Dean of the College

Dean of the College

Colby seeks a dynamic, committed, and exceptional leader to serve as its next Dean of the College. A highly visible culture builder with a strong sense of the complexities around undergraduate student life and the changing landscape of higher education, the Dean of the College will have a record of superior leadership, a passion for engaging with undergraduates from all backgrounds, the ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholder groups, and expertise in spearheading new initiatives and building and cultivating exceptional teams.

The Dean of the College works collaboratively with the President, senior officers, and faculty to provide leadership and promote the vision of a fully integrated student experience that combines the curricular and co-curricular dimensions of student life and illuminates the connection between students’ intellectual and personal development. The Dean of the College leads new and existing initiatives to foster a diverse and inclusive community. Finally, the Dean of the College spearheads Colby’s extensive civic engagement efforts and oversees DavisConnects, a sector-leading hub for internships, research opportunities, global experiences, and career exploration.

This role presents a rare opportunity for an experienced higher education professional dedicated to the values of an inclusive liberal arts education to shape Colby's culture. By leading an institutional shift aimed at redefining the student experience and by spearheading and implementing strategies and programs to enhance diversity and inclusion, the Dean will have a lasting impact on Colby for years to come.

Qualifications: Success in this position will require a visionary leader with an appreciation for the interdependence of the academic and co-curricular aspects of students' education and a capacity for creating and sustaining diverse and inclusive communities. The Dean will bring the energy and interpersonal skills to develop programmatic innovations and to lead institutional change in a fast-paced environment. Candidates should have an appetite and capacity for fundraising and growing institutional relationships. A Ph.D. or other advanced degree is preferred. The primary responsibilities of the Dean will include, but are not limited to:

• Providing visionary leadership to shape the Colby student experience with a strong desire to cultivate students’ academic and personal growth;
• Advancing Colby's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity and a passion for building culture and connection withing the Colby community and beyond;
• Promoting a fully integrated student experience and capability to integrate and strengthen the relationship between academic and residential life;
• Serving as a visible representative and spokesperson; and
• Contributing to Colby's innovative and collaborative senior leadership team.

Colby College: A leading liberal arts college, Colby enrolls some 2,200 undergraduates from nearly every state and more than 70 countries. The continuing development and renewal of its 714-acre campus gives Colby a state-of-the art physical plant that complements its natural setting in Maine’s Kennebec Valley, a region widely noted for its quality of life. Waterville’s central location, roughly an hour from Portland and Maine’s coastal towns, provides a quintessential small-town New England setting that the Colby-initiated downtown partnership has notably enhanced.

Since 2014, Colby has more than tripled its applications for admission, grown and diversified its faculty, and more than doubled its enrollment of students of color and first-generation students. New academic and co-curricular programming in fields such as artificial intelligence and bioinformatics strengthen the connection between liberal arts study and the professional world. The College has completed or begun construction of new, cutting-edge facilities for performing arts and athletics. It has also led a $200-million revitalization of downtown Waterville, Maine, including a residential complex for students with a focus on civic engagement and the recently opened Lockwood Hotel. The Paul J. Schupf Art Center, a dynamic new hub for the visual and performing arts, opened in 2022 in downtown Waterville, and the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, the largest academic building project in Colby’s history, is scheduled to open in 2023 on campus. The College recently established the Island Campus in mid-coast Maine after acquiring Allen and Benner Islands—the longtime summer home of the artist Andrew Wyeth and his wife, Betsy Wyeth—to offer Colby students unique and timely cross-disciplinary research opportunities in a range of academic disciplines, including the marine sciences and the arts. A new residential complex for juniors and seniors is currently in design and will complement a reimagined residential life experience, and a new campus center for technology and innovation is in the conceptual planning stage.

This ambitious agenda has mobilized the College’s alumni, parents, and other benefactors: over the last four years, Colby’s fundraising totals have ranked second among national liberal arts colleges. Today’s Colby is one of the most selective colleges in the nation with a unique set of resources to support an education that is deeply connected to local and global challenges.

This is a full-time position that will be performed on site in Maine. The salary is commensurate with experience and outstanding housing adjacent to campus is provided as well. A summary of benefits can be found at https://www.colby.edu/humanresources/

For best consideration, please send all nominations and applications (including a CV and letter of interest) in confidence to:

Shelly Weiss Storbeck, Global Education Practice Lead and Managing Director
Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Managing Director
Danielle Mebert, Senior Search Associate
colbycollegedean@storbecksearch.com

Colby is a private, coeducational liberal arts college that admits students and makes personnel decisions on the basis of the individual’s qualifications to contribute to Colby’s educational objectives and institutional needs. The principle of not discriminating on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, pregnancy, parental or marital status, national or ethnic origin, caste, political beliefs, or disability unrelated to job or course of study requirements is consistent with the mission of a liberal arts college and the law. Colby is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and operates in accordance with federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination.

Colby complies with Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities. Questions regarding Title IX may be referred to Colby’s Title IX coordinator or to the federal Office of Civil Rights. In compliance with the Clery Act, which requires Colby to disclose campus crime statistics, you will find Colby’s Annual Safety, Security, and Fire Safety Report.

Colby prohibits retaliation against anyone who makes a good faith report of conduct in violation of Colby’s discrimination or harassment policies, or against anyone who makes a good faith effort to disclose perceived wrongdoing. Further, Colby will not tolerate retaliation against any employee who, in good faith, cooperates in the investigation of such conduct.

For more information, please visit https://www.colby.edu/