St. Mary’s University, a Catholic and Marianist Hispanic Serving Institution, is seeking a Founding Director of Nursing who will also assume the role of Vice Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology to launch a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The Founding Director will lead the development, approval, implementation, assessment, and accreditation of this exciting new program and direction for the University. The ideal candidate is experienced, innovative, and motivated to build and shepherd this new program through to implementation while collaborating with St. Mary’s many academic programs.

 

The successful candidate brings a strong knowledge of administrative nursing leadership, is prepared to serve as the campus subject matter expert, and is equipped with outstanding communication, interpersonal, and collaborative leadership skills. The Founding Director will build strong relationships across the St. Mary’s University community, at peer institutions, and with the broader San Antonio and South-Central Texas community.

 

This is a tremendous opportunity to build a new program focused on nursing excellence within the Catholic and Marianist mission of St. Mary’s University and to lead the development of a culture that fosters the development of ethical and service-minded nursing leaders of tomorrow through experiential learning in a student-centered environment that is committed to success.

 

This 12-month senior leadership position reports to the Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology. While the successful candidate will participate in the governance of the School, s/he will be expected to focus on the Nursing program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence.

 

St. Mary’s University’s mission is deeply rooted in both the Liberal Arts and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, which informs the five fundamental characteristics of a Marianist education: formation in faith; integral quality education; family spirit; service, justice and peace, and integrity of creation; and adaptation and change. These characteristics are the foundation of a holistic educational experience designed to infuse students’ professional training with an understanding of individual human development, community, the natural world, and God. These, in turn, inspire human vocations, ethical engagement and action, and creativity.

 

Students at St. Mary’s experience a nurturing and vibrant community atmosphere that encourages and facilitates civic engagement, undergraduate and graduate research, comprehensive faculty mentoring, and service learning in San Antonio and around the world. That community experience is carried forward and manifested every year in the vocations and service of many alumni, a community of some 36,000 whose goal is to improve the human condition in the world.

 

 

St. Mary’s University’s vision is, as a Catholic and Marianist University, to become one of the finest private universities in the region, a gateway for its graduates to professional lives as ethical leaders in Texas, the nation, and the world. 

 

The strategic plan, Gateway: A Vision for St. Mary’s University, was launched in April 2013, soon after President Tom Mengler took office in Summer 2012. The term Gateway signifies an entry point, a beginning, and a pathway to a more significant stage. Gateway symbolizes and reaffirms the enduring role of St. Mary’s integrating the liberal arts with professional preparation for students to lead purposeful lives. Gateway conveys an image of students arriving at St. Mary’s on individual paths but joining a global family of men and women collaborating on behalf of the common good in service to God. Finally, Gateway evokes a dynamic vision, a strategic plan for a more vital and integrated role for St. Mary’s as a partner in the future of San Antonio and the region. 

 

A top institutional priority is to create a culture of excellence. This includes recruiting and retaining top students, strengthening, and promoting the Catholic and Marianist tradition, advancing the academic mission, increasing fundraising support to the University, strategically allocating resources through excellent stewardship, increasing financial and capital funding, and graduating ethical leaders who are highly sought after in the workplace after graduation. 

 

St. Mary’s just completed a $165 million comprehensive campaign — a fundraising campaign 10 times greater than any prior St. Mary’s University campaign and larger than all previous campaigns combined. 

In 2017, St. Mary’s publicly announced The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign that began in 2012 with a goal of $130 million. After surpassing that amount by 2019, St. Mary’s extended the goal to $150 million. The campaign ended in December 2021 having exceeded its goal by raising $165 million. The campaign funded 14 new academic positions, 94 new endowed scholarships and $58.8 million in increased scholarship funding. It also provided $5.2 million in funding for Catholic mission initiatives and to establish the Center for Catholic Studies. The School of Science, Engineering and Technology realized $41 million in contributions from the campaign. 

 

The School of Science, Engineering, and Technology offers a student-centered, service-oriented environment that encourages students to analyze problems through scientific inquiry within the framework of moral and ethical considerations. The School has more than 50 full-time faculty teaching 19 undergraduate degree plan options, including seven majors in engineering fields, nine graduate programs and three post-baccalaureate certificates.  

