Director of Research and Instructional Support
Director of Research and Instructional Support
Library, Information, and Technology Services (LITS) at Mount Holyoke College seeks a diverse pool of applicants for the key leadership position of Director of Research and Instructional Support (RIS).
Position Summary
Library, Information, and Technology Services (LITS) is committed to providing integrated library, information, and technology services and resources that enable a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff to creatively and productively advance the College’s academic, administrative, and co-curricular goals.
Reporting to the Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of LITS, the Director of RIS will join a collaborative leadership team. The team is committed to building on each other’s insight, experience, and expertise from across library, information, and technology areas to ensure LITS is responsive to the community, aligned with the College’s mission and goals, and continually seeking ways to learn and improve. The Director of RIS will be excited by the opportunities and challenges ahead in the intertwined and rapidly evolving spheres of libraries, technology, and pedagogy and eager to lead a synergistic team of highly collaborative librarians and instructional technology professionals in providing both resources and services that promote the College’s mission and vision.
Toward that end, the RIS team collectively develops digital pedagogy and research services as well as both library and instructional technology resources to further the college’s information literacy initiatives, instructional technology and library collection environments in support of teaching, learning, and research. As a member of the LITS leadership team, and with support from the Associate Director of RIS, the RIS Director collaborates with other units in LITS to ensure that the division continues to provide integrated, dynamic information and technology services and resources to advance the College’s commitment to academic excellence and purposeful engagement in the world.
The Director of RIS also works collaboratively with the College community, including Teaching and Learning Initiative, the Weissman Center for Leadership, the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives, Professional and Graduate Education (PaGE), and other offices on campus to imagine, plan, and implement the future of teaching and learning in the liberal arts. In addition the Director collaborates across the Five Colleges to advance shared efforts such as the implementation of a new shared library system platform (FOLIO project), coordination for the study of world languages, and programs to advance pedagogical innovation.
RIS
The RIS team currently includes a staff of 13 professionals, who have recently undergone a highly participatory and imaginative examination and reconception of individual and group work and re-organized into the following areas:
- Research Services, focusing on library research consultation and information literacy instruction and developing online research education resources such as LibGuides and self-guided tutorials.
- Digital Pedagogy, focusing on instructional technology tools, digital pedagogy and support of data management.
- Collections & Scholarly Communications, focusing on collection development and library materials budgeting, copyright, licensing, and (via the Associate Director) coordinating across LITS on administration and integration of core academic technologies.
- Language Resource Center, focusing on providing programming, learning spaces, and resources in support of language pedagogy and learning of languages and cultures.
Working within and across these internal teams, RIS liaisons partner with one or more academic departments to develop scaffolded approaches to information literacy instruction, appropriate uses of technology, and/or the library collection to serve departments’ and the College’s learning goals. RIS is responsible for several service points and support spaces, which includes the Research Help Desk, a media support lab and the campus’s Language Resource Center. In addition RIS plays an important role in larger campus initiatives for the meaningful incorporation of new pedagogies such as digital arts & media, maker culture, data science, the use of e-portfolios, and an evolving First Year Seminar program
Leadership Agenda
Working with colleagues, the Director will lead a strategic agenda to realize RIS’ commitments to support the College’s strategic plan and further excellence in learning, research and scholarship. Priorities for the leadership agenda include:
- Create outward facing strategies to communicate RIS capabilities and help faculty and students integrate LITS resources and services in teaching, research and scholarship.
- Develop mechanisms and strategies to understand and respond to changing faculty interests in digital materials, learning technologies, information literacy and varied pedagogies.
- Provide information, resources, and services that support accessibility.
- Convene and contribute to conversations about learning theory and course design and the effective use of digital learning technologies.
- Support the continued development of Library resources and programs to support curricular changes and new areas of research interest.
- Extend connections among College organizations supporting research and hands-on learning including the archives, museum, and makerspace.
- Plan services and programs to support faculty and student research and scholarship.
- Enhance partnership with the Graduate and Professional programs to support their growing online programs and seek opportunities to collaborate on pilots using new approaches to teaching and learning.
