Chairperson, Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling at Ball State University

Ball State University, in partnership with the national search firm Scott Healy & Associates, invites applications and nominations for the position of Chairperson, Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling. This is an exciting opportunity for an accomplished academic leader to guide a diverse, interdisciplinary department with a strong foundation in counseling psychology, counseling, and social psychology. The next chairperson will have the opportunity to build on the department’s existing strengths, support the continued growth of its academic programs and faculty, advance scholarship and student success, and strengthen partnerships across the College of Health, the university, and the broader community.

This is a full-time, twelve-month appointment. The chairperson holds a tenure-eligible faculty appointment in the department at the rank of associate professor or professor, commensurate with credentials and experience.

The department is committed to making significant contributions to the fields of psychology and counseling through research, practice, service, and teaching grounded in developmental, systems, holistic, and strengths-based theories and strategies. Its programs prepare students to become competent scientist-practitioners in counseling, counseling psychology, and social psychology who assist people in the context of their relationships, communities, and the larger world. The chairperson will join Ball State and the College of Health at an important time of continued institutional momentum and will play a central role in shaping the department’s future while supporting its faculty, students, academic programs, and community impact.

The chairperson serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the department and reports to the Dean of the College of Health. The chairperson provides leadership for the department’s academic programs, faculty, staff, students, and the Counseling Practicum Clinic (CPC); maintains a productive line of scholarship; and regularly teaches graduate courses in the department’s programs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Faculty and staff leadership: recruiting, mentoring, and evaluating faculty and staff; conducting annual performance reviews; supporting professional development; and building a collegial, collaborative departmental culture.
• Fiscal and resource stewardship: preparing and managing the departmental budget; overseeing departmental resources, space, and equipment; and advocating for the department’s needs within the college and university.
• Program oversight: supporting program and training directors in curriculum development, program review, student learning assessment, and outcome reporting; maintaining familiarity with the accreditation processes of the department’s programs (APA and MPCAC) and the licensure and credentialing pathways that faculty and graduates pursue.
• Academic operations: course scheduling and faculty teaching assignments; supporting program directors in coordinating and managing admissions and recruitment across programs; and management of escalated student concerns, advising issues, and academic integrity or disciplinary matters in accordance with university policy.
• Advancement of scholarship: supporting faculty research and grant seeking, as well as student involvement in scholarship, and maintaining the chairperson’s own program of research.
• Communication and representation: communicating university and college goals to the department, representing the department to college and university administration, and building partnerships with community agencies, practicum and internship sites, and other departments in the College of Health’s and the university’s interprofessional education, practice, and research initiatives.
• Contribute to a welcoming and respectful environment that supports and motivates students, staff, and faculty from different cultural experiences and intellectual perspectives.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Research doctorate (PhD or equivalent) in psychology from an accredited institution.
• A record of teaching, scholarship, and service that qualifies the candidate for appointment as a tenure-eligible associate professor or professor at Ball State University.
• Administrative or leadership experience in an academic setting, for example as a department chairperson, associate chairperson, program director, director of training, center director, or comparable role.

Preferred Qualifications:

The department will give preference to candidates who demonstrate one or more of the following:

• Research doctorate in Counseling Psychology or another area of health service psychology from an APA-accredited program and licensure, or eligibility for licensure, as a psychologist in Indiana.
• Demonstrated goal-directed, collaborative, and collegial leadership, including with department faculty and staff and across college and university levels.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills.
• Demonstrated willingness and ability to lead a multidisciplinary department offering doctoral and master’s degrees, as well as undergraduate minors.
• A sustained record of scholarship that includes involving students in research and other scholarly activities.
• Experience seeking or securing external or internal funding to support research, training, or clinical service activities.
• Ability and willingness to provide clinical supervision to students in the department’s training programs and clinic.

About Ball State University:

Ball State University is located in Muncie, Indiana, on a beautiful campus 55 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Ball State enjoys a close relationship with the City of Muncie, and many employees extol the virtues of living in this Midwestern college town of about 70,000 people. Institutionally, Ball State has established ambitious goals for its second century through its 2025–30 strategic plan, Destination 2040: Our Flight Path. We pledge to provide a premier educational experience for every student, to partner with the community to improve the lives of our neighbors, and to maintain a lifelong presence in the lives of our alumni. Ball State engages students in educational, research, and creative endeavors that empower our graduates to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives enriched by lifelong learning and service, while we enhance the economic, environmental, and social vitality of our community, our state, and our world.

The University serves more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students across seven academic colleges with more than 120 undergraduate programs. Ball State also offers more than 100 certificates and master’s, doctoral, and specialist degrees. Ball State is classified by the Carnegie Classifications as an R2: High Research Activity institution and holds Carnegie classifications for Community Engagement and Opportunity. Ball State engages students and faculty in the community through immersive learning, research, and health services.

Information about working at Ball State and relocating to East Central Indiana is available at bsu.edu/about/administrativeoffices/humanresources/jobs/working-at-ball-state.

