| Position Summary |
The Dean of the College of Natural and Human Sciences (
CNHS) assumes leadership over an expanded portfolio of multiple departments and academic programs, serving the departments of Atmospheric Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Health Sciences, Mathematics, New Media, Physics, Pre-Health, Master's of Public Health, Neuroscience, Psychology.
The dean will value the extraordinary relationships faculty and staff maintain with students and will be committed to supporting this engagement that characterizes the undergraduate educational experience at
UNC Asheville.
The dean will need to actively promote the relevance of the college, demonstrating the intrinsic value of individual disciplines, while pursuing interdisciplinarity and cross-disciplinary alliances in strategic ways that balance the desire for creativity within the boundaries of available financial resources. The dean will ensure ongoing quality and continuous improvement in the inventory of academic programs by advancing assessment and academic portfolio review efforts and strategies. The dean will play an integral role in soliciting input from faculty and department chairs about developing new and improved academic programs. This includes providing recommendations to the provost regarding the allocation of financial resources, the awarding of new faculty lines, and providing leadership and professional development opportunities to foster the growth in our faculty.
The dean will provide transformative leadership for the college in the face of existing circumstances within and outside the university that render "the way we've always done it" unsustainable. The dean must value differences within the college and inclusively incorporate every voice in decision-making while also engaging with non-academic stakeholders in planning for the future. The dean will be a representative and enthusiastic spokesperson for the college and university that extends into the larger community and beyond.
Within the college, the dean will provide leadership, mentorship to department chairs, faculty, staff and students. The dean will foster an environment of integrity and united purpose. The dean will ensure the continued engagement of faculty with students, the university, and the larger community. Encouraging, incentivizing, and rewarding participation in the first-year experience, core curriculum, undergraduate research, and experiential learning will be valued and prioritized.
VISION, CORE VALUES, AND COMPETENCIES FOR THE DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
The Dean will align all actions, decisions, and strategic plans in alignment with the vision, core values, and competencies of the division of academic affairs. The priorities of the office of the provost include:
- Results-based accountability: establishing clear responsibilities, setting expectations for performance, measuring results accurately, and incorporating feedback.
- Commitment to excellence in all that we do. While staying true to our liberal arts heritage, fostering the courage to do things better, faster, and smarter than we have done in the past. We seek to foster lifelong learning among faculty to stay abreast of not only their disciplinary knowledge, but also the evolving best practices in pedagogy, research practices, instructional modalities, and fostering a sense of belonging in students, faculty, and staff in a post-pandemic world.
- Data-informed, strategic decision making: Leveraging data and the university strategic plan to see the actions of Academic Affairs as set within the larger ecosystem of the university and community and prioritize goals and resource allocation to align with these imperatives. Have a future-facing orientation and be poised to have a campus-wide impact leveraging the diverse talents of the college in all actions and initiatives.
- Commitment to student success and career readiness. Resolving to remove barriers that exist in academic policies or procedures that inhibit a seamless educational experience. This involves ensuring the highest-quality curriculum and teaching effectiveness in all modalities and for all learners.
- Innovation and relevance: Academic Affairs will lead the institution by implementing an applied liberal arts and sciences ethos/mission/focus that results in career-ready graduates who are able to tackle contemporary challenges in an ever-changing world, with solutions that require adaptability and the application of multiple perspectives. This will be accomplished through a place-based core curriculum, community partnerships, experiential learning, interdisciplinarity, and the cultivation of career-ready outcomes in all degree programs. Academic Affairs will need to expand the capacity of education programming beyond our traditional students to include increased online offerings, graduate programs, and educational opportunities that are not a traditional 4-year degree (certificates, badges, micro-credentials).
EXPECTATIONS FOR COLLEGE LEADERSHIP
In alignment with the priorities of academic affairs, outlined above, the dean will be expected to develop concrete and measurable plans that address the following expectations. These expectations will form the basis for their yearly goal-setting and evaluation by the provost.
1]
Strategic visioning and planning. The dean will lead strategic planning initiatives that align the college with the vision of academic affairs and the larger university. The dean will work collaboratively and inclusively to create, convey, and drive a united vision for the college. Infuse energy and motivate the team to contribute to a set of common objectives that will result in enrollment growth, retention, and student success. The vision will be forward-facing, propelling the college to align with the competencies for academic affairs, outlined above.
2]
Optimizing work processes. Establish robust business practices that utilize our resources (people and finances) effectively. Encourage collegiality, transparency, and accountability. Demonstrate sound fiscal management in supervising departmental budgets, trust fund allocation, endowed professorships, course releases, stipends, and use of adjuncts. Shepard progressive enrollment management plans by enforcing course enrollments, class sizes, and overloads.
3]
Ensuring accountability. The dean will be a key component of academic program reviews, ensuring the viability and relevance of programs. The dean will oversee enrollment and retention targets, and provide resource allocation to departments in accordance with performance on these measures.
