Director of Faculty Development
The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs is conducting an internal search for the Director of Faculty Development.
The Director of Faculty Development provides vision, leadership, and coordination for institution-wide faculty development initiatives that support faculty success across the career lifespan.
The anticipated start date for the new director is May 18, 2026.
To find out more about this opportunity, please view the position description:
Candidate Interviews and Open Forums
Dates and times for candidate interviews and open forums are listed below. Each forum will include a 10-15 minute presentation by the candidate, followed by a question-and-answer session with attendees.
All participants will be asked to complete a feedback survey for each finalist. Your perspectives and input are an important part of this search process, and we appreciate your participation.
Recordings will be available following each candidate forum.
Tuesday May 5, 2026
Dr. Casey (Carolyn) Ozaki
Casey (Carolyn) Ozaki is a Professor of Higher Education in the College of Education and Human Development, where she has served for 17 years. Her expertise and teaching centers on teaching, learning, and assessment in higher education, with a particular focus on adult learners, college student retention, and diversity and equity. Dr. Ozaki’s scholarly work contributes to the literature on faculty experiences and faculty development, with an emphasis on advancing inclusive and effective teaching practices in her co-edited multi-volume works, Teaching and Learning for Social Justice and Equity in Education.
Dr. Ozaki has also held leadership roles as department chair for the Department of Education, Health, and Behavior Studies, and currently for the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Practice. In addition, she served for two years as a Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence with TTaDA. In this role, she collaborated with faculty, staff, and academic and co-curricular units across the institution. In this role, I advocated for and delivered professional development focused on building awareness and advancing the skills needed to create more inclusive teaching, learning, and work environments at the University of North Dakota.
| Date | Time | Interview Group | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday May 5, 2026 | 9-9:45 a.m. | Meet with Faculty Affairs Team | O'Kelly 8A |
| 11:45 p.m. | Meet with Faculty Affairs Committee & FIDC | O'Kelly 323 | |
| 2:30-3:15 p.m. | Open Forum: Campus Invited |
O'Kelly 343 or virtual Feedback form: Opens 05/05 8 a.m.; closes 05/06 11:45 p.m. |
|
| 3:30-4:15 p.m. | Meet with TTaDA Leadership |
O'Kelly 323 |
Thursday May 7, 2026
Dr. Liz Legerski
Dr. Liz Legerski is an Associate Professor and Graduate Director for the Department of Sociology at the University of North Dakota who will advance to Full Professor Fall 2026. A first-generation college graduate, she earned her B.S. and M.S. in Sociology at Brigham Young University and her Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. She has been at UND since 2010, teaching courses such as social inequality, social movements, social policy, and statistics. Her research interests include exploring gender issues and aspects of sexual harassment and interpersonal violence using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Her work has been published in journals such as Social Forces, Gender & Society, Sex Roles, the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
While at UND she has served in a variety of roles, including as Chair of the University Senate (2020-2021), as Secretary of the NDUS Council of College Faculties (2019-2020), and as the Faculty Advisor to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (2020-2022). Her service also includes experience with faculty development and mentoring at the individual and university level, including as Co-Facilitator of the Alice T. Clark (ATC) Second Year Mentoring Program (2022-2023, 2024-present) and as an ATC mentor for six first-year faculty in the Social Work, Psychology, Languages, and Chemistry departments. She has also served on teaching and service panels for the ATC program, at new faculty orientation, and for TTaDA. For these efforts, she has received the Robert O. & Marcia B. Kelley Award for Excellence in Collaborative Governance (2026), the Lydia & Arthur Saiki Faculty Award for Excellence in Service (2022) and the Itterman Faculty Professional Development Award (2021).
| Date | Time | Interview Group | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday May 7, 2026 | 9-9:45 a.m. | Meet with Faculty Affairs Team | O'Kelly 8A |
| 11-11:45 a.m. | Meet with TTaDA Leadership Team | O'Kelly 323 | |
| 1-1:45 p.m. | Meet with Faculty Affairs Committee and FIDC | O'Kelly 323 | |
| 2-2:45 p.m. | Open Forum: Campus Invited |
O'Kelly 343 or virtual Feedback form: Opens 05/07 8 a.m.; closes 05/08 11:45 p.m. |
Search Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 16-20 | Search Committee meets to finalize position description |
| Week of March 23 | Position posted internally for two weeks |
| Week of April 13 | Search Committee meets to identify semifinalists |
| Week of April 20 | Semifinalist Interviews |
| Week of April 27 | Finalists Announced |
| Week of May 4 | Finalist campus interviews and recommendations submitted to VPFA |
| Week of May 11 | Director of Faculty Development is announced |
Search Committee
- Daphne Pedersen, Chair, Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
- Bo Liang, Assistant Professor, School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
- Stephanie Christian, Department Chair, Nursing
- Daniel Owens, Senior Lecturer, Economics & Finance
- Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz, Associate Professor, Education, Health & Behavior Studies
- Alexandra Sickler, Professor, School of Law
- Anna Kinney, AI Instructional Manager, TTaDA
- Becca Bergee, HR Support, Director of Human Resources for Academic Affairs
- Katie Barta, Administrative Support, Faculty Affairs Specialist