Department Chair, Exercise Science and Program Director, Athletic Training, Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University

About the role

Number of Positions In Requisition

1

Position Summary

Thomas Jefferson University invites applications and nominations for the combined position of Chair of the Department of Exercise Science and Program Director of the Athletic Training Program in the Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences.

The successful candidate will provide strategic, academic, administrative, and operational leadership for the Department of Exercise Science while also directing the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE)–accredited professional athletic training program. The individual will report to the Dean of the Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences and will work collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, College and University leaders, clinical and community partners, and professional organizations.

As Department Chair, the successful candidate will serve as the Department’s chief academic and administrative leader, with responsibility for academic quality, faculty and staff development, strategic planning, enrollment, resource management, scholarship, student success, and program growth.

As Athletic Training Program Director, the successful candidate will provide direct leadership and oversight of the professional athletic training program and ensure that it meets institutional requirements and maintains continuous compliance with CAATE standards, policies, and reporting expectations.

The position includes a full-time faculty appointment at a rank and on a faculty track commensurate with the candidate’s academic preparation, professional accomplishments, leadership experience, and scholarly record.

Department Chair Responsibilities

Academic and Strategic Leadership

• Provide visionary, collaborative, and inclusive leadership for the Department of Exercise Science.
• Ensure curriculum, faculty qualifications, experiential learning, facilities, and student learning outcomes remain aligned with applicable professional standards.
• Develop and implement a strategic direction aligned with the missions and priorities of the Department, College, and University.
• Promote academic excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement across the Department’s undergraduate, accelerated, and graduate educational pathways.
• Guide the development, assessment, revision, and expansion of academic programs in response to student needs, workforce trends, professional developments, and emerging areas of exercise and health science.
• Strengthen pathways connecting exercise science with athletic training and other rehabilitation and health professions.
• Promote interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration across the College and University.
• Represent the Department within the University and to external academic, clinical, professional, industry, and community constituencies.
• Advance the Department’s visibility, reputation, enrollment, and regional and national impact.
• Maintain active professional engagement in the relevant Exercise Science professional association(s)

Faculty and Staff Leadership

• Recruit, retain, mentor, develop, and evaluate highly qualified faculty and staff.
• Cultivate a collegial, respectful, inclusive, and accountable departmental culture.
• Support faculty advancement in teaching, scholarship, clinical practice, service, and professional leadership.
• Establish clear expectations and equitable workload assignments based on faculty roles, program requirements, and College policies.
• Promote faculty development, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Foster shared governance, transparent communication, and meaningful faculty and staff engagement.
• Address personnel and performance concerns in a timely, constructive, and equitable manner.
• Make recommendations regarding appointments, reappointments, promotion, recognition, and other personnel actions in accordance with University policies.

Program Quality and Student Success

• Ensure the academic quality, coherence, relevance, and effectiveness of all programs within the Department.
• Promote a culture of assessment in which student learning, program outcomes, stakeholder feedback, and operational data inform continuous improvement.
• Monitor enrollment, retention, progression, graduation, certification-examination performance, employment, and other indicators of program effectiveness.
• Collaborate with program leaders and University offices to support student recruitment, advising, persistence, professional development, and career preparation.
• Promote an educational environment that supports student learning, belonging, well-being, professionalism, and success.
• Support experiential education, internships, clinical education, research experiences, and community-engaged learning.
• Work closely with the Coordinator of Clinical Education to ensure the quality, sufficiency, diversity, and effectiveness of clinical education experiences.
• Ensure that academic policies and procedures are implemented consistently, transparently, and fairly.

Scholarship, Research, and Innovation

• Foster a departmental culture that supports scholarship, inquiry, innovation, and dissemination.
• Mentor and support faculty in establishing productive and sustainable programs of scholarship.
• Promote interdisciplinary research involving exercise physiology, human performance, sports science, rehabilitation, injury prevention, wellness, and related fields.
• Encourage external funding, industry collaboration, community-engaged scholarship, and translational research.
• Advocate for appropriate research infrastructure, equipment, facilities, mentorship, and protected time.
• Promote opportunities for student involvement in research, quality improvement, and scholarly dissemination.
• Strengthen the visibility and impact of the Department’s scholarly contributions.

