Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

The College of Pharmacy is seeking a Chair in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences to lead a vibrant and innovative faculty. The position will dedicate 30-49% effort to departmental administration, with the remaining effort used for faculty responsibilities. The Chair is responsible for the overall direction and administrative leadership of the department, in order to ensure exceptional delivery of evolving educational programs, cutting-edge research programs, and targeted engagement activities of the College, as well as the management of human and budgetary resources. We seek candidates who can help grow our research and educational program. Special consideration will be given to candidates whose research interests complement the College’s signature research themes, including substance use disorder, cancer, neurological disorders, metabolic syndrome, and infectious diseases. Given the breadth of collaborative research themes at the University of Kentucky, applicants with research expertise oriented towards other health care areas are also encouraged to apply.

The College consists of two departments, Pharmacy Practice & Science and Pharmaceutical Sciences, that provides the extraordinary opportunity to conduct benchtop to bedside research experiences. Pharmaceutical Sciences is a basic science department of approximately 30 faculty with a broad range of research interests, including pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, natural products chemistry, and drug design and delivery in many therapeutic areas. We use our research interests to provide educational expertise for College degree offerings.

The College of Pharmacy currently offers a professional degree in pharmacy (Doctor of Pharmacy) and Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences with 5 major tracks (Medicinal, Bioorganic and Computational Chemistry; Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Engineering; Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics; Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics; and Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy). Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty are active in the education of students in all of these programs. Additional information about the Faculty and the College’s degree offerings is available at www.pharmacy.uky.edu.

The University of Kentucky, the College of Pharmacy, and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences are strongly committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Increasing diversity enhances our teaching, research, mentorship, and community because it values each person’s unique contributions and equips everyone with the tools needed for success.  Therefore, we highly encourage applications from and nominations of candidates from historically underrepresented groups.  To learn more about our College’s diversity, equity, and  inclusion efforts, visit https://pharmacy.uky.edu/diversity-inclusion.

Candidates must possess a PharmD, PhD, MD, or another advanced degree in pharmaceutical sciences or a related discipline. Candidates must also provide evidence for outstanding scholarship, research productivity, and their commitment to diversity and inclusion in research, teaching, and service. The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an extramurally funded, nationally recognized, collaborative research program. The selected candidate will also be expected to contribute to the teaching, advising, and mentoring of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), undergraduate, and graduate students in a manner that supports diversity and inclusion.

A primary mission of The University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy is to improve health by developing innovative approaches for the treatment of disease. Our faculty create and lead collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts within our University’s dynamic and growing research and clinical enterprises, with a particular focus on translating discoveries to positively impact patients. The College of Pharmacy resides in a 286,000 sq. ft. building located at the center of the medical and academic campuses and encourages close interactions and collaborative research with other departments and centers at the University of Kentucky. These include nationally recognized centers of excellence in neuroscience (Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, Kentucky Neuroscience Institute), cancer (NCI-designated Markey Cancer Center), cardiovascular disease (Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, Gill Heart and Vascular Institute), and clinical/translational research (Center for Clinical and Translational Science). In addition, the College houses research centers that cultivate and provide expertise in all aspects of drug discovery and development as well as translational science. These include the Molecular Modeling and Biopharmaceuticals Center, the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Practice, and the Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation. The College of Pharmacy is also home to the COBRE in Translational and Chemical Biology, a primary mission of which is to support junior faculty in their research and career development. In addition, the College of Pharmacy financially supports various initiatives to foster interdepartmental and intercollegiate collaborations.

Application materials must include: 1) a curriculum vitae, 2) a research statement including a summary of research goals (under specific request #1), 3) a teaching and mentoring philosophy statement (under specific request #2), 4) a statement detailing the candidate’s background and experience with and commitment to diversity and inclusion in their academic responsibilities (under specific request #3), and 5) the names of three persons who may be contacted for reference letters.  Application materials must be submitted online at UK Jobs: https://ukjobs.uky.edu/postings/355662

For questions about the position, please contact the Search Committee Chair, Dr. Thomas Prisinzano (prisinzano@uky.edu). For questions regarding submitting application materials, contact UK Human Resources (UKJobs@email.uky.edu or call 859-257-9555, option 2). Application review will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. To assure full consideration, application materials should be received by December 5, 2021. 

The University of Kentucky is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer & Educator. If offered a position, the candidate will be required to pass a pre-employment drug screen, and national background check in accordance with University of Kentucky Human Resources regulations.