Executive Director, Dartmouth STEM Diversity Initiative

Executive Director, Dartmouth STEM Diversity Initiative

Dartmouth College seeks an experienced, goal-oriented, and passionate leader for the newly established role of Executive Director for the Dartmouth STEM Diversity Initiative. The inaugural Executive Director will serve as a strategic partner, thought leader, and champion for the Dartmouth STEM Diversity Initiative, with the goal to increase access, retention, and leadership opportunities for students from groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and prepare the next generation of leaders in these fields. The successful candidate will play a key role in forging a STEM diversity program of national distinction, providing exceptional student experiences and post-graduate opportunities.

Founded in 1769, Dartmouth is a private, liberal arts institution, and member of the Ivy League, consistently ranking among the world’s greatest academic institutions. Dartmouth holds the Carnegie classification as an R1 doctoral university, indicating very high research activity. Across its 269-acre main campus, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth enrolls over 4,500 undergraduates and approximately 2,200 graduate and professional students. Dartmouth has cultivated a singular identity for combining its deep commitment to outstanding undergraduate liberal arts and graduate education with distinguished research and scholarship. U.S. News and World Report ranks Dartmouth 18th among national universities and 5th in undergraduate teaching among national universities.

Dartmouth employs nearly 950 faculty (620 tenured and tenure-track) and over 3,100 staff. Dartmouth offers opportunities to create and apply knowledge through its distinctive schools; the undergraduate Arts & Sciences, the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, and its three leading professional schools – the Geisel School of Medicine (founded 1797), Thayer School of Engineering (1867), and the Tuck School of Business (1900). Together the schools comprise an exceptional and rich learning environment. Dartmouth faculty and student research contribute substantially to the expansion of human understanding. The Arts and Sciences is Dartmouth’s undergraduate school, consisting of more than 40 academic departments and programs, with more than 60 majors available to students, and a 7:1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio. The Faculty of the Arts and Sciences encompasses more than 600 faculty members and is among the leaders in the Ivy League in its percentage of tenured women.

In 2022, Dartmouth announced a comprehensive $100 million STEM Diversity Initiative to create a new, fully diverse generation of future STEM leaders. The STEM Diversity Initiative (the Initiative) aims to increase diversity within Dartmouth’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) ecosystem and to foster the academic success, retention, and career aspirations of students from groups historically underrepresented in and systemically excluded from the affiliated disciplines. The Initiative will harness the power of existing programs across the institution to create an integrated approach to supporting all students’ learning and achievement. The Dartmouth STEM Diversity Initiative reflects Dartmouth’s core values. It recognizes our fundamental responsibility to embrace the diversity that significantly enriches and deepens the education of future global leaders, and it aims to broaden the STEM talent pipelines to meet the demands for a competitive 21st century workforce.

To ensure accountable progress and impact through metrics, the Initiative will monitor regional and national benchmarks for the representation, persistence, success, and leadership of women and historically underrepresented groups in STEM. It will also track recruitment and retention statistics, placement data, climate surveys, and other key performance indicators (KPIs), to ensure success and, where necessary, adjust course. Through this work, it is expected that the STEM Diversity Initiative will position Dartmouth as the leading Ivy Plus institution for diversity in STEM, catapulting Dartmouth students to lifelong success and serving as a nationally visible model for other universities.


Reporting to the Provost’s Office, the inaugural Executive Director will design, direct, and assess the Dartmouth STEM Diversity Initiative. The Executive Director will coordinate efforts across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Thayer School of Engineering, and the Geisel School of Medicine, in partnership with the leadership of related individual programs to optimize student success. The Executive Director will partner with the Undergraduate Admissions Office in the identification and recruitment of talented undergraduate students committed to studying STEM. The Executive Director will serve as an ambassador for the program, cultivating internal and external partnerships, fostering collaborations with key employers, peer research universities, academic societies, and career-services offices to expand STEM opportunities for student internships, professional development, and career placements, and working with the Office of Communications to promote the Initiative externally. With direction from the Initiative’s Faculty Advisory Board, the Executive Director will coordinate with and support the individual programs (each with its own leadership structure) and serve as the main point of contact for supporting student placements after graduation, leveraging the Initiative’s network, together with other campus resources, including the Center for Professional Development and Thayer Career Services.

The successful candidate must possess a doctoral degree, preferably in a STEM discipline or related field, will bring at least seven years of related leadership experience, and be a collaborative and engaged leader with demonstrated expertise in development and implementation of diversity initiatives, recruitment, retention, and programming. The ideal candidate will bring demonstrated experience developing and implementing strategies for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in education and/or STEM programs. Knowledge of the literature and best practices for the design of STEM diversity programs and experience with higher education structures and processes are optimal backgrounds for the Executive Director.

The is a full-time position, located in New Hampshire. The compensation will be commensurate with experience with a generous benefits package.

For more information, the full prospectus is available here: https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/search/19982-dartmouth-ed-stem-diversity-initiative

The review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Nominations and applications for the Executive Director of the STEM Diversity Initiative are welcomed as soon as possible. Applications should include a complete résumé or vita, a letter of interest, and a list of five professional references. All application materials will be considered in full confidence. Please send all nominations, inquiries, and applications electronically to: DartmouthSTEMED@storbecksearch.com

TaJuan Wilson, Managing Director
Kate Phillips, Senior Associate
DartmouthSTEMED@storbecksearch.com

Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected status. Applications by members of all underrepresented groups are encouraged.