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Job Description
Position Summary Charleston Southern University seeks a founding executive director fora permanent university-based Center for Christian Apologetics and Civil Engagement. The executive director will be a Baptist scholar andpublic intellectual who can build a high-impact, academically serious, student-forming, faculty-engaging, and publicly visible apologeticscenter. The center will utilize traditional Christian apologetics while also promoting civil discourse and constructive engagementwith the major academic fields of the university. Rather than functioning only as a lecture series or public platform, the center will alsohelp faculty and students develop and deploy apologetic arguments for Christianity from the intellectual, moral, cultural, and social goodsthat emerge when Christians bring the faith to bear faithfully within their disciplines. The executive director's primaryresponsibility will be catalytic academic and institutional leadership. The executive director's work will focus on building programs,producing durable intellectual resources, mentoring students, engaging faculty, and establishing a visible evangelical apologetics presencethat advances the mission of the university. Who is Charleston Southern University?
Our Mission:
Promoting Academic Excellence in a
Christian Environment Our Vision:
To be a Christian universitynationally recognized for integrating faith in learning, leading, and serving.
Our Work:
We deliver distinctly Christian,academically excellent liberal arts, professional, and graduate education by integrating faith in student learning, leadership development,and service opportunities. Our educational commitments include high-engagement learning, holistic student formation, pathway success, andprofessional readiness. Primary Responsibilities Provide strategic,academic, and public leadership for the Center for Christian Apologetics and Civil Engagement. Develop and implement the center'smission, programs, annual priorities, and long-term strategy. Build student-facing programs that form students in Christianapologetics, civil discourse, intellectual confidence, and faithful public witness. Engage faculty across the university indeveloping apologetic arguments and resources related to their academic disciplines. Create and oversee public programming,including lectures, forums, workshops, visiting scholar events, and church-facing apologetics events. Produce or coordinatedurable intellectual resources, including essays, lectures, videos, podcasts, curriculum materials, white papers, edited volumes, and otherapologetics resources. Represent the university publicly through speaking, writing, media engagement, conference participation,and relationships with churches, pastors, denominational leaders, and apologetics organizations. Support university advancementefforts related to the center by communicating the center's vision, impact, and strategic importance to donors and external partners. The executive director will hold a faculty appointment in the College of Christian Studies at an appropriate rank based on academicqualifications and experience and will teach one course per major semester in an area related to apologetics, theology, philosophy, publictheology, faith and culture, or another field connected to the center's mission. Work warmly and constructively with evangelicalsof multiple denominational traditions in a confessional Baptist university context, support the mission of the institution, and engagestudents, faculty, churches, pastors, donors, and the broader public with theological clarity and Christian charity. Perform otherduties as required. Qualifications RequiredQualifications A strong commitment to Christian Higher Education and Charleston Southern University's mission PhD in a field directly related to the work of the center, such as Christian apologetics, ethics, historical theology, New Testament orearly Christianity, philosophy, philosophy of religion, public theology, theology, or a closely related field A successfulcandidate will be able to affirm the university doctrinal statement as well as the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, the Chicago Statement onBiblical Inerrancy, and the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. A publication record demonstrating influence inareas such as apologetics, public theology, and civil engagement The candidate should possess a record of scholarly credibility,public communication, and evangelical leadership. Because the center is intended to carry institutional visibility, the director should haverecognizable standing beyond the local university context, whether through publications, speaking, podcasting, video content, denominationalleadership, academic networks, or apologetics ministry. Preferred Qualifications Demonstrated success in strategic planning and program development Record of successful external engagement andpartnership development Five or more years serving in a Christian higher education setting Desired Attributes A servant leadership philosophy marked by genuine Christlikeness Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust across stakeholders A collaborative mindset that valuesinterdisciplinary engagement Strategic thinking balanced with operational effectiveness Commitment to advancing themission and growth of the Center for Christian Apologetics and Civil Engagement
