DEAN

DEAN

The Graduate School

Augusta University (AU) is seeking a dynamic academic leader to serve as its next Dean of The Graduate School (TGS). This position reports directly to the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and is a key member of the academic leadership team.

 

THE UNIVERSITY AND GRADUATE SCHOOL

 

Founded in 1828 and located in Augusta, Georgia, Augusta University is a public research university and medical center dedicated to training the next generation of innovators, leaders and health care providers. Home to four campuses in Augusta and various satellite locations across Georgia, Augusta University is at the forefront of groundbreaking research focused on improving and enriching the human experience.

 

Offering undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences, business and education as well as a full range of graduate programs and hands-on clinical research opportunities, Augusta University is Georgia’s innovation center for education and health care. The combination of nationally ranked business and nursing schools as well as the state’s flagship public medical school and only dental school makes Augusta University a destination of choice for the students of today and the leaders of tomorrow.

 

Home to the Medical College of Georgia, the nation’s ninth-largest and 13th-oldest medical school, the University’s Health Sciences Campus is at the forefront of health care innovation. Located in beautiful downtown Augusta and housing the state’s largest College of Nursing, the comprehensive College of Allied Health Sciences, The Graduate School, The Dental College of Georgia, and the Health Sciences Campus is also home to the state’s only public academic medical center.

 

Built in and around a former United States arsenal, the historic Summerville Campus is home to the university’s liberal arts curriculum. In the shade of ancient trees, professors from the Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the nationally ranked James M. Hull College of Business; the College of Education; and the College of Science and Mathematics prepare students for a lifetime of critical thinking, creativity and entrepreneurial success.

 

Nestled along the Savannah River, the Riverfront Campus is located in Augusta's growing cybersecurity corridor and houses the state-owned Georgia Cyber Center, a state-of-the-art cyber center comprised of the university's School of Computer and Cyber Sciences, a cutting-edge cyber range, a 340-seat auditorium, secure briefing space, incubator space for innovation and entrepreneurship, and classrooms; as well as proximity to industry professionals and innovative start-ups.

 

 

Currently, The Graduate School offers over 45 graduate degree and advanced certificate programs. The wide range of doctoral, specialist and master’s degree programs as well as graduate certificate programs offered provide outstanding training, research, clinical and educational opportunities. By offering online or hybrid degrees, students can balance and apply their real-world experience to their education.

 

Opened in 1991, Christenberry Fieldhouse (CFH) houses 11 of the Augusta Jaguars’ 13 competition sports. In addition to housing all administrative and support staff for the Augusta University Department of Athletics, CFH also houses the College of Education’s Kinesiology Department. The Forest Hills Campus, on which CFH is located, also houses a full-size golf course, baseball, softball and soccer fields and serves as the home of the Jaguars’ nationally recognized NCAA Division I golf team.

 

Our campus libraries, the Robert B. Greenblatt, M.D. Library on the Health Sciences Campus and the Reese Library on the Summerville Campus, provide comprehensive information resources and services in support of the teaching, discovery, and clinical care mission of our student-centered research university and academic medical center.

 

Georgia’s second-oldest and second-largest city, Augusta, is situated on the southern banks of the storied Savannah River. Serving as a halfway point between the Appalachian Mountains to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, Augusta is a thriving community built on a solid foundation of local pride and artistic eccentricity.

 

POSITION SUMMARY

 

The Dean of TGS is responsible for providing visionary leadership in building and sustaining graduate programs in alignment with the institution’s mission statement and strategic plan. As a member of the Provost's leadership team, the Dean will be acquainted with all aspects of the campus' growth and will represent and advocate all issues of graduate education in strategic planning associated with TGS students, faculty and academic programs. The Dean works closely and collaboratively with the Deans of the nine other colleges (Allied Health Sciences, Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Business, Computer and Cyber Sciences, Education, Dentistry, Nursing, Medicine, and Science and Mathematics) at Augusta University in fulfilling its overall mission, while being particularly focused on TGS mission of providing a rich intellectual, academic and research environment for educating students to become leaders in the discovery and dissemination of knowledge and in its application to human health and disease. In addition to collaborative responsibilities for graduate programs across the colleges, The Graduate School has primary responsibility for leadership and coordination of the institution’s biomedical sciences Ph.D. programs.

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

 

  • Principle 1: The Graduate School (TGS) will play a key and active role in helping Augusta University (AU) continue its targets and goals of: (1) increased enrollment growth in graduate programs, (2) increased research  growth, and (3) a commitment to advancing inclusive excellence, aligned with student success, are  paramount. In short, a strong, comprehensive

 

Graduate School is essential in order for AU to continue  its assent toward being a leading and growing public, research-intensive university.