- Ensure that RIS embodies the College’s strategic goal to be an inclusive and collaborative community and realizes LITS’ commitment to recruit, engage and retain a diverse team.
Primary Position Responsibilities
- Inspire, lead and support the RIS team to be a high performing, collaborative, forward-looking “team of teams” and support the managers of Research Services, Digital Pedagogy, Collections and Scholarly Communications and the Language Resource Center in fostering an environment of innovation and user-centered engagement while balancing sustainability and a planful vision that furthers excellence in teaching, learning and research.
- Share leadership of LITS’s organizational development to identify innovative and sustainable services, practices, and resources to advance the college’s mission and goals.
- Work to create a welcoming, accessible, and user-centered environment in which a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff can thrive.
- Be an effective and open communicator, advocate for RIS, and conduit in multiple directions for questions, needs, and innovative ideas and work to strengthen collaborations across the campus community through active promotion of the rich resources and services available through LITS.
- Plan and manage the RIS budget, including supporting the Librarian for Collection Development and the Associate Director in managing the budget for the library’s collections.
- Actively seek opportunities for collaboration within the Five College consortium and across other peer, disciplinary, and professional networks in areas that resonate with institutional priorities such as data science and visualization, blended learning, open access, and digital humanities as well as a major project to transition to a next generation library system (FOLIO).
- Lead a continuous process of assessment and data-driven decision-making to ensure the RIS department's efforts are advancing the College's evolving teaching, learning, and research goals.
Required Education and Experience:
- While an advanced degree in a field related to the position is preferred (such as Library and Information Science, Education, or Instructional Design), we welcome otherwise qualified candidates with credentials and experience that support the requirements of the position
- A significant record of successful team-based leadership, managerial, strategic planning, project management, and supervisory experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities of the position.
- Knowledgeable in effective learning theories and pedagogical practices and assessment especially within a liberal arts college context; in the realm of academic libraries, collections, and information literacy frameworks; and, in the application of technology to enhance effective teaching and learning.
- Demonstrated commitment to work effectively and build strong productive relationships with a diverse group of faculty, students, administrators, staff, and others across the organization and consortium. Active listener with the ability to understand and balance the needs of various constituent groups and reconcile competing priorities and limited resources.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through evidence of having expanded services, programs, collections, and/or staff demographics in support of DEI.
- Curiosity and enthusiasm for others’ growth and success. Ability to inspire and foster innovation and to lead and guide change. Creativity, flexibility, and a passion for supporting a collaborative work environment.
- Good organizational thinker, able to assess and align structures to smooth collaboration and communication. Excellent and thoughtful communicator and relationship builder.
Desired Experience
We are actively building an organization that values the following skills and abilities. We want to talk with candidates who see themselves broadly reflected below:
- possesses excellent and creative interpersonal, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills;
- embraces meaningful change;
- seeks to build a collaborative and culturally diverse environment;
- works effectively in both independent and team environments and manages multiple tasks and priorities effectively;
- leads initiatives from inception to implementation and successfully advocates for resources;
- understands instructional design, library, information, and technology services in an academic setting;
- maintains a professional and tactful approach in all interactions and shows sensitivity to the diverse needs of users at all skill levels;
- prioritizes individuals’ rights to privacy and confidentiality; and
- possesses an enthusiastic service orientation.
About Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is an undergraduate liberal arts college for women with 2,200 students and 220 faculty. Mount Holyoke is located about 90 miles west of Boston in the Connecticut River valley, and is a member of the Five College Consortium consisting of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts.
Mount Holyoke is committed to enriching the educational experience it offers through the diversity of its faculty, administration, and staff members. Mount Holyoke seeks to recruit and support a broadly diverse team who will contribute to the college's excellence, diversity of viewpoints and experiences, and relevance in a global society. In furtherance of institutional excellence, the College encourages applications from individuals from underrepresented groups, including faculty, staff, and administrators of color, diverse gender identities, first generation college students and individuals who have followed non-traditional pathways to college, and individuals with a demonstrated leadership commitment to including diverse backgrounds and perspectives.