Department: Dean, Law

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Description:

The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position to begin in the academic year 2025-2026 with a primary emphasis in librarianship and library operations. The successful candidate will also hold the position of Director of the Law Library. The Director is a senior member of the Law Center management team and reports directly to the Administration. This is a dual-appointed position within the University as the Director is promotion-eligible through the University of Houston Library College.

Candidates must hold both a JD from an ABA-accredited law school and an MLS or equivalent degree from an ALA-accredited library or information science program and should demonstrate the potential for success as teachers, researchers and future members of the UH and the Law Center’s broader community.

The Director has primary responsibility for planning and overall administration of the library, including budgeting and cost control, hiring, personnel management and development, collection development, strategic planning, facilities administration, utilizing advancements in information services and technology, and ensuring compliance with all relevant accreditation standards. The library supports the research efforts of the Law Center, providing research support to students, faculty, and the administration through a staff of professional librarians and supporting employees. The Director will work closely with the Deans and faculty to ensure that the library provides outstanding service to the entire Law Center community.

Candidates must have several years of experience in academic law librarianship and a demonstrated record in, or demonstrated facility for, law library administration. Experience as the director, associate director, or assistant director of an academic law library is strongly preferred. The successful candidate must demonstrate an ability to work and communicate effectively with a variety of groups and must be conversant on the research and educational needs of a nationally prominent law school community. A competitive candidate should also have significant management experience in a law library or comparable environment; demonstrated organizational skills and leadership ability; experience with and interest in emerging informational and instructional technologies; evidence of scholarly achievement and professional engagement; and the ability to articulate and implement a vision for a law library of the twenty-first century.

The primary teaching focus for the position is in the area of legal research or other topics related to librarianship and/or information systems. Willingness to teach elsewhere in the Law Center curriculum, including courses covered on the bar exam, or other upper level topics, is also a positive factor.

Further information about the Law Center and its programs is available at: http://www.law.uh.edu 

This search is coordinated by Professor and Assistant Dean Meredith Duncan, the chair of UHLC’s faculty appointments committee. Interested applicants can send questions to Prof. Duncan at mjduncan@central.uh.edu. 

The University of Houston Law Center boasts an accomplished and collegial faculty representing a wide range of backgrounds including over 20 who are members of the American Law Institute. The Law Center’s 2024 entering class has the strongest credentials in the school’s history as well as 52.2% students coming from underserved backgrounds: African American, Latinx, and Asian American. Fifty-one percent are women, almost 83.5% are first-generation law students, and over 18% are first-generation college students. Since Fall of 2022, the Law Center occupies a brand-new, world-class facility designed by award-winning architects.

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning, and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation’s fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving institution with an enrollment of more than 47,000 students.

The University of Houston is responsive to the needs of dual career couples.

Qualifications
An attorney appointed to the position must, at a minimum, hold a J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school.

Required Attachments by Candidate
Cover Letter/Letter of Application, Curriculum Vitae