  • Principle 2: TGS will set academic quality standards and expectations that apply to all graduate programs under its oversight. This work includes maintaining, developing, and implementing procedures, guidelines, and  policies related to graduate education. These will be developed in partnership with the colleges and  schools, and the Division of Instruction and the Office of Faculty Affairs, who also have broad oversight  of institutional academic standards, student academic appeals and grievances, and student professionalism codes.
  • Principle 3: TGS will play an active role in the recruitment and admissions processes for all programs under its oversight, including the development of strategic recruitment plans, and admissions standards and  processes, in partnership with the colleges and schools and the Office of Admissions. It is recommended that admissions staff, with a sole focus on graduate school admissions, lead this process. The admissions process should be streamlined; nimble to adapt to new programs, mid-term starts, and expectations of  online students; student-centric; and, contribute to the 16x30 enrollment goal.
  • Principle 4: TGS will play an active role in the administration/oversight/recruitment of the biomedical science PhD  program. As long as the program is housed in TGS, the primary day- to-day responsibility for the biomedical PhD program should not fall to the Dean of TGS, but rather to a newly created administrative/leadership position in TGS. At some point after a new Dean is appointed, AU leadership  may wish to explore the eventual return of this program to the Medical College of Georgia (MCG)
  • Principle 5: TGS will develop and create new interdisciplinary graduate programs to be housed within TGS as well as within the colleges/schools to develop new programs and course offerings.
  • Principle 6: TGS will play a leading role in the oversight of awarding graduate assistantships (GAs) and providing orientation and professional development for graduate assistants, for all programs under its oversight. This oversight will occur, in partnership with the colleges and schools, and the Office of Faculty Affairs  (who has oversight of faculty/instructor credentialing and faculty/instructor development). The Divisions of Instruction and Research will also be key partners in orientation and professional development. This  work includes developing the policies and procedures on the creation and awarding of graduate assistantships, tuition waivers, and salary support levels. It is recommended that additional resources be  provided to TGS by AU over a period of several years to support this work, and that one of the primary efforts        of the Dean of TGS be on development/fundraising for new scholarships to support GAs.
  • Principle 7: Post-doctoral fellows play a key role in the continued research growth of the university. The relationship  between Masters and PhD students and post-doctoral fellows is critical in research labs and teams. The number of post-doctoral fellows will be significantly increased in the coming years and the recruitment of competitive post-doctoral fellows will be supported through training and education programs. TGS will assume responsibility for administrative oversight of, and educational programming for, all post- doctoral fellows at AU. The Office of Faculty Affairs and the Divisions of Research and Instruction will be  key partners as appropriate in credentialing and programming. The programming will follow best practices for post-doctoral fellows, include career development and other services, and will invite a  sense of community among the fellows.
  • Principle 8: TGS will play a leading, active, and engaged role in graduate program review. In partnership with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, this work includes the

 

development of the institutional academic  review schedule, engagement in the creation of the reviews, and responsibility on follow-up from action  items contained in the reviews.

  • Principle 9: TGS will partner with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and other appropriate offices and departments at AU to offer graduate student support initiatives with the goal of creating and sustaining a supportive culture, with a focus on student wellness and success, as well as enhancing the diversity of the graduate student body. This work also includes strengthening partnerships with offices and centers  directly tied to student success such as Career Services and the Writing Center. TGS-Graduate Student Council will play a role in providing input on the programming needs of graduate students.
  • Principle 10: TGS will partner with AU’s colleges and schools in a spirit of collegiality. Structurally, each college/school dean should have representation on TGS Council or similar administrative body that provides input on a regular basis to the policies and procedures of TGS. TGS may wish to re-examine the purpose and structure of its Graduate Council to ensure that communication and collegiality are optimized. The TGS Dean should participate in the Deans’ Council and should meet at least on an annual basis with each college/school dean to discuss matters related to TGS and determine how TGS can best serve the needs of the individual colleges/schools.
  • Principle 11: TGS will play a key role in AU’s new strategic international partnership strategy, especially in forging graduate education partnerships including increasing the number of international graduate students and  post-doctoral fellows and creating new joint graduate degrees with AU’s emerging strategic international  partners.
  • Principle 12: The Dean of the TGS will be a tenured, full professor and an active researcher who enjoys mentoring graduate students. With these attributes, the TGS Dean will  serve as a role model to the faculty. The primary responsibility of this individual should be an administrative role as Dean of TGS, with the  realization that this role requires a significant commitment. The academic home of the Dean can be in  any of AU’s colleges and schools. As with the other AU college/school deans, TGS dean should play an active role in development/fundraising for new scholarships and GA positions, and AU should provide staffing support in this area to enable the dean to be successful. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness will develop a performance scorecard for TGS that will be reviewed on a regular basis between the Provost and TGS Dean.
  • Principle 13: All research-based graduate programs with a discipline that aligns with an AU college/school will be housed in TGS for administrative oversight, but the specific college/school will retain academic oversight  and be the lead on program delivery. While there are many professional Masters and Doctoral degree programs at AU, most notably in the health professions, due to the inherent differences in the purpose of these programs versus research- based graduate programs, and oftentimes national or regional accreditation oversight, TGS should not  provide oversight of these programs. Professional graduate programs should not be housed in TGS. A  process for qualification as a professional graduate program should be developed for current and future programs.
  • Principle 14: TGS will develop branding and marketing materials in conjunction with AU’s Department of Communications and Marketing. This work should include the development of recognizable and consistent branding for TGS and its programs and strengthening the content on AU’s website pertaining  to graduate education.
  • Principle 15: TGS will be an active partner in AU’s efforts to expand its online education enterprise, including following Quality Matters and best practices such as alternative

