Dean of the School of Science

Dean of the School of Science

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), one of the nation’s preeminent public institutions, seeks a visionary academic leader and experienced administrator with a strong record as a teacher-scholar for the position of Dean of the School of Science. The new dean will assume office in the summer of 2022.

TCNJ has earned national recognition for its commitment to excellence and is consistently rated as the No. 1 public school in the north by U.S. News & World Report. TCNJ offers academically talented students an engaging living-learning undergraduate education and a rewarding residential experience, small classes, and a prestigious faculty. TCNJ also offers a number of distinctive graduate programs. A strong liberal learning core forms the foundation for a wealth of degree programs offered through TCNJ’s seven academic schools: The Arts and Communication; Business; Education; Engineering; Humanities and Social Sciences; Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science; and Science. An additional host of nearly 20 centers and institutes fosters interdisciplinary work, engagement with the local community, and global outreach. The curriculum is enriched by an award-winning First-Year Experience, first-year orientation programs, and extensive opportunities for study abroad.

TCNJ enrolls approximately 7,400 students. Its 6,790 undergraduate students are enrolled in majors in over 50 liberal arts and professional programs. Approximately 610 graduate students are enrolled in 47 targeted master-level and certificate programs. The college’s 355 full-time faculty members are dedicated teacher-scholars, with 90 percent having earned the highest degree in their respective areas. Strong curricular and co-curricular programming have helped foster a freshman-to-sophomore retention rate of 93 percent, a 4-year graduation rate of 75 percent (7th highest in the U.S. for public institutions), and a 6-year graduation rate of 86 percent (among the highest in the country). Evidencing a diverse and inclusive environment, 28 percent of full-time instructional faculty members and 22 percent of TCNJ’s students are from underrepresented groups. TCNJ’s picturesque Georgian colonial campus is located in suburban Ewing, New Jersey. Ewing is approximately five miles from Trenton, the state capital, 10 miles from Princeton, 45 minutes from Philadelphia, and 90 minutes from New York City.

TCNJ’s School of Science provides a challenging, high-quality education to more than 1,200 undergraduate students studying across the sciences and mathematics and in interdisciplinary fields. TCNJ’s scientific community is both academically rigorous and personally supportive, emphasizing a deep level of engagement, a signature research-intensive curriculum, and close faculty mentorship. Eighty-two outstanding faculty members and 19 dedicated full-time staff members deliver rigorous programs in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics.

The School of Science has been awarded nearly $30 million in external grants to support mission-central efforts, with $8.1 million awarded in the last five years. TCNJ’s new STEM Complex, completed in 2020, underscores the college’s commitment to fully integrating students into the knowledge-sharing environments of 21st-century science, technology, engineering, and math. This nearly $100 million investment encompassed a new 89,000-square-foot STEM Building supporting interdisciplinary faculty-student collaborative research, a new 26,300-square-foot Chemistry addition, and a new glass-enclosed forum, as well as renovations of the existing Biology Building, Chemistry Building, Physics & Mathematics Building, and Engineering Building (Armstrong Hall).

The Dean of the School of Science reports to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and is a valued member of the Deans’ Council. The dean oversees an operating budget of $15.7 million and works closely with the assistant dean, department chairs, and administrative staff members to strengthen teaching and scholarship in every program. The dean also works in partnership with dedicated staff in the Development Office on fundraising initiatives. The dean oversees a complex portfolio of responsibilities.  

The dean will be a distinguished scientist and educator with a national perspective, setting high but attainable standards for pedagogy and scholarship; fostering curricular integration, development, and innovation; and guiding faculty and departments in institutional and program accreditation and assessment. The successful candidate will bring significant academic administrative experience appropriate to the size and complexity of TCNJ. The successful candidate will possess an earned doctorate in a discipline appropriate to the School of Science as well as a distinguished record of teaching and scholarship commensurate with the rank of professor status at TCNJ. 

Detailed information about the position, leadership agenda, and application process are available in the search profile here. The Search Committee will begin reviewing candidates in Fall 2021 and will continue until the position is filled. Nominations and applications should be submitted electronically as soon as possible to:

Julie E. Tea, Managing Director
Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Managing Director
Julie Williams-Krishnan, Senior Associate
Storbeck Search

TCNJScienceDean@storbecksearch.com

To enrich education through diversity, TCNJ is an Equal Opportunity Employer. TCNJ has a strong commitment to inclusive excellence, to achieve diversity among faculty, staff, and students, and to creating a climate that is inclusive and respectful to everyone on campus. We strongly encourage a host of diverse, intersectional populations and cultures to apply including, but not limited to, identities based on race, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, and veteran status. The College of New Jersey does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, sex/gender (including pregnancy), marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, familial status, religion, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or disability.