Dean for the Visual, Performing, and Media Arts

Montgomery College, located just north of Washington, D.C. in Maryland, invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the Visual, Performing, and Media Arts.  On three campuses, at off-site locations and online, over 25,000 students are enrolled at Montgomery College in more than 130 programs of study.  The College attributes its success to the strength of its academic programs, access for students in both the U.S. and internationally to career-relevant programs, and the dedication of its faculty to effective learning and student success.  Montgomery College is under the vibrant leadership of President Dr. DeRionne Pollard, who took over leadership in 2010, and who led the development of the College’s current strategic plan, MC2020.  To learn more about Montgomery College, please read Dr Pollard’s An Invitation from the President, available on the Montgomery College careers page. The College has recently been named a best community college by the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education report in 2014 named Montgomery College the tenth most diverse public two-year institution in the nation. 

Montgomery College is a regional center for the Arts with myriad arts programs offered on its three campuses. The Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center (PAC) hosts a guest artist series, college performing arts series, a Saturday morning children’s series, and a host of community performing arts events that serve the region and the state.  A frequent collaborator with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the PAC is an anchor for the College’s arts events in Rockville.  Additionally, the Rockville campus hosts arts exhibitions, performance recitals, and the D.C. South Asian Film Festival.  The College also has the Cultural Arts Center (CAC), located at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, which offers culturally relevant programs such as Around the World Passport and the Cultural Matters Forums. Further, the CAC is the home of MC’s black box theatre where students and local troupes perform throughout the year. The Washington D.C. metropolitan area is a major center for the arts with the Strathmore in close proximity to the College, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Arena Stage, and the Shakespeare Theater Company, all located conveniently in Washington, D.C.  Regional theater also abounds including the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Blackrock Center for the Performing Arts in Germantown, Maryland.  

As a main academic officer for the Visual, Performing and Media Arts (VPMA), the instructional dean works collaboratively with his/her faculty and staff, the Vice President and Provost, fellow deans in the Arts, Business, Education, English and Social Sciences (ABEESS) unit, across Montgomery College, and with community stakeholders to foster and promote exceptional academic programs, vibrant arts events, expanded educational pathways and opportunities, and innovative educational approaches to increase student enrollment and success. The dean is responsible for creating a shared vision in the VPMA area and providing effective strategic leadership that advances the College’s Academic Master Plan, including the six academic goals which are:  Increase graduation, increase transfer, decrease time to degree, decrease cost of degree, align curricula with four-year institutions, and align curricula with the needs of business and industry.  The dean is also expected to support the goals of the College’s strategic plan, MC 2020.

As an institutional leader and the focus for arts leadership at the College, the dean also garners support for the College’s arts programs and events from alumni, internal and external stakeholders, including non-profit and for-profit sectors, government and other educational and arts-related organizations. The dean builds coalitions and promotes outreach efforts that engage the College, its partners, and other stakeholders to anticipate and respond to county, state, national, and international trends and issues in art education and event management.  Further, the dean leads energetic efforts to form and sustain partnerships in delivering arts programs, quality academic programs, and by cultivating development and fundraising opportunities with the public and private sectors in support of the College’s students, programs, and events.

The dean oversees the day-to-day administration of the VPMA area, managing its capital, human, fiscal, and other critical resources. The ideal candidate for this position will be a visionary, transformative, inclusive, and a decisive leader with the ability to act as a catalyst for creativity, the arts, and student academic achievement in a large, diverse community college setting. 

The College seeks an effective leader with a distinguished record of work in the arts and administrative experience that evidences a strong commitment to excellence in the arts.  Candidates must also be skilled in using data analytics to provide evidence-based decision making and to manage fiscal resources to maximize the benefit to students, faculty, and the community.

Required Qualifications

The selected candidate will have a minimum of a master’s degree in the disciplines in the Visual, Performing, and Media Arts or a closely related field.  Further, s/he will have at least five years of progressively responsible experience as a department chair or equivalent academic administrator at the department level or above.  In order to lead the faculty, staff, and students of VPMA, the selected candidate is required to have college teaching experience. The candidate must also demonstrate knowledge of policies, procedures, operations, functions and services in a department or division of the arts in an academic setting.  Potential candidates must also demonstrate that they have prior academic administrative experience in areas including curriculum development, faculty recruitment and development, and budget management.

Preferred Qualifications

The ideal candidate would have a doctorate or terminal degree, preferably in one of the areas taught in VPMA or a relevant, related field.  Demonstrated, prior success in fostering collaborations and strategic partnerships with arts organizations, other academic organizations locally, regionally, and nationally, and prior success collaborating with business and industry will be valuable qualifications. The selected candidate would also demonstrate knowledge and experience analyzing and using data for effective decision making regarding planning, curriculum, and facilities management.  Previous experience delivering non-traditional formats, including Open Educational Resources (OERs), online, blended, compressed or other formats is also preferred.

Application and Nomination Process

Applications should consist of a substantive and illustrative cover letter addressing the qualifications and desired attributes listed above and in the position profile, resume/curriculum vitae, and a list of at least five professional references with full contact information and a note indicating the nature of your working relationship with each.  References will not be contacted without explicit permission from the candidate.  Applications, nominations, and expressions of interest can be submitted in confidence to

 MontgomeryArtDean@academic-search.com.  The position will remain open until filled, but only applications received by October 11, 2017 can be assured of full consideration.

Montgomery College is being assisted for the search for the Dean of Visual, Performing, and Media Arts by Academic Search, Inc.  Confidential discussions about this opportunity may be arranged by contacting Kate Nolde, Senior Consultant, at kvn@academic-search.com.