Posted: 06-May-26
Location: Alpine, Texas
Type: Full Time
Salary: 100,000-125,000
Preferred Education:
Internal Number: 998876
Synthesis
The Center for Big Bend Studies (CBBS), the research arm of the anthropology program at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, seeks a candidate for director who will build the program, support faculty research, maintain and grow connections with landowners and the local community, and raise funds. In addition to these long-term initiatives and responsibilities, the director will conduct research, teach minimal coursework (generally one class/semester), and oversee archaeological compliance initiatives conducted by CBBS staff for fundraising and student training purposes. As a component of the anthropology program, the directorship is open to experienced administrative personnel with a background in anthropology, broadly.
Responsibilities
As the primary ambassador for the CBBS, the Director is charged with maintaining CBBS as an important asset for the University internally and for surrounding regional communities, as well as securing financial resources that will sustain its operations and advance its special objectives. The Director will plan and direct the activities of the Center, including interdisciplinary research projects, inter-agency contractual projects, public and scientific publications, conferences, public and scientific lectures, seminars, landowner and other public outreach, field trips, and workshops.
• Direct, or cause to be directed, a bi-annual summer archaeological field school.
• Interact with academic departments, archives, and other support areas of the University.
• Fundraising related primarily to endowments, operations, research projects, and public outreach.
• Serve as liaison between the University, the regional community, and sister organizations of the borderlands in the U.S. and Mexico.
• Plan, design, and direct the cultural heritage programs within the Texas Big Bend Archeological Initiative.
• Responsible for personal safety and the safety of others; must exercise due caution and practice safe work habits at all times.
• The Director also ensures that the work of the CBBS supports the overarching University mission and strategic plan; that it is a strong partner to other University departments, centers, and institutes; and that its practices are consistent with SRSU and the Texas State University System policies. The Director will help grow the Master of Arts in Anthropology program within the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
Financial Management:
• Work with the SRSU Business Office to direct and supervise CBBS finances by establishing, overseeing and managing operational and program budgets and expenditures ensuring the integrity and completeness of financial information systems, processes, internal controls, and reporting.
• Make certain that timely and accurate financial reporting and program outcomes are readily provided to university leadership and key staff members regularly, as requested.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, local laws and regulations.
Fundraising:
• Partner with the SRSU Advancement Office and Associate Provost of Research and Development to design and execute coordinated fundraising strategies that encompass general operating and program support from individuals, foundations, corporations and government agencies to meet the mission of CBBS.
• Be able to communicate well with donors, clients, partners, elected officials, and other stakeholders.
• Serve as an Ex Officio Member of the Friends of the Center for Big Bend Studies.
Marketing & Communications:
• Help guide the organization's marketing by providing effective and regular communications to internal and external stakeholders.
• The Director is the principal spokesperson for CBBS and must proactively reinforce and articulate the mission internally and externally with all constituents.
• Build and maintain effective ongoing, transparent communication with colleagues, students, and faculty across university departments.
• Explore partnership initiatives that are consistent with CBBS's mission, vision, and values.
Faculty/Staff Leadership:
• Provide effective leadership to ensure CBBS faculty, staff, and students are equipped and motivated to successfully perform their responsibilities, consistent with the Center and SRSU missions.
• Manage faculty/staff in adherence with sound human resources practices and guidelines and in accordance with SRSU policies.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
• Must be highly self-motivated and able to work independently while also serving as an effective team leader and team player.
• Must be able to carry out supervisory responsibilities of a team in accordance with the CBBS's and the University's policies and applicable federal, state and municipal laws.
• Recruit and train team members to build, motivate, and retain a high-performing team.
Other Information
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
It is the policy of Sul Ross State University to provide equal employment opportunity for all persons in accordance with their individual, job related qualifications and without consideration of race, creed, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status and ancestry. Equal employment opportunities shall be afforded in all personnel actions or decisions including, but not necessarily limited to, recruitment, hiring, training, upgrading, promotion, demotion, termination and salary. Retaliation is prohibited against a person who opposes a discriminatory practice, files a charge, testifies, assists or participates in an investigative proceeding or hearing.