Administration and Resource Management

• Oversee the Department’s academic, operational, personnel, financial, and facility-related affairs.
• Develop and manage the departmental budget in alignment with strategic priorities and available resources.
• Use enrollment, financial, outcomes, and workforce data to guide planning and resource allocation.
• Advocate for the faculty, staff, facilities, laboratories, technology, equipment, and administrative support required to sustain academic quality and program growth.
• Collaborate with College leadership regarding enrollment management, program development, space planning, and financial sustainability.
• Ensure compliance with University policies, faculty governance processes, legal requirements, and ethical expectations.
• Identify opportunities for partnerships, philanthropy, continuing education, grants, and responsible revenue diversification.

Athletic Training Program Director Responsibilities

Program Leadership and Administration

• Provide leadership and administrative oversight for the professional athletic training program.
• Ensure that the program’s mission, goals, curriculum, policies, practices, and outcomes align with institutional expectations and CAATE standards.
• Maintain sufficient authority, time, and administrative support to manage the program effectively.
• Coordinate program planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous quality improvement.
• Lead regular review of program effectiveness and implement evidence-informed changes based on assessment findings.
• Maintain accurate and complete program records, policies, procedures, and accreditation documentation.
• Ensure that program information published for students and the public is accurate, current, and consistent with institutional and accreditation requirements.

Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance

• Maintain continuous compliance with current CAATE Standards for Accreditation of Professional Athletic Training Programs.
• Serve as the primary institutional contact for CAATE.
• Prepare and submit required annual reports, self-studies, progress reports, substantive-change requests, and other accreditation documentation.
• Lead preparations for accreditation reviews and site visits.
• Monitor regulatory, accreditation, certification, and professional developments affecting athletic training education.
• Communicate accreditation expectations clearly to faculty, staff, students, administrators, and clinical partners.
• Maintain continuous accreditation readiness and promptly address identified areas of concern or noncompliance.

Curriculum and Instruction

• Lead the design, delivery, assessment, and continuous improvement of the athletic training curriculum.
• Ensure that the curriculum reflects contemporary athletic training practice, professional standards, evidence-informed care, and evolving healthcare needs.
• Coordinate the sequencing and integration of didactic, laboratory, simulation, clinical, and interprofessional learning experiences.
• Ensure that course content, instructional methods, and assessment strategies support achievement of program learning outcomes and professional competencies.
• Verify that faculty teaching assignments are aligned with faculty qualifications and areas of expertise.
• Promote effective use of simulation, educational technology, clinical reasoning, and active learning.
• Collaborate with faculty to identify and address curricular gaps, unnecessary duplication, and emerging content needs.

Faculty and Clinical Education Oversight

• Collaborate with the Dean to ensure that the program has sufficient qualified core and associated faculty.
• Provide orientation, mentoring, support, and evaluation for program faculty.
• Ensure that clinical sites and preceptors meet institutional and accreditation expectations.
• Promote effective communication and collaboration among faculty, clinical preceptors, students, and clinical partners.
• Monitor faculty workload and advocate for the resources needed to meet program responsibilities.

Student Recruitment, Progression, and Outcomes

• Collaborate with admissions and enrollment colleagues to recruit and enroll qualified students.
• Ensure that admission, progression, retention, remediation, and dismissal policies are clearly communicated and consistently applied.
• Monitor student academic and clinical performance and coordinate appropriate academic support and remediation.
• Promote student professional development, ethical practice, leadership, and readiness for contemporary clinical practice.
• Monitor graduation, employment, retention, and Board of Certification examination outcomes.
• Use student and graduate outcomes to guide program evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Maintain mechanisms for receiving and responding to student feedback and concerns.

