Brock University - Department Chair and Professor

Brock University - Department Chair and Professor

Brock University is hiring the Department Chair and Associate/Full Professor, Tenured, Engineering. This position is part of the BUFA (Employee Group)

Brock University is one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities, a Top Employer in Hamilton-Niagara, ranked #3 as Canada’s Best Employers and ranked top 10 as one of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity compiled by Forbes and Statista. We are an inclusive, welcoming community that offers a wide range of unique career opportunities for those with passion, energy and expertise.
We are looking for team members who want to help us continue to deliver an exceptional student experience, perform impact-driven research and generate life-changing breakthroughs for our world. Ignite new possibilities for your career. Break through at Brock.
Note to all candidates: This posting will close at 12:01 am on the date listed .
February 28, 2025
Please apply through the site https://brocku.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/brocku_careers/job/Department-Chair-and-Associate-Full-Professor--Tenured--Engineering_JR-1019959
Brock University is a comprehensive teaching and research institution with rich academic programs and world-class scholarship. Located in the historic Niagara region, Brock offers all the benefits of a young and modern university in a safe, community-minded city with beautiful natural surroundings. With more than 19,000 students in seven diverse Faculties, 600 faculty members, and over 100,000 accomplished alumni—Brock has earned a reputation as a one of Canada’s top post-secondary institutions.
Brock was recently named the third best employer in Canada by Forbes through an independent survey of more than 40,000 Canadian employees working for companies with more than 500 employees. Brock is also home to twelve 3M Teaching Fellowship Award Winners—Canada’s most prestigious recognition of excellence in educational leadership and teaching at the post-secondary level—and eight Canada Research Chairs.
Brock University is located on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement.

The Faculty of Mathematics and Science invites applications for the Chair of the Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering at the rank of Tenured Associate/Full Professor, beginning July 1, 2025. The expected term of appointment as Chair is three years and the appointment is renewable. The rank will be commensurate with the successful applicant’s qualifications and experience in teaching and research.
The Chair of the Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering will:
- Oversee the academic leadership and daily management of the department.
- Foster a safe and healthy work environment.
- Coordinate with the Dean’s Office to ensure all courses and programs meet or exceed accreditation and quality standards, aligning with the University’s Strategic Plan and community needs.
- Manage and support budget activities for program areas, ensuring financial targets are met.
- Lead continuous faculty development initiatives.
- Participate in the hiring and development of full-time and contract faculty and staff.
- Collaborate with the Dean’s Office on multi-year capital planning.
Priorities will include, for example:
- Developing authentic and effective assessment strategies leading to the accreditation of engineering programs.
- Building research capacity in engineering.
- Collaborating with scholars within the University and across the international research community.
- Advising Brock’s academic community on learning objectives and outcomes, curriculum design, curriculum mapping and other curricular initiatives.
- Providing guidance in delivering all aspects of program development, program review and program accreditation, ensuring that learning outcomes are achieved, and core competencies are addressed through pedagogical effectiveness, the use of technology and robust evaluation.
- Leading the co-creation of innovative and imaginative professional academic programs in engineering, including experiential-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs currently in the initial stages of development.
- Establish and mentor curriculum teams to develop content, courses, and teaching methodologies for engineering, with a focus on real-world problem-solving and designbased learning pedagogies.
- Establishing links to industry and other external stakeholders.
- Assisting with fundraising activities and supporting donor relations.
As the Department Chair, and in keeping with the duties and responsibilities outlined in the Collective Agreement, the incumbent will act as an academic leader to represent and foster a new and growing academic unit at Brock. This includes:
- Updating, revising, developing, and supporting programs
- Orienting Departmental faculty and staff policies, practices, and
- Procedures
- Mentoring faculty members in their research and teaching careers
- Fostering an environment of academic excellence
- Consulting with members of the Department on needs and academic goals
- Overseeing a range of faculty and academic life matters (e.g. recommending teaching duties to the Dean, allocating non-teaching responsibilities, advising the Dean on performance reviews of faculty members and staff, etc.)
- Managing and overseeing the administration and operations of the Department, in consultation with its members
- Overseeing the use of space and equipment assigned to the Department
- Advancing the interests of the Department and its programs both internally and externally to the University (e.g., advancement and fundraising, recruitment, communications, accreditation, etc.)
The qualified candidate should have:
- A doctorate degree in a relevant engineering discipline
- An engineering license to practice in Canada
- Evidence of managing engineering academic units (e.g., a Department) at a recognized post-secondary institution• Record of positive engagement with the engineering education community.
- Experience with innovative WIL (work-integrated learning) or PBL (problem-based learning) pedagogies
- Experience in accreditation process (preferred)
- Classroom involvement, delivering authentic design and problem-solving experiences
- Knowledge of co-op and internship learning models
- Demonstrated understanding of how external partners can engage in the learning and training of university students
- Experience with how to build a successful, individual research program in engineering
- A collegial and effective leadership and communication style