Executive Director of Bioethics

The University of California Irvine (UCI) is seeking a faculty appointee to lead our Bioethics program.  The UCI College of Health Sciences (Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Population Health, and Pharmaceutical Sciences) is establishing a Bioethics Program that will build upon the current work and strong collaborations already developed between the Medical Ethics Program (UCI Health & School of Medicine), The Program in Medical Humanities & Arts (School of Medicine), and the Medical Humanities Initiative (Schools of Medicine, Arts, and Humanities).

Current Medical Ethics Program activities include:

• The Health Ethics Committee and Ethics Consultation Service at UCI Health

• An annual Clinical Ethics Symposium

• The Annual Tobis Endowed Lecture in Bioethics

• A monthly Ethics Journal Club

• Curriculum development for the School of Medicine

• Other educational events (lectures, public debates, panel discussions, film screenings).

UCI also has a research ethics consult service within the CTSA-supported Institute for Clinical & Translational Science (ICTS). Other scholarly and community outreach bioethics activities at UCI are found in the Stem Cell Research Center, the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the School of Humanities, the School of Social Sciences, and the School of Law.

The Bioethics Program will build upon this current foundation and coordinate and expand our activities through the development of creative research in bioethics, the establishment of fellowship programs in bioethics, and the curation of interdisciplinary programs linking various institutional stakeholders at UCI.   By its nature bioethics is interdisciplinary, and thus should contribute to the aim of integrating clinical, teaching, research, new faculty recruitment, and community engagement activities across the health sciences. If today’s astonishing and rapid advancements in biomedical technologies are to serve the good of individual patients and contribute to the common good, they require rigorous and deep investigation and reflection from ethics and related disciplines. By engaging in this critical work the Bioethics Program will address important needs of University and our community.

The Executive Director of Bioethics will have responsibilities in education, research, and collaborative leadership.  Specifically, the Executive Director will:

• Oversee a medical ethics director who will conduct and grow the Ethics Committee and Ethics Consultation Service at UCI Health , expand educational programming for hospital faculty and staff, and coordinate hospital bioethics policy development and review;

• Oversee and expand clinical bioethics teaching models for students and interested clinicians;

• Oversee and expand research ethics education for researchers including an expanded role for research ethics consultation services;

• Work collaboratively with the leadership of the campus Medical Humanities Initiative, overseeing the bioethics research component of this program;

• Develop appropriate bioethics fellowship programs; and

• Develop a core bioethics research agenda and project portfolio.

The Executive Director is expected to have an earned doctoral degree and qualifications for a faculty appointment in an appropriate health sciences academic department.   The tenured appointment will be at the level of Professor or possibly Associate Professor.  The Executive Director must be able to work collaboratively across all disciplines and programs in the College of Health Sciences, the UCI Health medical center and clinics, and the UCI campus to support the overall mission of bioethics.

The Executive Director will be a recognized and renowned national/international scholar and thought leader in bioethics who will bring and maintain an established record of personal scholarship and teaching.  The appointee will be expected to provide programmatic leadership across all four Schools of the UCI College of Health Sciences and collaborate in areas of mutual bioethics interest with other campus entities.

Application materials should include a curriculum vitae, a one-page statement of interest, a description of scholarly activities and interests, and a separate statement that addresses past and/or potential contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion.  Applicants may complete an online application profile and upload their CV and application materials electronically: https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/apply/JPF04256.

The review of nominations and applications will commence on September 1, 2018 and continue until an appointment is made. The desired appointment date is in academic year 2019-2020.

 

UCI AND THE SUSAN AND HENRY SAMUELI COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

The University of California, Irvine, was founded in 1965 and is the youngest member of the Association of American Universities. UC Irvine has more than 30,000 students, offers 192 degree programs and is located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities.

UC Irvine Health comprises UC Irvine’s clinical, medical education, and related research enterprises. It includes the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the UC Irvine Medical Center and community clinics.  UC Irvine Health plays a significant role in improving the health and well-being of individuals and families in Orange County, particularly vulnerable members of underserved populations.  In 2009, UC Irvine Health opened UC Irvine Douglas Hospital, a modern facility for providing world-class medical care, conducting cutting-edge medical research, and training future and practicing physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. The UCI Medical Center is ranked among the nation’s best hospitals for over 16 years. Each year, the school educates more than 400 medical students and trains more than 600 residents and fellows at UC Irvine Medical Center and affiliated institutions.  It is also home to the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of only 41 National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S.  To learn about UC Irvine Health’s strategic plan and vision for the future: www.strategicplan.health.uci.edu

The Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences (CoHS) is a vital and evolving part of UCI. The CoHS will ultimately include the following UCI schools and research entities: the School of Medicine, the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, the School of Population Health (expanded from the current Program in Public Health), the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (which will be built from the existing departments of pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacology), the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, and the new Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute.. In September 2017, UCI received the largest gift in its history: $200 million from Susan and Henry Samueli, longtime campus supporters, to name the college of health sciences focused on interdisciplinary integrative health. The far-reaching donation—the seventh-largest to a single public university—positions UCI as a bold, new leader in population health, patient care, education, and research.  The Samueli gift will provide $50 million toward construction of a facility to house the college, $5 million for state-of-the-art technology and labs and an endowment of $145 million for faculty positions

For more information about the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, please visit the website: www.cohs.uci.edu

The University of California, Irvine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.