 

delivery formats (such as eight-week  course blocks).

  • Principle 16: TGS will play an active role in post-graduation tracking, in collaboration with the Office of Career Services, of AU graduate alumni, including job/career placement and continued engagement with alumni.
  • Principle 17: TGS will be a second “home” for AU’s various graduate program directors, providing them with a sense of community and professional development, as well as setting expectations and providing professional development for this unique administrative role.
  • Principle 18: TGS will play an active role in building and strengthening a culture of research at AU, in partnership with  the Office of Research and other key stakeholders.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

 

The Dean of TGS serves as the chief administrative officer of the school, whose major responsibilities include:

 

  • Sustaining and enhancing, in with the other the post-baccalaureateand certificate in concert with the current graduate and
  • Collaborating with the other graduate programofferings to other degrees and disciplines;
  • Assisting in developing graduate curriculumand courses in consultation with college and/or university faculty
  • Ensuring the effectiveness of the educational programs by incorporating regular program assessment and university-wide measures of institutional effectiveness;
  • Providing final approval of to the college aswell as graduation
  • Establishing and the and
  • Supporting the ofoutstanding faculty, providing process for andproviding input to the &Tenure process of Graduate Faculty;
  • Developing the Graduate School for approval and
  • Assisting with the ofstudents, student and retention;
  • Providing career and foster a sense ofpostdoctoral fellows at AU;
  • Supporting graduate by developing policies on and awardingassistantships, tuition waivers, and developing fundraising tosupport graduate
  • Advocating for a supportive on student wellnessand enhancing thediversity of the student body;
  • a culture of philanthropy and developing a plan within the college, including working closely with the SVP, Advancement & Community Relations to leverage the contributions of faculty members and health professionals and lead by example in fundraising;

 

  • Overseeing and providing and leadership to The whilestrengthening relationships the AU Associations;
    • Collaborate with the appropriateoffices of the Association to share thevision, goals and ofThe Graduate School with externalaudiences
    • Assist with affairs events, and other to enhance connections of and friends with theuniversity andTGS
    • Actively participatein on civic and other organizations that the community and the university and the AU Health System
  • Actively in speaking to convey The School benefits tothe and state;
  • Identifying opportunities to connect
  • Developing and fostering the colleges to crossbetween

 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

It is preferred that candidates for the Dean of TGS position bring professional maturity and documentation of the following skills and characteristics:

 

  • An earned doctoral degree;
  • Seven to ten years’ full experience with a research and education with the to therank offull professor;
  • leadership skills;
  • Track record of successfully traineesat different levels (graduate and
  • Successful experience with the of staff in a organization and the of in a higher
  • Highly developed relations to the to work well with staff andvolunteers at all levels
  • Strong communication skills:
  • Strong and including ability to relationships in a highly
  • Budget and financial experience;
  • Desire and ability to enact strong task orientation and
  • Personal associated with including avigorous appropriate professional to work effectively withcolleagues, senior leadership of
  • Affinity with the overall Health
  • An active programof scholarlyactivity in the successfulcandidate will be in one of AU’s and is expected toestablish an active programof or other scholarly

 

 

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

 

The Search Committee invites applications, inquiries, and nominations for this position. Applications should be accompanied by a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact details of at least five professional references. Applications and nominations will be accepted until the position is filled and review of applications will begin immediately. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit materials electronically to the search firm assisting Augusta University by September 1, 2021.

 

Laurie C. Wilder, President Porsha L. Williams, Vice President

Jacob C. Anderson, Principal Parker Executive Search

pwilliams@parkersearch.com || janderson@parkersearch.com (770) 804-1996 x 111

 

Augusta University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is an equal opportunity educational institution and is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.