Position Description: Vice Dean of Undergraduate Affairs

Posted: November 10, 2020

Feng Sheng Hu, the Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor and Dean of Arts & Sciences, is pleased to announce the search for the Vice Dean of Undergraduate Affairs in Arts & Sciences. The Vice Dean of Undergraduate Affairs in Arts & Sciences is responsible for the university’s liberal arts curriculum that serves all Washington University undergraduates, the majority of whom major or minor in an Arts & Sciences discipline. The mission of the College of Arts & Sciences is to foster an environment that empowers students to build a foundation for lifelong learning and leadership.

The Vice Dean is a key member of the Dean’s leadership team with responsibility for the strategic oversight of undergraduate curriculum planning, pedagogy, course development, program evaluation, and new educational initiatives. The Vice Dean leads the College’s hallmark four-year advising program with advisors both in and outside the College office and manages an annual budget of more than $3 million. The Vice Dean works closely with the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs on other arenas of student life, including admission, graduation and postgraduate activities, as well as with various faculty committees and governing bodies such as the Arts & Sciences Faculty Council, the Curriculum Committee and University Council, and also oversees the following auxiliary units: the College Writing Program, Overseas Programs, Undergraduate Research. The Vice Dean plays an important role in fundraising and meeting with donors.

Arts & Sciences seeks an innovative thinker who will be passionately committed to the transformative power of a liberal arts and sciences education but also willing to look beyond the traditional liberal arts for new disciplinary connections and opportunities. The ideal candidate will be visionary, innovative and entrepreneurially-minded with the capacity and drive to turn ideas into reality. The Vice Dean will work closely with academic departments and individual faculty across schools on a range of existing and new programs with the goal of delivering an outstanding educational experience.

Key characteristics and qualifications of the ideal candidate include:

  • A deep commitment to and interest in a liberal arts education, rigorous student learning as demonstrated by innovative course development, curricular enhancements and/or associated activities 
  • A significant record of research, scholarship or creative endeavor in an Arts & Sciences discipline
  • The ability to collaborate with a wide variety of stakeholders, inspire and motivate others, successfully lead others through change, and act as a consensus builder 
  • A facility for diplomacy and ability to navigate difficult issues with students, faculty, and parents
  • A demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential and the Vice Dean will be instrumental in creating new programs to support racial equity
  • Experience with management, program planning and budgeting

The position is open to all tenure-track faculty in Arts & Sciences. Nominations may be sent to any member of the search committee or the Dean’s Office. Interested candidates should send a CV and letter of interest to Jennifer Gibbs by December 4, 2020.