Director, Language and Culture Center (Kunshan, China)
Duke Kunshan University (DKU) invites faculty candidates to apply for the position of Director of the Language and Culture Center. The successful candidate must be able to obtain tenure at DKU. We are open with regard to candidate’s academic expertise, but are seeking especially candidates with a strong academic background in Chinese language instruction or second-language English writing. Regardless of the candidate’s academic qualifications, the successful candidate must have previous experience in China and demonstrate significant experience as an academic administrator. We strongly prefer that candidates have obtained tenure at their current institution but are open to candidates nearing promotion.
In order to meet Chinese visa requirements, prior to the position start date international (non-Chinese) candidates must have worked full-time (work experience obtained while studying is not considered as full-time work experience) for at least two years in a relevant area (including post-doctoral work) after receiving their Bachelor’s degree, or begin their appointment at DKU within 12 months of obtaining their master’s degree/Ph.D. and without having work experience between graduation date on master’s degree diploma/Ph.D. diploma and position start date.
DKU is a collaborative partnership of Duke University, Wuhan University and the Municipality of Kunshan, China (https://dukekunshan.edu.cn/). Our campus provides an innovative and robustly interdisciplinary undergraduate liberal arts experience to a student body that will number 2200 students and 200+ faculty, with an acceptance rate of <8% and a student body represented by over 60 countries. We also offer a discrete number of Masters level graduate programs. The DKU pedagogical model draws on the best of Duke’s educational experience and resources to reimagine undergraduate instruction on an intimate campus setting.
Similar to the best liberal arts colleges in the United States, DKU values dedication to innovative teaching excellence in a liberal arts environment, as well as a strong commitment to successful scholarly engagement and research. This includes research with undergraduate students. As a whole, the Duke Kunshan faculty will have strong commitments to teaching and research, and outstanding quality in both areas will be highly valued.
DKU’s Language and Culture Center is staffed by approximately 40 full-time faculty members and serves as the center of Chinese language learning, intercultural exchange, and English writing and academic communication at DKU. Its core mission is to offer excellent instruction in Chinese language and English for Academic Purposes to our diverse undergraduate and graduate student bodies. The LCC also offers a range of courses in written and oral communication and other modern second languages and houses the Writing and Language Studio (WLS), which offers 1:1 writing and language learning consultations to members of the DKU community.
The Director of the LCC reports to the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and is responsible for supervising all faculty within the unit, superintending curriculum development, planning course offerings, overseeing the WLS, and participating in the strategic development of the LCC and Duke Kunshan University. Ongoing and significant collaboration with colleagues at Duke University is expected.
Candidates must hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent in a relevant field. Research experience at a postdoctoral level (or greater) and teaching experience are required, and experience working in an international and interdisciplinary setting is strongly preferred. The successful candidate will have previous experience as department chair, unit head, or equivalent academic administrative experience. They should exhibit superior leadership capacity. Applicants should provide a cover letter including a clear statement of the candidate’s specific interest in DKU and outlining the depth of their academic and administrative experience, a curriculum vitae, a research statement, a teaching statement, and three reference letters. All materials should be submitted through Academic Jobs Online:https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30570. The search committee also invites and encourages letters of nomination for potential candidates. Nominations and questions about the positions may be sent to wbp6@duke.edu using the subject “LCC Director” as the subject line. Priority will be given to applications received by October 30, 2025; we will accept applications until the positions are filled.
The DKU campus is 37 miles west of Shanghai in Kunshan and is connected to Shanghai via an 18-minute high-speed train and a subway-light rail train system. DKU provides internationally competitive compensation, housing allowance, child education benefits (for applicable faculty positions), and a discretionary fund or start-up package.
