Dean, College of Architecture

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) invites applications for the position, Dean of the College of Architecture (www.iit.edu/arch).

Located on the historic IIT campus in Chicago, the College of Architecture (IITCoA) is one of the world's most renowned architecture schools. Building upon its unique legacy as a center of rigorous thinking and making, IITCoA is focused on the future of practice and scholarship in an increasingly interconnected and urbanized world. With more than 500 students and 80 faculty members from around the world, IITCoA directly embodies the potentials of the contemporary metropolis. Basing its pedagogy on the synthesis of practice and research, IITCoA offers a full range of academic programs, including B.Arch., M.Arch., M.L.A., Dual M.Arch./M.L.A., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees.

Chicago—shaped by generations of College of Architecture faculty and alumni—provides an ongoing resource for our explorations. IITCoA benefits from productive relationships with the city’s professional, cultural, and civic organizations, including the Chicago Architectural Biennial, the American Institute of Architects, American Society of Landscape Architects, the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the Society of Architectural Historians, and the Graham Foundation. The recently established Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) makes IITCoA a focal point for critical discussion of the most innovative architecture of our time.

With the College’s many assets to leverage, the new Dean will have the opportunity to make a strong impact on the next generation of professionals. Facing a changing profession and transformations in education, the Dean should be at once visionary and pragmatic, possessing a comprehensive outlook on emerging potentials for the built environment, and the capability to translate this outlook into programmatic initiatives. The Dean’s task will be to adapt the College’s long-standing mission—the multidisciplinary integration of architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism—to today’s rapidly changing society, economy, and technology. By thoughtfully expanding into new areas of education and research, supporting innovation, and promoting entrepreneurship, the Dean will enhance the reputation and visibility of the College’s programs both nationally and internationally.

The new Dean will be an educator, scholar, and professional leader of the highest quality, with a deep understanding of architectural practice. She or he will possess an internationally recognized body of work, and will be qualified for appointment to the rank of tenured full professor. The Dean will be intimately involved in the life of the College through everyday interaction with students, supporting their work and promoting their well-being. To elevate its collective performance, the Dean will unify the College by fostering close relationships with faculty at all levels, and by nurturing an atmosphere of collegiality and cooperation. The Dean will promote the College's engagement in interdisciplinary projects and partnerships.

Reporting to Peter Kilpatrick, the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean is the chief academic and executive officer of the College of Architecture and is responsible for all matters related to the management of the College, including academic programs, accreditation, personnel, budgets, alumni relations, and development. The Dean must be effective in strengthening the College's endowment. The Dean will cultivate a high level of visibility and will vigorously represent IITCoA locally, nationally, and internationally as its public voice. To establish and fund a vision for the College, the Dean will actively engage IIT’s external community of current stakeholders and future potential partners.

The Dean will be expected to work effectively with university leadership and to coordinate the College’s aims within the university as a whole. She or he will have a strong commitment to the university's tradition of holding diversity and inclusion as core values, and work to enhance and extend them in the College's students, faculty, and staff. Additional information, including a Leadership Profile, is available at www.wittkieffer.com.

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. For fullest consideration, applicant materials should be received by February 15, 2019. Candidates should provide, as three separate documents, a curriculum vitae, a letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in this Leadership Profile, and a list of five references. References will not be contacted without prior permission. These materials should be submitted to the candidate portal by clicking here.

Inquiries, nominations and questions may be directed to Robert W. Luke, Witt/Kieffer's consultant supporting this search, at IITArchDean@wittkieffer.com.

Illinois Institute of Technology is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA employer committed to enhancing equity, inclusion and diversity within its community. It actively seeks applications from all individuals regardless of race, color, sex, marital status, religion, creed, national origin, disability, age, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity and expression. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment.