Associate Professor & Executive Director CIRCLE

Job Title

Associate Professor & Executive Director CIRCLE

Agency

Prairie View A&M University

Department

School of Public and Allied Health

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

Prairie View, Texas

Job Type

Faculty

Job Description

Important Immigration information: 

A Presidential proclamation issued on September 19, 2025, imposes a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025. Please be advised that Texas A&M University will NOT pay this fee. Therefore, if you need immigration sponsorship for your employment, we recommend that you consult with your private immigration counsel at your own expense to ascertain whether your current immigration status would make a potential offer of employment from Texas A&M University subject to this fee. 

 

In addition, on January 27, 2026, Texas Governor Abbot issued a moratorium on the filing of any new H-1B unless approved by the Texas Workforce Commission. Accordingly, if you will now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status this moratorium may affect our ability to employ you should you be selected as the final candidate. 

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The School of Public and Allied Health (SPAH) at Prairie View A&M University invites applications for a 12-month, tenure-track Associate Professor who will also serve as the Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Research, Collaboration, Leadership, and Community Engagement (CIRCLE). This leadership position is designed to advance the School's strategic vision of becoming a nationally recognized leader in interdisciplinary research, community engagement, workforce development, and externally funded scholarship. The Executive Director will provide visionary leadership for CIRCLE, serving as SPAH's central research hub and operational engine for collaborative research, faculty development, community-engaged scholarship, grant development, and student research training.

The successful candidate will build and sustain interdisciplinary collaborations across Prairie View A&M University, the Texas A&M University System, Yale University, federal agencies, healthcare systems, community organizations, and national research partners while strengthening SPAH's research infrastructure and competitiveness for external funding. This position directly supports the School's expansion of graduate education, including the Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Sports Management, Master of Science in Kinesiology, and future doctoral programs while enhancing research capacity necessary for accreditation and national recognition.

This position is funded by restricted funds or a grant. Continued employment is contingent upon the renewal of restricted or grant funds.

The salary is determined in accordance with the University’s compensation structure and will be commensurate with the candidates’ education and experience, within the assigned salary range for this position. 

Responsibilities:

Executive Leadership:

• Provide strategic leadership for the Center for Innovative Research, Collaboration, Leadership, and Community Engagement (CIRCLE).
• Develop and implement the Center's strategic vision, goals, and research priorities.
• Establish CIRCLE as the School's central research infrastructure supporting interdisciplinary scholarship.
• Build sustainable partnerships with academic institutions, healthcare systems, community organizations, industry, and governmental agencies.
• Develop pilot-to-publication and pilot-to-proposal research pipelines that increase scholarly productivity.
• Lead strategic initiatives that increase external funding and research competitiveness.
• Create sustainable systems for faculty mentoring, grant development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Manage the Center's operations, budgets, personnel, and strategic initiatives.
• Expand community-engaged research addressing health disparities, behavioral health, cancer prevention, maternal and child health, chronic disease prevention, sports performance, nutrition, rural health, and implementation science.
• Represent CIRCLE and the School at local, state, national, and international meetings and partnerships.

Research Leadership:

• Lead a nationally competitive, externally funded research program.
• Secure and manage NIH and other federal, foundation, and industry-sponsored research funding.
• Direct multi-investigator and interdisciplinary research initiatives.
• Advance implementation science and translational research that addresses community and population health priorities.
• Foster community-engaged and community-based participatory research partnerships.
• Establish and expand interdisciplinary research centers and collaborative research programs.
• Build sustainable research infrastructure that supports faculty, students, and research staff.
• Develop strategic collaborations with research-intensive universities, healthcare systems, and national research organizations.
• Lead research initiatives in behavioral health, HIV, cancer prevention, maternal health, health accessibility, digital health, implementation science, and other areas aligned with the School's strategic priorities.
• Serve in leadership roles within national professional organizations and scientific societies.
• Develop pilot funding programs that generate preliminary data for competitive federal grant applications.
• Promote dissemination of research findings through peer-reviewed publications, presentations, and community partnerships

Teaching and Mentoring:

• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses consistent with disciplinary expertise.
• Develop innovative curricula supporting graduate and doctoral education.
• Mentor graduate students, undergraduate researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty.
• Direct independent research and scholarly projects.
• Advise graduate theses, dissertations, and capstone projects as programs expand.
• Promote experiential learning, workforce development, and research training opportunities.
• Foster a culture of research excellence among students and early-career investigators.