About the College of Health:

Ball State University College of Health is proud to celebrate a decade of official college status alongside decades of enduring impact in shaping the future of healthcare. The College offers academic programs across the Departments of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling; Military Science; Nutrition and Health Science; Speech Pathology and Audiology; and Social Work, as well as the Schools of Nursing and Kinesiology. The college’s faculty and staff serve thousands of students and partner with regional communities for immersive learning and research. Our Health Professions Building opened in 2019 with 165,000 square feet and is LEED Gold certified.

Our Interprofessional Community Clinics offer a range of health, speech-language pathology, audiology, exercise, and mental health services. Last year, over 390 student clinicians supervised by 40 faculty practitioners delivered services to more than 2,400 community members, with more than 16,800 patient visits. In addition, students attended, hosted, or sponsored more than 466 community outreach events delivering health education and screenings to an estimated 2,668 people of all ages through the Clinics and the Healthy Lifestyle Center. Our faculty and students contribute to the evidence base. The college is grant-active. As of the start of this academic year (FY27), the college has 38 active grant awards, totaling over $7.8M. Our research footprint includes the academic departments and our centers and labs, including the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, the Personality and Psychopathology Lab, the Center for Substance Use Research and Community Initiatives, Human Performance Lab, and other research labs.

About the Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling:

The Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling offers predominantly graduate training at the doctoral and master’s levels with over 20 faculty and staff and over 110 students across the four graduate programs. The PhD program in Counseling Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association. At the master’s level, the Department offers degrees in Counseling, with concentrations in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Rehabilitation Counseling; Social Psychology; and Social Psychology and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Our Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs are accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC). The department also offers undergraduate minors in Counseling and in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, the latter in close affiliation with the Ball State Center for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Our faculty pursue scholarship across a broad range of areas, including the neuroscience of emotion, the assessment of psychopathology, help-seeking, multicultural and cross-cultural counseling, disability and rehabilitation, stigma, identity, sexual violence, community, and international peace and conflict. They include Fellows of the American Psychological Association and editors of peer-reviewed journals. Their research has also received external support from organizations such as the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Institute of Peace. The department also operates a unique opportunity for clinical training in the Counseling Practicum Clinic (CPC)within the College of Health’s Interprofessional Community Clinics, where students provide a range of supervised counseling services to children and adults in Muncie and the surrounding region.

Beyond the clinic, our students hold clinical graduate assistantships with community health partners, including IU Health and the federally qualified health centers Open Door Health Services and Jane Pauley Community Health Center. Students in our clinical mental health and counseling psychology programs also serve the region through field placements across the continuum of care, from inpatient units and medical centers to outpatient clinics, university counseling centers, and private practices.

About the Community:

Muncie, Indiana offers the welcoming atmosphere of a Midwestern college town, with a population of approximately 70,000, friendly neighborhoods, and a vibrant arts and cultural scene. Home to Ball State University, the city offers a variety of opportunities for entertainment, recreation, and community engagement. Residents can enjoy the beautiful gardens and exhibits at Minnetrista, explore the David Owsley Museum of Art, visit the Muncie Children’s Museum, or take advantage of the area’s parks, trails, and outdoor spaces. Learn more about living in Muncie here.

For those seeking the amenities of a larger city, Indianapolis is approximately 60 miles away, or about a 1-hour-and-10-minute drive, depending on traffic. Known as the Racing Capital of the World, Indianapolis offers a dynamic mix of professional sports, major events, acclaimed restaurants and breweries, cultural attractions, and distinctive neighborhoods. Its proximity provides convenient access to big-city entertainment while allowing residents to enjoy the welcoming community and relaxed pace of life in Muncie.

Application and Nomination Process:

All correspondence relating to the position of Chairperson, Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling at Ball State University should be directed in confidence to the University’s executive search consultant:

Erin House, Assistant Vice President

Scott Healy & Associates

erin@scotthealy.com

A complete application should include the following:

1. Letter of application describing your interest in the department, your leadership philosophy and qualifications for the position, and your relevant scholarly, teaching, and clinical experience
2. Updated CV

Note: Finalists will be asked to submit additional materials, which may include a description of their scholarship, evidence of teaching effectiveness, letters of reference, or verification of licensure status.

Applications received by December 4, 2026 will receive priority consideration. The search will remain open until the position is filled.

Ball State University is committed to the principles of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity in education and employment.  Further, the University is committed to the pursuit of excellence by prohibiting unlawful discrimination and providing equal opportunity to individuals without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, disability, genetic information, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, age, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected status.  This commitment enables the University to provide qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs on the basis of demonstrated ability without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program or job requirements involved.

The University assigns a high priority to the implementation of this equal opportunity policy to expand its efforts to guarantee equality of opportunity in employment.  

The University President affirms the commitment to equal opportunity.  All persons involved in the decision-making process, including members of faculty and other employee committees, shall act in a nondiscriminatory manner.  The Director of Employee Relations has been specifically designated to be responsible for overall compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding nondiscrimination, and with approval of the President, is authorized to make any necessary modifications to this policy for purposes of regulatory compliance.