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Cedar Crest College—a women’s college in Allentown, PA—seeks a dynamic and entrepreneurial faculty leader to serve as Founding Director for The Elaine and John Harmon Center for Leadership in Technology. Cedar Crest has partnered with the national search firm of Scott Healy & Associates to assist in this search.
Supported by a $3.3M gift, The Harmon Center for Leadership in Technology is part of a bold vision to transform technology education at Cedar Crest for its innovative and socially responsible uses. The Harmon Center will also serve as a hub to help community leaders and our regional Lehigh Valley workforce develop the ethical uses of technology to positively shape people’s lives and our communities. The Founding Director will help lead the creation of the Harmon Center, while building new bachelor-degree programs spanning fundamental computer and data science to applied technology fields, including potential areas such as machine learning, modelling of complex systems, and other grand challenges in technology. Additional programs that leverage existing institutional strengths in forensics and health would also elicit enthusiasm.
The Harmon Center will develop academic programs that span basic science fields that may include computer science, data science, and applied math, as well as applications to major inquiry areas such as the modeling of complex, adaptive systems. The Founding Director may also assist academic departments in the development of technology-focused graduate study areas that are part of our existing degrees in Forensic Science, Crime Science, and Business Administration.
The Founding Director position offers a unique opportunity to shape the vision for the Harmon Center as a strategic priority for Cedar Crest College, as part of our “Open the Door to What’s Next” plan for 2026. Serving as the prestigious Harmon Professor of Leadership in Technology, the director will create leading-edge undergraduate curricula in emerging technology areas, help shape the scope of applied technology general education for our undergraduates, and build a community center for the ethical use of technology for our common good.
The Founding Director will hold an appointment at open faculty rank based upon experience and qualifications, while serving as a member of the Department of Business, Management & Economics. The faculty appointment shall be tenure-
track/tenured and 12-months annually. The position will be resident on Cedar Crest’s Allentown, Pennsylvania campus.
Qualifications:
An ideal candidate should meet the following qualifications:
· A doctoral degree earned in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technology field (e.g., PhD, DCS, DBA).
· Five or more years of progressive levels of leadership, organizational responsibility, and technology expertise in education, preferably at the college or university level.
· An entrepreneurial record and administrative experience including, curriculum building, program planning and implementation, personnel management and evaluation, community engagement, and program budgeting.
· Demonstrated effectiveness in teaching, scholarship, service, and academic administration in an institution of higher education or (if not coming from higher education professional experience) the promise of such ability from related technology industry experience.
· Success as a creative and collaborative leader with experience in working with communities and securing external grant or other revenue sources.
· Excellent leadership, interpersonal relationship, and communication skills, with experience marketing a new program or product being a plus.
About Cedar Crest College:
Cedar Crest College, founded in 1867, is an independent liberal-arts college for women that emphasizes cross-disciplinary cooperation and excellence in teaching and research. We have been leading the way for over 150 years for women in higher education with a continued commitment to providing access to education for underrepresented populations. Cedar Crest enrolls over 1600 students annually through our traditional undergraduate programs for women and our co-education programs in the School of Adult and Graduate Education. We offer an exceptional benefit package and work-life balance. Our commitment to health and wellness on campus is evidenced by our updated fitness center, our aquatic center focused on healthy lifestyles, and our smoke and tobacco-free campus. The College’s beautiful 84-acre campus, a registered national arboretum, is located in the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania, conveniently located between Philadelphia and New York City.
Cedar Crest College is an equal-opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion within its community. The College encourages applications from individuals belonging to marginalized groups in higher education, in support of our diverse student community.
The large majority of Cedar Crest’s students—nearly ninety percent—are women. More than one third are students of color and nearly forty percent are first-generation college
students; they are religiously diverse and diverse in terms of gender and sexuality. Our population also includes students from many different countries, in addition to the U.S.
We seek to recruit faculty who are prepared to teach our students, to engage their curiosity, and to inspire their persistence.
Cedar Crest Diversity Statement:
Founded under the mission to expand women’s access to higher-education, Cedar Crest College values difference in a diverse, inclusive, and equitable learning environment. The College is committed to educational excellence, leadership, and civic engagement in a pluralistic society. We thus embrace an inclusive community that brings together students, faculty, and staff of different racial and multi-racial, ethnic and multi-ethnic, gender and sexually diverse, religious and nonreligious, economic, and national identities and ages. Our educational mission includes students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education, such as students of color, first-generation college students, international students, students of varying ability or disability, and other identities.
Application Instructions:
Submit a letter of interest (cover letter), CV, a statement of teaching philosophy, three letters of reference, and a diversity statement that describes planned contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
