Dean of the College of Education

Eastern Michigan University (EMU) invites applications and nominations for an innovative, collaborative, and transformative educator to serve as Dean of the College of Education (COE). The COE Dean’s primary responsibility is ensuring academic excellence and supporting and developing faculty as teachers, scholars, and community partners. It is anticipated that the new Dean will fully assume the position on July 1, 2021.

A key member of the Provost’s leadership team, the Dean reports to and works with the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. The Dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer in the College, overseeing strategic planning; budgets; fundraising; curriculum; student recruitment and retention; faculty and staff recruitment, development, support, evaluation, and retention; program development; assessment and reporting; accreditation activities; administration; and community outreach.

The Dean provides overall leadership, direction, advocacy, communication, coordination, and assessment of the College as a whole, and of the undergraduate and graduate programs within it. The Dean establishes and maintains a collegial work climate, cooperatively leading the College towards improved productivity and relevancy, ensuring academic integrity and curricular coherence of all programs embraced within it. The Dean pursues and brings new ideas and innovative academic practices to the college, working with the faculty to maintain and enhance academic quality, foster applied learning, and sustain high impact educational outcomes such as undergraduate research, community partnerships, and international studies and global experiences. EMU seeks an academic leader with a demonstrated commitment to educational access, student recruitment and retention, student success, and a record of garnering philanthropic support.

We are looking for a dean who is:

• An adaptive and creative leader who values and practices relational ways of knowing, caring, and being as primary ways of interacting with others;
• A systems thinker with the capacity to lead the College through practices, policies, and communication that reflect equity, diversity, advocacy, and shared decision-making;
• An open-minded learner able to engage in self-reflection and negotiate diverse perspectives;
• An optimistic, knowledgeable visionary who keeps abreast of future educator preparation trends and needs, and is intentional in co-constructing strategic planning through shared decision making with students, faculty, staff, and community partners;
• A skilled communicator and a receptive listener, who is able to appreciate and articulate the initiatives and priorities of the College to both internal and external stakeholders.
• A compassionate, empathetic, inclusive, and equity focused leader who actively seeks to connect with others to inform and improve their leadership.

Qualified candidates will possess a documented track record for building reciprocal, transformative school, university, and community partnerships. Candidates will have an understanding of the College’s primary professional programs, which include counseling, leadership development, special education, speech pathology, and teacher education.

The successful candidate will hold an earned doctorate and accomplishments appropriate for appointment as a tenured professor in an academic field of study offered at EMU, and a record of achievement in teaching, research, and professional service.

A leader in teaching and education, EMU was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School. The university belongs to the Mid-American Conference and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. EMU is a Carnegie-designated doctoral institution (R2)—high research activity. The College of Education is divided into three departments and offers over 85 majors and minors and over 30 graduate degrees and has one of the oldest Special Education programs in the United States. The mission of the College of Education is to inspire, educate, and prepare professionals to be outstanding educators, leaders, and scholars in urban, global, and diverse educational and community settings.

Eastern Michigan University enrolls a diverse population of approximately 21,000 students. The EMU campus is located in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor community, five miles from downtown Ann Arbor, 35 miles west of Detroit, and 50 miles from Toledo. Chicago, Cleveland and Toronto are each a half-day's drive away.

To apply, please visit the Eastern Michigan University job portal posting at: https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/emichedu. Review of completed applications will begin upon receipt and will continue until the position is filled. To be guaranteed consideration, applications must be completed by March 15, 2021.