4]
Innovation and relevance. We must increase the significance of each division by being future-facing, agile to the opportunities in our region, and sensitive to the challenges in the higher education landscape. Dean will drive vision and purpose by having the courage to take calculated risks and foster a culture of innovation where initiatives can be piloted.
The core competencies [observable skills and behaviors] needed by a successful candidate for dean include:
- Balancing stakeholders: The ability to unite and motivate people toward a common vision and purpose. The dean will engage with and incorporate all impacted voices, including those outside of the university in making strategic decisions that align with the university's strategic vision and mission.
- Strategic mindset: The ability to see the actions of the college set within the larger ecosystem of the community, region, UNC System, and nation. The dean must be able to create transformative agendas and initiatives that run across disciplines and departments and align with university's mission and goals to achieve maximum impact and minimize duplication of efforts.
- Optimizes work processes: Leveraging the talents of our faculty and staff so that they can contribute value in the most efficient and consistent ways possible. The dean will ensure equity and consistency in the implementation of policy and practice across the college. The dean must have the courage to change processes that are not working, are redundant, or are unnecessary. The dean will pilot initiatives that are better, smarter, and faster than our current business practices, always with an eye to continuous improvement.
- Builds effective teams: The demonstrated ability to communicate goals clearly and frequently. The dean will provide the necessary resources for team members to be successful, whether that is financial resources, professional development, autonomy, space, or time. The dean will foster high levels of internal communication, as well as collaboration within the college, between divisions, and across campus.
- Instills trust: The demonstrated ability to follow through on commitments. The dean must be reliable and lead with sincerity, authenticity, honesty, and integrity. The dean must be an excellent listener who champions open and reciprocal channels of communication up, down, and sideways within the university.
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| Qualifications |
We are only accepting internal applicants for this position.
QUALIFICATIONS
The successful candidate will be a visionary who values all
CNHS programs, students, faculty, and staff and celebrates their successes. Candidates with significant academic leadership success are welcome to apply. A terminal degree in a
CNHS field is required with the candidate possessing tenure with rank at the associate professor level or higher.
The dean position will be a 12-month appointment, with no teaching or research expectations. The successful candidate will have faculty status with a line back to faculty. The initial appointment will be for three years, with the possibility to extend after a 360-review and negotiation with the provost. This position serves at the discretion of the provost which may render terms shorter or longer than three years.
The Dean will practice results-based accountability, foster engagement, and innovation through a commitment to being future-facing, will drive vision and purpose to achieve excellence, and will filter all decision-making through the lens of student success.
The dean will exhibit the following qualities and experiences. A candidate who does not already possess these traits must demonstrate a commitment and capacity to grow into these characteristics over time:
- High academic standards that support excellence in teaching, research, and service.
- Demonstrated commitment to student success, including knowledge of high-impact practices, enrollment and retention strategies, and a willingness to infuse the curriculum with career readiness considerations.
- An action-oriented focus on solutions that drive results.
- An inspirational, empowering, and approachable style that builds relationships with faculty, staff and students. A team player who is collaborative, interpersonally skilled, inclusive, and committed to bringing others along with them.
- An actor with a track record of effective cross-campus collaboration
- Demonstrated ability to gain cooperation and support from faculty and other individuals when initiating new policies, procedures, or programs.
- Experience working in a shared governance context
- An advocate for educational opportunity and access for all, including non-traditional, online, and hybrid students, and those not seeking a 4-year degree.
- A commitment to set and meet high expectations for self and others with complete accountability
- Demonstrated ability to foster excellence in research, especially mentoring of students and incorporation of students into faculty research agendas.
- Demonstrated ability to foster excellence in teaching, especially service learning, experiential education, and online learning.
- Knowledge of grant-writing and the administration of grant-funded budgets
- Experience in fiscal stewardship of complex budgets with special attention to pursuing our status as an "emerging research institution."
- A capacity for fundraising to establish new partnerships, increase the visibility of existing programs, create new fiscal revenue sources, and expand the current inventory of endowed professorships.
- Superb organizational skills with excellent execution of plans and priorities.
- A strategic thinker who maintains awareness of higher education trends, including learning technologies.
- Familiarity with policies, processes of SACSCOC, discipline-specific accreditation, UNCA and the UNC System
- The highest standards of integrity, ethics, and transparency
- Confidence, humility, and an attitude that welcomes challenge and feedback.
To apply, please submit the following:
- Detailed letter of interest that addresses key elements of this profile
- Curriculum vitae
- Names, email addresses, phone numbers, and stated professional relationship of five references (none of whom will be contacted without permission of the candidate)
Complete applications should be received by April 23, 2025. Questions should be directed to: provost@unca.edu
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University of North Carolina Asheville
Apr 04, 2025