Director - National Security Institute

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POSITION SPECIFICS

Penn State is seeking an inaugural Director for a new Research Institute aimed at enhancing our research contributions to National Security. Penn State has a long history of delivering research that supports national security, not least because of its close association with the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). ARL is a Department of Defense designated University Affiliated Research Center established in 1945 at the request of the U.S. Navy, and a key part of Penn State's research enterprise. We now want to synergize and invest substantially in the upstream basic research that can be performed within the open university environment to help address the critical current and future national security challenges that face the nation and the world. This is an outstanding opportunity for someone who wants to make long-term impact on Penn State and the nation.

Mission: The new institute will be the sixth research institute funded out of the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research (SVPR), joining the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences, the Institute of Energy and the Environment, the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, the Materials Research Institute, and the Social Science Research Institute. The mission of all the Institutes is to advance interdisciplinary excellence, facilitate a university-wide culture of collaborative research, and serve as focal point for large multi-PI initiatives as well as outward communication of our research strengths. The institutes achieve this mission by partnering with Colleges to provide faculty co-hires, seed grants, summer salaries and teaching buy-outs, internal and external landscaping analyses to identify new opportunities, recognition of excellence, and instrumentation and facilities.

Goals: We envisage the National Security Institute growing over the next ten years to a scale comparable to the existing institutes. To do so, we seek a visionary director capable of positioning the institute to become a key part of Penn State's research ecosystem, and to make a major impact on national and international security challenges. The immediate goals of the new institute will be to:

• facilitate current national security interests of non-ARL faculty
• synergize with ARL to substantially increase ARL-adjacent research, and
• to work with experts at Penn State, the Federal Government and industry partners to identify the basic research that is needed now to deploy national security solutions for 2050. Penn State is developing LionSHIELD, a Controlled Unclassified Information enclave that will enable national security work outside of ARL.

The Institute will eventually be built by a team of inspired individuals with unique perspectives and an array of skills who will provide an engaging environment to drive very significant growth.

Responsibilities: The inaugural director will be charged with developing that environment and will report directly to the Senior Vice President for Research. The SVPR oversees university-wide research activity which exceeded $1.337 billion in FY24. The Director will:

• provide vision and university-wide leadership to advance excellence in research.
• build bridges and collaborations among the core colleges by developing incentives for faculty participation in innovative, high-impact interdisciplinary research.
• facilitate an atmosphere of inclusive excellence drawing on diverse expertise and perspectives.
• identify new funding opportunities and facilitate the development of large interdisciplinary research programs.
• facilitate research through seminars, workshops, and symposia.
• serve as liaison between the University and Federal national security agencies.
• set strategies for developing the very considerable potential for industry engagement and research commercialization of Penn State Intellectual property in this area.
• be able to ensure operational excellence and cost efficiencies as the institute grows.

What we are looking for: The successful candidate will possess a selfless empowering orientation and the willingness to prioritize collective success. The successful candidate:

• must be on tenure-track with the rank of Full Professor to qualify.
• must be a U.S. citizen, eligible for a security clearance.
• should have an outstanding ability to form partnerships with Deans and other university research leaders, as well as interact positively with researchers at all levels from graduate students to distinguished faculty.
• should have exceptional research and funding track record strongly related to national security.
• is expected to spend a portion of their time on their own research, although there is no time requirement for classroom instruction.
• should be capable of supporting an exceptional working environment with staff, faculty and students, by providing professional development and opportunities for career advancement, mentorship of the next generation of interdisciplinary leaders, and vision and inspiration that empowers individuals to do their best work, teams to be creative, and units to inspire across all Penn State.
• should have a track record of advancing inclusive excellence and an ability to leverage resources - space, equipment, funding, infrastructure, and personnel - in strategic and effective ways to advance organizational objectives.
• should have an enthusiasm for fundraising and resource development and the ability to forge new, or novel, opportunities for sponsored research, philanthropic, and industry partnerships, including translation of research into science-technology based solutions, programs, government policies, and practices consistent with Penn State's land grant mission.

Application Review: Applications must be submitted by Jun 8th, 2025, for consideration. Applicants should submit a full curriculum vitae, contact information for four references, and a letter expressing their interest in this position with a detailed vision statement for advancing Penn State national security research, as well as managing talented faculty and staff to achieve greater impact.

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CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

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