental campus retention committees and student success task forces.

* Support the Associate Vice President of Mission & Ministry to recruit, onboard, and support faculty and staff instructional teams across all sections of FYS
1947, and to assess and update the FYS curriculum.

Teaching & Instructional Excellence

* Teach four (4) undergraduate courses per academic year under a 2/2 fall/spring distribution.

* Incorporate high-impact educational practices within the classroom, serving as a model instructor for other FYS faculty.

* Facilitate student self-exploration, critical thinking, and engagement.

* Maintain regular office hours to support enrolled students academically and personally.

Qualifications:

* Terminal degree preferred (master's degree considered) in an academic discipline aligned with the liberal arts and core curriculum fields.

* Experience in administrative roles, preferably in higher education leadership, core curriculum administration, student success units, or mission-driven student programming.

* Demonstrated record of excellent undergraduate classroom teaching experience.

* Proven capacity for high-level administrative logistics, schedule coordination, and budget management.

* Deep understanding of first-year student development theory, high-impact practices, and university retention strategies.

* Strong alignment with Merrimack's Augustinian identity and community-oriented educational values.

Application Materials Should Include:

* Cover Letter

* Resume

This position is subject to the successful completion of a criminal background check.

Work Location

This is an on-campus position as employees are essential in order to provide a fully on-campus, residential college experience for our students and the community.

Statement on Our Mission

Merrimack College is a Catholic Augustinian institution of higher education committed to building an accepting and respectful community. Our mission is to enlighten minds, engage hearts and empower lives and is inspired by our Catholic faith and the Augustinian tradition of seeking truth through inquiry and dialogue.

Merrimack College seeks candidates who understand, respect, and can contribute to Merrimack's Catholic and Augustinian mission. All candidates should describe in their application how they will foster a culture that supports our mission.

About Merrimack College

The only Catholic, Augustinian institution of higher education in New England, Merrimack College is a private, independent, coeducational institution with more than 4,100 undergraduate, 2,500 graduate students and 50 doctoral students from 48 states and 63 countries. The College features more than 160 career-focused undergraduate, professional and graduate programs, all taught by exceptional faculty who are passionate about their subject and student success.

The College has six schools: arts and sciences, engineering and computational sciences, nursing and health sciences, education and social policy, the Girard school of business and the graduate school of counseling and social work. The College's suburban 220-acre campus is just north of Boston in North Andover, Massachusetts. Merrimack is a Master's Colleges and Universities/Larger Programs (M1) institution in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Merrimack is one of the fastest growing educational institutions in the country and has steadily climbed up in the U.S. News & World Report's ranking of Best Colleges, ranking 38th in the…