 

In recent years, the School has launched undergraduate programs in Bioinformatics, Forensic Science, Environmental Science and Software Engineering, as well as a master’s degree in Cybersecurity. St. Mary’s is the first in Texas to offer a comprehensive master’s-level degree for Cybersecurity in San Antonio. St. Mary’s, through the Master of Science in Cybersecurity program, has been designated by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense.  

 

The Biology degree has long been one of the largest and most popular majors among undergraduate students due to the University’s reputation and success in preparing them for professional schools. Our graduates are accepted into medical and dental schools at 1.5 times the national rate.  

 

At St. Mary’s, the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U*STAR), sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, has been engaging students for more than 30 years. The goal is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students who enter and complete doctoral research programs in the biomedical sciences. 

 

As noted, the School of Science, Engineering and Technology realized $41 million in contributions from The Defining Moment Comprehensive Campaign that supported scholarships, academic programs and renovations to facilities. It also funded a new Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Laboratory (Drone Lab). The facility supports the new UAS concentration under the B.S. in Engineering Science program, the University’s Drone Club and accommodates summer camps for high school students interested in drone technology and research.

 

The campaign included grants for STEM education. The University received a $1.15 million grant from USAA to support STEM studies, over $13.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education to renovate STEM labs and classrooms, and $1 million from the National Science Foundation to increase Latino students obtaining degrees in STEM fields.

 

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Title V Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) Program Grant to St. Mary’s University to expand and enhance its offerings to graduate students. St. Mary’s has a PPOHA project entitled, Promoting Excellence in Graduate Education, which addresses gaps and weaknesses that hinder the University from adequately serving the needs of Hispanic and disadvantaged post-baccalaureate students.  

 

St. Mary’s is preparing to launch a new Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in August 2024. The program will be located in the School’s new Innovation Center. Construction on a new nearly $12 million Innovation Center will begin in Fall 2022. St. Mary’s has already secured approximately $6 million in gifts and pledges. Two of the three floors of the facility will support Advanced Manufacturing research, instruction and industrial/community outreach in numerous engineering, computing, and related STEM disciplines. The third floor will house the proposed Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.  

 

 

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States and the second-largest city in Texas, with a population of more than 1.3 million residents. Located in the south-central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. 

 

The jewel of the city is the River Walk, which runs through the downtown area. Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater, this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holidays and is suffused with the local sounds of folklórico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations, such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio. The Alamo, located nearby, is Texas’s top tourist attraction, while the River Walk is the second most visited attraction. SeaWorld, located 16 miles west of downtown, is the number three attraction. San Antonio is world-famous for its Mexican, Tex-Mex, and cosmopolitan cuisines at fine restaurants throughout the city. The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.  

 

In San Antonio, culture sings. We celebrate our rich heritage with vibrant parades, food-centric events, and lively, local entertainment. We collect medals to show off our San Antonio pride. What started in 1891 to honor the heroes from the Battle of the Alamo has transformed into city-wide party with a purpose called Fiesta. The St. Mary’s Alumni Association hosts one of the largest Fiesta events on the University campus every spring. The Fiesta Oyster Bake, now more than 100 years old, raises funds for scholarships for St. Mary’s students. 

 

San Antonio has a strong military presence. It is home to Joint Base San Antonio, including Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, with Camp Bullis outside the city. San Antonio is home to five Fortune 500 companies; to the South Texas Medical Center, the premier medical research and care provider in the South Texas region; and to the San Antonio Military Medical Center, the largest inpatient medical facility of the Department of Defense. For more information on San Antonio please visit: www.sanantonio.gov; www.sachamber.org; or www.visitsanantonio.com. 

 

 

 

Please do not email applications.

 

Applications will be reviewed as they are received and should include a cover letter and curriculum vita. All applications are treated confidentially.

 

Inquiries, referrals, and nominations are treated confidentially:

 

Inquiries and questions: Please send to stmarysnursingdirector@acesrch.com

Nominations and referrals: Please send to nominations@acesrch.com