Faculty Development and Research Capacity Building:

• Develop comprehensive faculty mentoring and professional development initiatives.
• Coordinate grant-writing workshops, proposal development programs, and mock review panels.
• Expand interdisciplinary research teams across departments, colleges, and external institutions.
• Support junior faculty in developing competitive research portfolios.
• Coordinate faculty research networking events and collaborative research forums.
• Develop sustainable research communities across Prairie View A&M University and the Texas A&M University System.
• Strengthen institutional research capacity through strategic planning, infrastructure development, and faculty engagement.
• Promote responsible conduct of research and research compliance in collaboration with university offices.

Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships:

• Develop strategic partnerships with healthcare systems, community organizations, faith-based organizations, public health agencies, governmental organizations, and national research partners.
• Expand implementation science initiatives that improve community health outcomes.
• Translate community priorities into competitive, fundable research initiatives.
• Develop workforce development and continuing education programs that address regional and national public health needs.
• Strengthen practice-based learning opportunities for students through community partnerships.
• Promote community engagement and bidirectional research partnerships.
• Represent the School in regional, state, and national community engagement initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience:

• Earned doctorate in Public Health, Behavioral Health, Health Services Research, Epidemiology, Health Promotion, Implementation Science, Community Health, or a closely related discipline.
• Six years of excellence in teaching, research, and service.
• Eligible for appointment at the rank of Associate Professor on the tenure track, with the expectation of an accelerated tenure review in accordance with university, college, and departmental policies.
• Demonstrated record of securing externally funded research, including federal funding.
• Evidence of sustained scholarly productivity through peer-reviewed publications.
• Experience leading interdisciplinary, multi-investigator research collaborations.
• Demonstrated success obtaining competitive grants from federal, state, foundation, or industry sponsors.
• Experience mentoring faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers.
• Experience building research infrastructure, centers, or collaborative research programs.
• Experience engaging communities through community-engaged or participatory research.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge of research administration, sponsored programs, and external funding processes.
• Demonstrated ability to secure and manage externally funded research grants.
• Ability to lead interdisciplinary research collaborations and strategic partnerships.
• Experience mentoring faculty, staff, and students in research and professional development.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and project management skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to build relationships with academic institutions, community organizations, healthcare systems, and funding agencies.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a collaborative environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and other research and grant management technologies.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ten years of related experience.
• NIH-funded research experience.
• Multi-investigator grant leadership.
• Implementation science expertise.
• Community-engaged participatory research experience.
• Experience establishing research centers.
• Leadership within academic health sciences.
• Existing collaborations with research-intensive universities.
• Experience building research infrastructure.
• Expertise in behavioral health, HIV, cancer prevention, maternal health, health accessibility, implementation science, or digital health.
• National professional leadership.

Job Posting Close Date:  

• 07/27/2026

 

Required Attachments: 

Please attach all required documents listed below in the attachment box labeled as either “Resume/CV or Resume/Cover Letter” on the application. Multiple attachments may be included in the “Resume/CV” or Resume/Cover Letter” attachment box.  Any additional attachments provided outside of the required documents listed below are considered optional. 

• Resume or Curriculum Vitae 

• Cover Letter 

 

Application Submission Guidelines:  

 

All applicants are required to apply via our Career Site on or before the closing date indicated on the job posting. Applicant inquiries received via email and websites such as Indeed, HigherEdJobs, etc. will not be considered unless the individual has applied to the available position via the PVAMU Career site. 

 

The required documents listed in the above "Required Attachments" section must be attached to the application prior to the job closing date indicated to ensure full consideration for the application submitted. Please contact the Office of Human Resource on or before the closing date indicated above at 936-261-1730 or jobs@pvamu.edu should you need assistance with the online application process. 

 

Background Check Requirements: 

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.