Notice of Availability of the Annual Security & Fire Safety Report
The Annual Security & Fire Safety Report is available online at https://srinfo.sulross.edu/udps/
The report contains information regarding campus safety and security including topics such as: campus law enforcement authority; crime reporting policies; campus alerts (Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications); fire safety policies and procedures; programs to prevent dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking; the procedures the University will follow when one of these crimes is reported; and other matters of importance related to security on campus. The report also contains information about crime statistics for the three most recent calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on campus; in On-Campus Student Housing Facilities; in Non-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the University or a recognized student organization; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus. The report also contains fire statistics for any fires occurring in an On-Campus Student Housing Facility during the three most recent calendar years.
A paper copy of the report will be provided upon request. If you would like to receive a paper copy, you can contact the Office of Student Life, located on the Alpine Campus in the Morgan University Center, Room 211 or you can request that a copy be mailed to you by calling 432-837-8424 or emailing stulife@sulross.edu
About SRSU
Our campuses span a fascinating part of Texas-Alpine, in the heart of the beautiful Big Bend area, and Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Uvalde along the vibrant, bicultural Texas/Mexico border.
What you've heard is true - there is something very special about the areas we serve in our great State, and Sul Ross State University is vital to the continued growth and progress of our students and the communities we serve.
Sul Ross State provides students with the education they need to translate their passions into a fulfilling career. This life-changing experience has a multi-generational impact, transforming the lives of our students, their families and positively impacting the communities in which they reside. We value learning and strive to provide high quality education in a welcoming, supportive environment. We take pride in the fact that we serve a diverse population including many first-generation college students as well as non-traditional students, international students, student-athletes and graduate students.
From teaching, coaching and law enforcement, to science, ranch management and the Fine Arts, SRSU offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Known as the Frontier University of Texas, Sul Ross encourages each student to explore their own frontiers and to exceed their educational, personal and professional goals. For more information about how we're strategizing for the future, I invite you to visit www.sulross.edu.
About CBBS
Located in far west Texas, the Center for Big Bend Studies {CBBS) was established by Sul Ross State University (SRSU) in 1987. The Center promotes archaeological and historical research in the Greater Big Bend region of Texas and northern Mexico, and provides educational opportunities to university students, the public, and outside researchers. Our mission is to recover, protect, and share this region's rich cultural legacy dating back to the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The Center historically hosts an annual conference where research findings are shared and also publishes the Journal of Big Bend Studies.
Nestled in the high-desert valleys of the Chihuahuan Desert at 4,500 feet elevation, SRSU in Alpine, Texas, offers unique and unparalleled opportunities for a wide range of cultural research. Surrounded by a vast 45,000-square-mile borderland drawing from northern Mexico and far West Texas, the campus and its expansive holdings-including the 17,000-acre Faskin Ranch 110 miles to the west, and the newly acquired 9,269-acre Christmas Mountains tract just an hour south-encompasses millennia of Indigenous adaptations, Spanish legacies, and modern border dynamics. Archaeological sites link the region's human past with broader traditions in the North American Southwest, including Basketmaker type hunter-forager-farmer technologies, Puebloan pottery, and Paquime outlier communities on the Rio Grande. Dry caves preserve remarkable perishable materials not available in most regions, much of which remains to be studied. Wildlife like deer, antelope, wild turkey, javelina, fox, and raptors not only enhance outdoor classrooms but also echo the faunal motifs in ancient rock art panels dotting nearby canyons, offering hands-on opportunities for zooarchaeological studies and site surveys.
This rugged expanse, flanked by two national parks, one national historic site, three state parks, one state historical site, and three wildlife management areas, plus millions of private acres reliant on sustainable land stewardship, forms a dynamic repository of cultural heritage. Here, nearly every geological formation, from volcanic flows to ancient seabeds, contains archaeological materials, from Paleoindian lithic scatters to Late Prehistoric pithouse villages with Casas Grandes connections, enabling fieldwork opportunities in formal excavation, pedestrian survey, rock art documentation, NAGPRA compliance, and GIS mapping. In collaboration with the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Department), CBBS provides students with unique opportunities to work closely with faculty on research projects in and adjacent to the region. The CBBS and Department recently launched a new two-year Master of Arts in Anthropology degree to provide an avenue for interested students to conduct research in the Big Bend and pursue other topics of interest, such as experimental archaeology, faunal analysis, and perishable artifact analysis using advanced analytical methods.
