Walter H. Annenberg Dean, Annenberg School for Communication

The University of Pennsylvania seeks a strategic, collaborative, and interdisciplinary academic leader to serve as the next Dean of its Annenberg School for Communication. Its current Dean, John L. Jackson, Jr., will become Provost of the University in June 2023.

The next Dean of Annenberg will join at an exciting and critical moment in our society, and at Penn; Annenberg will use its considerable intellectual and fiscal resources to continue to shape and inform how we communicate, consume, and discern information. Importantly, its impact spans an enormous array of research foci: culture and media, global communication, health communication, media institutions, political communication, and technology and society.

In 1958, publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist Walter H. Annenberg founded the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, which today is one of the most well-respected institutions in the field of communication. Annenberg combines the intimacy of highly selective graduate and undergraduate programs with the dynamism, resources, and personnel of a major research institute. The doctoral program, which began in 1968, is Annenberg’s only graduate program, with doctoral students earning their M.A. as a milestone on their way to a Ph.D. Additionally, Annenberg designs, administers, and teaches Penn’s major in communication, though the students are officially part of the College of Arts and Sciences, which handles admissions and issues their official degree.

Annenberg’s 23 standing faculty represent some of the very top scholars in the field of Communication. Ten of its current faculty are International Communication Association (ICA) Fellows, more than any other communication school. In recent years, Annenberg faculty have received numerous prestigious awards, including Carnegie and Guggenheim fellowships; year-long fellowships with the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.; and awards from the ICA ranging from early scholar awards to lifetime achievement awards and many in between.

The University of Pennsylvania is one of the world’s leading teaching and research universities situated in a dynamic urban environment. With 12 schools located on a single, compact, urban campus alongside the University’s flagship hospital and medical center, Penn’s geographical unity fosters an integrated, collegial, and collaborative approach to teaching, research, service, and patient care that is central to the University’s vision, mission, values, and culture.

Penn’s undergraduate programs—offered by the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Nursing, and the Wharton School—are strongly committed to recruiting the world’s most talented and diverse students. Overall, Penn enrolls approximately 10,000 undergraduates across the four undergraduate schools. Penn pioneered professional education in the United States and continues to set the pace today with outstanding graduate and professional programs. Penn’s graduate and professional programs emphasize the integration of knowledge across boundaries and disciplines, and the University offers nearly 300 graduate degrees and certificates which enroll approximately 12,000 students. Penn is home to a distinguished faculty, including more than 2,800 standing faculty members and 2,200 associated faculty who are crucial to the teaching, research, and professional programs of the University.

As the officer responsible for the oversight and strategic management of Annenberg, the Dean is responsible to the President and the Provost for the conduct, coordination, and quality of all of Annenberg’s academic programs, research activities, and other operations.

The Dean works closely and collaboratively with the President, the Provost, the other 11 Deans, and the other senior officers of the University to manage Annenberg’s programs and resources in furtherance of the University’s academic and institutional goals. The Dean is charged with further strengthening Annenberg’s prominence in education, research, and scholarship, as well as the School’s commitment to outreach and engagement.

This individual should have a strong administrative record, with operational and administrative management skills, and demonstrate strategic leadership, along with a global outlook and interdisciplinary appreciation. A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is required; collaboration, communication, and interpersonal skills will also be important for the successful candidate. The next Dean must possess the academic credentials and experience that qualify them for appointment as a full professor with tenure in the School and enable them to be an effective leader of the School’s faculty.

Initial screening of applicants will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. For best consideration, please submit materials by April 25, 2023. The University of Pennsylvania will be assisted by Jackie Zavitz, J.J. Cutler, and Meghan Ashbrock of Heidrick & Struggles, Inc.

Nominations and applications should be directed to: pennascdean@heidrick.com

Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.