Graduate Program Director Senior Lecturer

The Department of Gerontology in the Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston invites qualified persons to apply for a non-tenure-track, program director position to join our faculty beginning September 1, 2025. The Department seeks to hire an experienced, skilled individual who, in addition to regular duties, will work with the community and aging network to manage and direct the Management of Aging Services Masters and Certificate Programs.

The person who fills this position will be a Fellow in the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston and may also have an affiliation with the Center for Social and Demographic Research in Aging or LeadingAge LTSS Center, both located within the Gerontology Institute. Applicants with terminal degrees in Social Work, Gerontology, Psychology, Public Administration, Public Health, Management, or similar fields may apply. Applicants with terminal degrees in other fields will also be considered.

The Management of Aging Services (MAS) Masters and Certificate programs were established in 2003 to develop leaders in the field of aging in order to meet the growing needs of older adults. The programs were designed with working professionals in mind. They are online, serving students from all over the country and several other countries, high touch, highly interactive, and very flexible, recognising that our students are often non-traditional, working professionals with personal responsibilities. The goals of the programs are to prepare a workforce to meet challenging transitions in the industry, to develop great leaders in the field, and to make a positive difference in the lives of older adults. The MAS programs provide students with a comprehensive education in gerontology and the skills, knowledge, and tools to address the issues faced by our aging population. Students have access to cutting-edge research in the department and can implement new concepts and ideas into their professional work life. The MAS programs have graduated over 450 students. Our students work in home and community-based services, residential long-term services, advocacy organizations, state agencies, municipal organizations, insurance, care management, transportation, and housing.

The program director for MAS must have an intimate working knowledge of residential and home and community-based long-term services and supports as well as an understanding of the changing needs and preferences of older adults. It is important that this individual has access to real-time information regarding challenges faced by the aging services workforce and a strong grasp of the impact of physical change, cognitive change, behavioural issues, emotional stress, and mental health on older adults as they age. The director must understand the essential aspect of policy, advocacy and the role of politics in serving an older population. The program director must have excellent management, supervisory, organizational, and interpersonal skills with a passion for teaching. Oversight and coordination responsibilities are year-round to maintain quality and integrity of this highly regarded program. These responsibilities include screening prospective students, providing new student orientations, student advising, course scheduling, managing course approvals and other program changes, working closely with other campus units, debriefing new program graduates, providing career counselling for students and alumni, supervising faculty, chairing strategic planning meetings, and chairing MAS faculty meetings. The position is responsible for teaching a minimum of four courses per academic year, often teaching an additional two courses (on overload) over the summer. The director is listed as the coordinator for every MAS course, to provide technical support for these courses, when needed.

The program director is heavily involved in recruitment and marketing of the MAS programs. Marketing responsibilities include assisting with material development and branding, attending conferences and working booths, developing videos for virtual platforms, visiting organizations to promote the program, and hosting monthly “Virtual Office Hours” for professionals in the field. The structure in place to recruit students involves pre-application screenings and meetings which represent the backbone of our high touch, interactive, supportive approach to learning. The program director holds monthly “Virtual Office Hours” (VOH) for prospective students, current students, alumni and professionals in the field of aging to discuss topical issues, offer networking opportunities, and introduce prospective students to the program and the field. As part of our recruitment strategy, the program director also hosts “Inside Track” information sessions (approximately 2 each semester) for students who are applying to the program. These sessions assist students who are navigating the application process and University admissions structure.

The program director develops and maintains relationships with national, state, and local community organizations in home and community-based services and residential long-term services and supports. These relationships are integral in marketing but more importantly in providing entry for our students into the field of aging. This activity involves the director serving on boards, advisory committees, community-based projects, etc. The program director maintains a relationship with LeadingAge, a trade organization based in Washington, DC. LeadingAge has approximately 6,000 non-profit member organizations, which provide services and supports to older adults in the United States.

UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impact is both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country - more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minoritized communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who engage the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognise and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

To apply, submit online a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of at least three references. Finalists will be asked to submit written examples at the appropriate time. Inquiries regarding the position may be directed to Search Committee Chair, Edward Miller. Review of applications will begin and continues until the position is filled.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HRDirect@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.