Director STEM Accelerator

About the Department

The STEM Accelerator in the College of Science (COS) at George Mason University aims to be a national leader of innovative and effective STEM education initiatives in higher education. Conceived in 2011 with a unique interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff, the Accelerator works to increase the number of STEM majors, improve retention rates of STEM students, and help STEM graduates join the workforce or continue their education.

George Mason University College of Science (Mason Science) is committed to advancing inclusive excellence and fostering an environment free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation throughout our STEM community. At Mason Science, our values include cultivating an organizational culture that promotes belonging, respect, and civility. We believe that varied opinions, cultures, and perspectives provide vibrancy, innovation, and growth to an academic community.

By prioritizing cultural responsiveness in academics, teaching, research, and global engagement, we strive to attract faculty and staff who exemplify the Mason Science mission and vision.

The Director of the STEM Accelerator is responsible for reaching the following five goals:

Please note:

This position is not eligible for tenure.

• Represent the Accelerator for university initiatives and public-facing communications, and lead workshops to address the evolving landscape of science education;
• Create, design, recruit, and implement faculty development workshops connecting to all areas of STEM education, including active learning, innovations in assessment, and inclusive pedagogy;
• Manage Accelerator meetings and be responsible for scheduling, chairing, and keeping records of meetings;
• Administer Accelerator grants by ensuring tasks within scope are accomplished timely and expenditures remain within budgeted allocations;
• Ensure grant proposals contain necessary line items such as personnel, travel, conference costs, equipment, space renovations, and maintenance;
• Manage Accelerator budget by reviewing expenditures and ensuring they are within budgeted allocations;
• Review Accelerator budgets and expenditures with the College of Science;
• Pursue funding opportunities that will increase the capacity of the Accelerator;
• Manage the LA (Learning Assistants) program;
• Supervise individual faculty leaders;
• Direct workshops for faculty and student participants;
• Advocate for funding to support the program;
• Coordinate expansion of the program to other Colleges at Mason;
• Lead efforts to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the program;
• Coordinate data collection and analysis regarding programs, especially those involving the community beyond Mason, such as FOCUS, Noyce, STEM Bridge, and Women Leaders in STEM;
• Lead and contribute to education research projects and mentor MS and PhD students for Discipline-Based Educational Research (DBER) in the College of Science;
• Coordinate with multiple committees and working groups within the College of Science, including the Curriculum Committee, Faculty Matters Committee, Emerging Pedagogies Committee, and others as needed;
• Create regular reports for the College of Science leadership and faculty;
• Develop a vision to expand the Accelerator within the College of Science.

• Master’s degree in related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Experience in budget administration (generally 5+ years);
• Experience teaching in higher education (typically 5+ years);
• Track record of successful grant administration and management;
• Current knowledge of STEM education research;
• Superior writing and oral communication skills;
  
  Ability to communicate with and manage diverse groups and individuals;
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Terminal degree in related field;
• Experience teaching in higher education (typically 10+ years);
• Experience in full-time college-level administration (generally 5+ years).

George Mason University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, committed to promoting inclusion and equity in its community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.