Associate Director

Associate Director of Creative Writing

Program Description

The Creative Writing Program (CWP) at Stanford University seeks an Associate Director (AD) who will have broad administrative and educational responsibilities, with a particular focus on undergraduate education.

Stanford’s Creative Writing Program is one of the oldest and most prominent programs in the field. Its faculty maintain significant artistic careers, while remaining deeply committed to graduate and undergraduate teaching. In addition, each year, CWP offers ten successful applicants (five in fiction and five in poetry) the chance to participate in the two-year, graduate-level Stegner Fellowship, which has produced many celebrated writers since it was founded in 1946.

CWP also plays a significant role in undergraduate education at Stanford, with more than 1,000 undergraduates taking a creative writing class each year. The CWP is housed institutionally within the English Department, and students may take a rigorously structured English major with a Creative Writing emphasis or minor in Creative Writing, which is currently the most popular minor at Stanford.

The majority of our undergraduate teaching is done by Jones Lecturers, a group of around 20 former Stegner Fellows who are appointed to one-year terms. While in the past these appointments were sometimes renewed for many years, a recent restructuring has returned the Jones Lectureship to its original design as a time-limited position, capped at a maximum of five years.

During this time Jones Lecturers will teach a variety of undergraduate creative writing courses, including some of their own design, while continuing to write and publish creative work. Through its lively community of working writers, intensive workshop-style classes, and interaction with renowned visiting authors, CWP seeks to model what a dedicated and successful literary career looks like, and to provide ongoing artistic and professional mentorship to our undergraduates, Stegner Fellows, and Jones Lecturers.

Overview of Associate Director position

This appointment is ideal for a working writer who is also a skilled educator and administrator, and experienced at training, supervising, and mentoring teachers in a college or university Creative Writing program.

The AD will report directly to the program’s Faculty Director and be expected to work closely with both the Faculty Director and Administrative Director on day-to-day administration. Among other duties, the AD will be responsible for supervising, evaluating, and mentoring our rotating corps of

Jones Lecturers, including those new to the program each year, and those coming to the end of their term, with many preparing to enter the academic job market.

As a key member of our undergraduate teaching staff, the AD will also teach creative writing courses (load to be determined by program need); evaluate, refine, and expand the undergraduate curriculum; and continue working and publishing as a creative writer.

Candidates for this position should hold a terminal degree in the field (Ph.D. or MFA) and have prior experience in Creative Writing program administration. The successful candidate will have published at least one book of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction, with at least one other book-length project underway. They should also have at least three years’ experience teaching creative writing classes at the undergraduate level, with graduate teaching experience welcome but not required.

To be successful in this role, the AD will need to demonstrate excellent oral, written, and analytical skills; display tactful, collaborative, and diplomatic skills in a professional context; and have the ability to oversee and provide direction to staff, fellows, and lecturers in CWP. The AD’s duties may include from time to time working extended hours, evenings or weekends, traveling locally, and occasional overnight travel. Other duties may also be assigned.