Clinical and Professional Partnerships

• Develop and maintain relationships with healthcare systems, schools, colleges and universities, sports organizations, rehabilitation facilities, physician practices, community organizations, and other clinical partners.
• Expand access to high-quality clinical education experiences representing varied patient populations, settings, and levels of care.
• Promote faculty and student engagement in professional organizations and community initiatives.
• Represent the program in state and national athletic training education and professional forums.
• Support partnerships that enhance student learning, faculty scholarship, workforce development, and community impact.

Required Qualifications

• Candidates must possess: Doctoral degree from an accredited institution.
• Eligibility for faculty appointment at the rank of associate professor or professor at Thomas Jefferson University.
• Current certification and good standing as an athletic trainer through the Board of Certification.
• Eligibility for athletic trainer licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• A minimum of three years of full-time teaching or comparable academic experience in athletic training education or a closely related field.
• Knowledge of exercise science education and related professional standards or certifications.
• A record of progressive academic leadership, such as service as a department chair, program director, associate or assistant program director, clinical education coordinator, or comparable academic administrator.
• Demonstrated knowledge of CAATE accreditation standards, policies, and reporting requirements.
• Experience with curriculum development, program assessment, student-learning assessment, and continuous quality improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to lead faculty, staff, students, and clinical partners in a collaborative academic environment.
• Experience managing personnel, budgets, resources, and competing priorities.
• A record of teaching, scholarship, service, clinical practice, or professional accomplishment appropriate to the proposed faculty rank and track.
• Strong written, oral, interpersonal, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Evidence of sound judgment, integrity, transparency, and effective decision-making.
• A demonstrated commitment to academic excellence, student success, collegiality, and inclusive educational environments.

Preferred Qualifications

The strongest candidates will demonstrate several of the following

• Prior experience as a department chair and/or director of a CAATE-accredited professional athletic training program.
• Significant experience preparing CAATE reports, self-studies, substantive-change requests, and accreditation review materials.
• Experience overseeing both undergraduate and graduate academic programs.
• Experience administering accelerated, direct-entry, or articulated academic pathways.
• A sustained record of scholarship and professional recognition appropriate for appointment at the rank of associate professor or professor.
• Demonstrated success recruiting, mentoring, evaluating, and retaining faculty and staff.
• Experience using enrollment, financial, accreditation, and performance data to guide decision-making.
• Demonstrated success in strategic planning, program development, organizational change, and implementation.
• Experience strengthening Board of Certification examination performance and other student outcomes.
• Evidence of successful interdisciplinary, interprofessional, clinical, community, or industry partnerships.
• Experience securing external funding, developing revenue-generating initiatives, or supporting philanthropic activity.
• Leadership experience in state or national professional, accreditation, certification, or educational organizations.
• Familiarity with academic health systems, comprehensive universities, or multi-campus educational environments.
• Experience advancing simulation, technology-enhanced learning, human-performance assessment, sports science, or clinical innovation.
• Leadership Attributes

The successful candidate will be

• A strategic and systems-oriented thinker who can connect departmental priorities with broader College and University goals.
• An accessible, transparent, and collaborative academic leader.
• A strong advocate for students, faculty, staff, academic quality, and professional education.
• An effective listener who values diverse perspectives and builds productive consensus.
• A decisive administrator who addresses complex issues directly, fairly, and constructively.
• A mentor who develops faculty, strengthens teams, and supports emerging leaders.
• A responsible steward of financial, physical, human, and technological resources.
• A leader who balances innovation and growth with quality, sustainability, and accreditation compliance.
• A visible and credible representative of exercise science, athletic training education, and the Department.

Department and Institutional Context

The Department of Exercise Science is housed within the Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences. Its educational offerings include the Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, accelerated pathways connecting exercise science with professional programs in athletic training, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

Exercise science students receive classroom, laboratory, and applied learning experiences that prepare them for employment and advanced study in areas such as health and fitness, strength and conditioning, human performance, exercise physiology, cardiac rehabilitation, wellness, and sport science.