Position Overview

The Director of Research and Innovation is the chief administrative officer of the Research and Innovation Department. The Director is charged with leading the faculty and staff in advancing the library’s research and scholarship mission and the department’s teaching and service mission. The Director is responsible for leading recruitment and assessment of programs and services within the department. The Director works with constituents to develop the departmental vision, develop a strategic plan, and achieve departmental goals.

This is a 12-month administrative position with a tenure-track faculty appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor.

The Director of Research and Innovation reports directly to the Dean of Library Services and serves as a member of the dean’s senior leadership team to set and meet strategic and operational goals cooperatively and to lead planning and prioritization efforts. The Director of Research and Innovation provides leadership to the research and innovation arm of Library Services and is responsible for increasing sponsored research. Additionally, the director is responsible for strategic direction and support for personnel’s work in bibliographic, metadata and discovery services; library systems; digital scholarship; preservation of digital assets; open scholarship; research data services; and grant administration. The Director will foster research and scholarly activities among library faculty and represent the library’s interest with the university’s divisions of Research and Information Technology Services.

N.C. A&T is a public, land-grant, doctoral research institution and has been the largest historically Black university in the country for the past decade. With an enrollment of 14,311 students in Fall 2024, the university offers 59 undergraduate degree programs, 36 master’s programs, and 12 doctoral programs. It is America’s top producer of Black graduates in Engineering and Agricultural Science bachelor’s programs, as well as a top five producer in numerous additional disciplines, including Liberal Arts and Communications/Journalism. It also ranks no. 3 in master’s degrees awarded to Black graduates in Engineering Technologies and Related Fields, no. 4 in master’s degrees in Engineering, and no. 11 best business school for women in the nation.

Nationally recognized for its leadership and excellence in STEM education and research, N.C. A&T is classified as “R2-High Research Activity” in the Carnegie Classifications and is poised to achieve “R1-Very High Research Activity” status. It also holds Carnegie’s earned credential in Community Engagement and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation. With an annual economic impact of $2.4 billion, N.C. A&T plays a vital role as a higher-education economic driver in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region and across a state that is ranked No. 1 in the nation for the second straight year as “best for business” by the CNBC financial network.

F.D. Bluford Library supports and advances teaching, learning and research at N.C. A&T through user-focused services, technologies, and physical and virtual learning spaces. We ensure individuals have access to globally trusted information resources that equip them with the knowledge to provide solutions to society’s challenges.