Opportunity

California State University
Director of the Center on Disabilities
Northridge, CA

Director of the Center on Disabilities
California State University

California State University, Northridge, a public university located in the northeast San Fernando Valley of suburban Los Angeles, invites inquiries, nominations and applications for the position of Director of the Center on Disabilities. Founded in 1958 as San Fernando Valley State College and renamed in 1972, CSUN is a vibrant, diverse university community of nearly 34,000 students and more than 4,000 faculty and staff, sited on a 356-acre park-like campus. A minority-serving university in a globally diverse region, CSUN is a national leader in preparing first generation college students for graduate studies. Undergraduate students comprise 80% of the total student enrollment. 1,700 of its students are international. The average undergraduate age is 23.5, and the average age for graduate students is 34.2. Long-known for the intellectual, social and cultural relevance of its 200 academic programs and engaged centers, CSUN values accessibility, academic excellence, and student achievement.

The Center on Disabilities serves more than 850 CSUN students with disabilities. The staff includes professionals and specialists who work collaboratively with individual students diagnosed with learning, mobility, visual, communication, psychological and other functional disabilities. The Center also provides a broad array of consultation services to faculty as well as an array of services that include reading and note taking services, specialized tutoring, test proctoring and support and personal disability counseling.

The Center also sponsors national and international assistive technology training programs to expand the knowledge base of professionals, and introduce newcomers to the disability field. This is a comprehensive, annual international conference that addresses all technologies across all ages, disabilities, levels of education and training, employment, and independent living. It is the largest conference of its kind and is internationally known for the quality of its programs and its comprehensive exhibits and demonstrations.

The Center works collaboratively with the staff and faculty in several nationally and internationally known CSUN centers who are at the cutting edge of their fields in research and applied knowledge. One example is the Center of Achievement for the Physically Disabled, and its new adaptive aquatic facility, the Abbott and Linda Brown Western Center for Adaptive Aquatic Therapy in the Department of Kinesiology. The Brown Center is a 19,000 square foot indoor aquatic facility with four treatment-specific pools, and is the only comprehensive facility of its kind in the western United States. Adaptive aquatic therapy allows greater freedom of movement that improves fitness, range of motion, cardiovascular and muscular strength, and quality of life. The Center of Achievement is also a renowned teaching facility for university students and a model for similar programs worldwide.

Another example is the National Center on Deafness (NCOD), which has served over 2,500 students who are deaf and hard of hearing over the past 44 years. NCOD provides communication access, leadership opportunities, scholarships, academic advisement, tutoring, and direct communication classes for approximately 200 students per year who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The position of Director of the Center on Disabilities, then, is a unique opportunity to be part of "the best of the best" in the delivery of programs and services that benefit both CSUN students as well as members of the surrounding community. This specific constellation of centers of excellence at CSUN cannot be found elsewhere. The successful candidate for the position of Director will be a full partner in the important collaborative efforts that are the work of these outstanding centers.

Under the general direction of the Associate Vice President for Student Access and Support Services in the Division of Student Affairs, the Director provides vision, leadership, and management direction for the Center on Disabilities (COD). The Director leads a staff of 23 in building sustainable programs that foster and support a learning-centered environment.   The incumbent will be responsible for assessment and evaluation activities, program design, policy development, human and fiscal resource management, fundraising and the application of research in the field of disabilities studies. The annual operating budget of the Center is $2.3M.

The successful candidate will be an inspirational, visionary and high energy person who is passionate about working with students with disabilities. This is a position with high visibility that requires one to relate well with campus constituencies as well as with nationally and internationally known leaders and scholars. The person must have a demonstrated record of success in leading and participating in institution-wide collaborative efforts. The successful person will understand the role and mission of Student Affairs, will be able to function as an effective change manager, is an experienced fund raiser, is familiar with best practice in the field, and has a comprehensive understanding of legal and policy-related concerns in the area of disability.   Outstanding skills in managing many diverse projects and programs, strategic planning, marketing and promoting programs to internal and external stakeholders, and excellent interpersonal communication and platform skills are required. The person must have significant experience in the areas of assessment and evaluation, development of student learning outcomes, disability services, and integration of theory and research into practice. A terminal degree in Educational Leadership, Higher Education, Psychology, Educational Psychology or related field is strongly preferred.  

Interested individuals should send a letter describing their interest in and qualifications for the position, a resume, and contact information including mailing and email addresses for five references. The packet should be sent electronically (Microsoft Word attachments preferred) to Bill Spelman at Bill@wspelman.com . The subject line in the email should be DCODCSUN .   Confidential inquiries will be received at 585.787.9742.

Documents that must be mailed should be sent to William Spelman Executive Search at 667 Midship Circle, Webster, NY 14580. Confidentiality will be maintained, and references will not be contacted without prior approval of the candidate. For full consideration, all materials must be submitted by February 25, 2008. The process will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against persons on the basis of age, disability, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran status, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION INSTITUTION

• Printer Friendly Version of this Opportunity (PDF)

(PDF requires Adobe Acrobat,
a free reader.)