Career Center

Position Overview
The Program Coordinator for Research Support and Graduate Recruitment assists with research services and coordinates research initiatives, internal funding competitions, and research events and analyzes and generates research data and reports. As such, the position works closely with the Associate Dean for Research. In addition, the position monitors the coordination of graduate program recruitment and admission services including scholarships and fellowships and supports graduate program units and outreach.

The School of Engineering (SoE) has over 600 graduate students, with a goal for continued growth to 800 students. There are 26 graduate degrees in five departments and one program. The Dean's Office is a service-oriented organization with students, faculty, alumni, and industry employers, as well as the University of Kansas, as constituents. This position must know and understand the requirements of all graduate degree programs within the School for use in graduate student recruitment. This position provides enrollment management efforts for both domestic and international graduate students and applicants. This includes working with the departments to provide support of applicant generation, inquiry cultivation, and pre-and post-admit communications. This position works closely with the Student Program Manager. This in-person position reports to the Associate Dean for Graduate and Online Education.
Job Description
Research Services Support (45%)

• Coordinate the internal funding competitions, track and report use of these awards to secure future external funding.
• Coordinate research initiatives, and report participation in the initiatives and analyze data to determine their effectiveness.
• Coordinate meetings and School research events, such as junior faculty mentoring lunches, research visioning events, and proposal writing workshops, in consultation with the SoE event planner.
• Coordinate the Undergraduate Research Fellows (UGRF) Program, develop the programming, and stimulate external competitive graduate fellowship applications.
• Analyze proposal, award, and research expenditure data supplied by the KU Office of Research and provide the data and analysis to the SoE and the departments on a regular basis.
• Provide help preparing research reports, analyzing documents, scheduling, organizing meetings, and supervising undergraduate student assistants.
• Manage marketing campaigns to promote programs and faculty, staff, student, and alumni accomplishments and manage, update, and create web content for the research and graduate program sections of the SoE website in collaboration with the School's public relations and web development staff.
• Coordinate the Faculty Research Portfolio in collaboration with the School's public relations and web development staff.

Graduate Program Recruitment and Admission (35%)

• Work with the Associate Dean for Graduate and Online Education and departments to develop a strategic plan to recruit and support domestic and international graduate students.
• Serve as the point of contact for graduate student recruitment. Develop and organize SoE recruitment events, in support of departments, with a commitment to academic excellence; coordinate a School presence at local, regional, and national prospective student events, which may include some travel.
• Organize an SoE Open House to recruit prospective graduate students and advertise it regionally.
• Work with departments to manage travel arrangements for graduate student recruiting.
• Organize a regional undergraduate research conference, to expand recruitment efforts.
• Advertise undergraduate research opportunities, including Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs, to expand recruitment efforts.
• Collaborate with the Engineering Career Center and faculty to promote graduate school as a post-graduation opportunity.
• Serve as the Liaison for recruitment during the application process. Coordinate the admissions process and work with departments on communication to prospective and admitted students.
• Develop and organize orientation programing for new graduate students working with the Program Coordinator for Graduate Academic Services.
• Co-advise the Graduate Engineering Association (GEA) Graduate Ambassador Fellowship program, which includes selecting, training, and supervising fellows in collaboration with the Student Program Manager.

Graduate Student Success and Community Building and Online Education (10%)

• Coordinate the graduate student professional development series, develop the professional development programming, and stimulate external competitive graduate fellowship applications.
• Coordinate community building events for graduate students in collaboration with the Student Program Manager.
• Work with departments to prepare the paperwork for potential online graduate degrees.

Other Duties as Assigned (10%)

• Other duties as assigned by the Associate Dean for Research or the Associate Dean for Graduate and Online Education.

Position Requirements

1. A few work-related trips and occasional local weekend or evening events are required for this position.

Required Qualifications

1. Bachelor's degree with one year of relevant experience OR Master's degree.
2. Excellent communication skills as demonstrated in application materials and previous work experience.
3. Experience working independently, as part of a team, and managing multiple projects and deadlines as demonstrated in application materials.
4. Experience with data analysis as demonstrated in application materials.

This position requires a formal degree in the cited discipline area(s) to ensure that candidates have advanced knowledge, analytical skills and professional competencies necessary to perform the duties of the position. The level of degree is commonly recognized as the standard qualification for similar roles in the public and private sector, ensuring that the university remains competitive with industry aligned practices, enhances collaboration with external partners, and supports the delivery of services and programs that meet professional and market-driven expectations.
Preferred Qualifications

1. Master's degree and one year related experience
2. Experience working with STEM faculty, staff, and/or students.
3. Experience in building a recruiting and marketing plan and carrying it to completion.
4. Experience building relationships, both within an organization and in working with external constituents.
5. Experience with university-level student recruitment.

Contact Information to Applicants
Suzanne Shontz
shontz@ku.edu
Additional Candidate Instruction
In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:

• cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications
• resume
• list of three professional references

Application review begins Monday, May 11, 2026. In order to ensure consideration, please apply prior to that date.

Advertised Salary Range
$51,000
Application Review Begins
11-May-2026
Anticipated Start Date
25-May-2026
Primary Campus
University of Kansas Lawrence Campus
FTE
1.0
Reg/Temp
Regular
FLSA Status
Administrative
Employee Class
U-Unclassified Professional Staff
Work Location Assignment
On-Site
Disclaimer
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY.