Academic Department Head

About the Department

The College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation (HEST) at New Mexico State University invites nominations and applications for the position of Department Head of Kinesiology. This is an opportunity to lead a thriving academic department that combines outstanding faculty, exceptional students, nationally recognized academic programs, expanding research infrastructure, and a mission that directly improves the health and well-being of communities throughout the U.S.-Mexico Borderland.

The successful candidate will join New Mexico State University at an exciting moment in its history. As New Mexico's land-grant university and a Carnegie-designated Research 1 institution, NMSU is committed to research excellence, student success, innovation, and public engagement. The Department of Kinesiology has experienced sustained growth in enrollment, academic programming, and research capacity, and is well positioned for continued national prominence.

The Department of Kinesiology combines many of the characteristics that outstanding academic leaders seek: a supportive college and university administration; exceptional faculty committed to teaching, scholarship, and service; approximately 600 undergraduate and graduate students; 17 full-time faculty members representing diverse areas of expertise; strong undergraduate, professional master's, and doctoral programs; significant recent investments in research and instructional facilities.

The next Department Head will inherit a department with tremendous momentum. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to recruit outstanding faculty, strengthen nationally recognized research programs, expand interdisciplinary collaborations, enhance graduate education, and position the department among the leading kinesiology programs in the western United States.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The Department Head serves as the department's chief academic and administrative officer and provides collaborative leadership that advances excellence across teaching, research, creative activity, clinical education, outreach, and service. The position will have the opportunity to collaborate with the college's Executive Council and help shape the administrative landscape of the college which includes a dean, two associate deans, and nine academic units.

Working closely with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and college leadership, the Department Head will:

• Articulate and implement a strategic vision for the department
• Support faculty success across teaching, scholarship, creative activity, and service
• Recruit, mentor, and retain outstanding faculty and staff
• Promote interdisciplinary research and external funding
• Strengthen undergraduate and graduate education
• Oversee budgeting, personnel, and departmental operations
• Maintain accreditation and continuous program improvement
• Cultivate partnerships across campus and throughout the Borderland
• Foster a culture grounded in collaboration, innovation, transparency, accountability, and shared governance

Required Qualifications

• An earned doctorate in kinesiology, exercise science, athletic training, physical education, sport science, biomechanics, exercise physiology, motor behavior, sport and exercise psychology, dance science, or a closely related discipline
• Qualifications sufficient for appointment as a tenured Associate Professor or Professor at New Mexico State University and the Department of Kinesiology
• Demonstrated academic leadership experience at an accredited institution of higher education
• Evidence of excellence in research, teaching, and service appropriate for appointment with tenure
• Experience supporting faculty development and student success
• Demonstrated administrative experience that may include budgeting, personnel management, accreditation, assessment, curriculum development, strategic planning, or related leadership responsibilities
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading multidisciplinary academic units
• Supporting doctoral education
• Mentoring faculty through promotion and tenure
• Securing external funding
• Leading accredited academic programs
• Fostering interdisciplinary research collaborations
• Supporting enrollment growth and academic innovation
• Working at Research 1 universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, land-grant universities, or institutions serving diverse communities

Pay

Target salary range: $135,000 - $150,000, with a department head differential pay of $21,000.

Schedule

Full-time equivalency: 1.0. Standard work schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Contact: Christopher Aiken, aiken@nmsu.edu, (575) 646-4296

Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States

Closing Date: September 18, 2026 at 23:55 MDT