Dean and Professor

Dean and Professor
College of Liberal Arts
Wright State University
Dayton, OH

Inspired by the Wright brothers but designed for the world, the groundwork for Wright State University was laid over 50 years ago when Dayton emerged as a technology center and demonstrated a critical need for an increasingly educated work force and research enterprise. In 1967, with 5,704 students, Wright State achieved its status as an accredited independent university. Today, it serves over 11,000 students and offers more than 315 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional degree programs through five colleges and two schools. Wright State meets students where they are and supports them on their journey to success. The university is nationally recognized for the unprecedented support it gives to students with disabilities, as well as to veteran and military-connected students. At Wright State, first- generation college students, high school valedictorians, and adult learners alike all find the support they need to achieve their dreams.

The College of Liberal Arts (COLA) offers a wide variety of high-quality programs in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary areas and contributes the largest number of courses to the university’s Core Program, providing students with much of the knowledge at the heart of a broad liberal education. The college is home to three arts departments recognized by the state and the community as flagship programs for the university; Oscar Award-winning faculty and alumni; a Model UN team which has won national recognition by winning an Outstanding Delegation award for the last 41 years; and many other unique educational offerings and points of pride.

In addition, Wright State includes one regional campus, the Lake Campus, in Celina, Ohio, approximately 75 miles north of the Dayton campus. The Wright State alumni community is more than 117,000 strong. Located in the city of Fairborn in Greene County, Ohio, Wright State is conveniently situated adjacent to Wright-Paterson Air Force Base and is less than 10 miles from downtown Dayton. The Dayton metropolitan area has a population of nearly 1 million people and, together with the Cincinnati and Columbus metropolitan areas, makes up a region of over 5 million people offering many arts, entertainment, and recreational activities in southwestern Ohio.

Job Purposes:

The Dean of the College of Liberal Arts will be responsible for leading the college in the pursuit of its mission, for building successful collaborative relationships with external constituents, and within the college and the university, and for articulating to students, faculty, and the larger community a vision for the role and purpose of the liberal arts in contemporary higher education. The Dean must have a clear vision, a history of working successfully with external constituents, a record of successful support of student organizations, and the determination to provide academic and administrative leadership that will enhance the college's ongoing programs and resources, new program initiatives, and relationships with the community, industry, and other units of the university. The Dean will lead the College in the reorganization of its academic units to meet the challenges of a changing environment for the Liberal Arts in the region and the nation. The Dean ultimately is responsible for programmatic leadership, financial oversight, planning and development, personnel administration, and community outreach. The Dean reports to the provost and serves as a member of the Council of Deans. The Dean is the chief administrative officer of CoLA and works with other deans and academic officers to formulate and implement university policy. The Dean supervises departmental chairs, program and center directors, faculty, and senior CoLA staff in developing and implementing college goals and policy. Among the dean's specific responsibilities are strategic planning, program development. faculty/staff/student development, fund raising, grant procurement, resource allocation and budget management, research and scholarly promotion, enrollment management, collegiate partnership initiatives, professional service, and relations with external constituencies.

Required Qualifications:

  • An earned doctorate or terminal degree in a discipline related to the liberal arts;
  • A record of professional accomplishments and scholarship that meets the qualifications for the rank of professor in a department of the college;
  • A strong and sustained record of teaching excellence and interdisciplinary initiatives;
  • A strong and sustained record of research or creative accomplishments;
  • Substantial administrative personnel and budgetary experience as chairperson or equivalent;
  • Experience in curriculum development including a commitment to innovative pedagogies in the liberal arts, promoting interdisciplinary projects, and curriculum;
  • Record of implementing and/or supporting community outreach programs;
  • Evidence of recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty and staff, as well as teambuilding, supervision, and staff support for professional development.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the abilities to listen, to persuade, and to show appreciation for the efforts of others;
  • Strong commitment to professional ethics, a commitment to involvement with the regional community;
  • Personal characteristics that include openness, energy, intellect, dignity, integrity, optimism, and vision.

To apply, go to https://jobs.wright.edu/postings/16593 by January 21, 2022 for first consideration. Wright State University, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, is committed to an inclusive environment and strongly encourages applications from minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities.