Dean of the College of Arts and Letters

Working/Functional Title

Dean of the College of Arts and Letters

Position Summary

The Dean of the College of Arts & Letters reports to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Dean plays a key leadership role in advancing the mission, operations, and service of the College, with complete line responsibility for personnel, general administration and management, budget, academic, and development functions. The Dean leads the College, working closely with their senior leadership team. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive Leadership:  Provide leadership in establishing the College of Arts & Letters strategic objectives and develop and manage all resources essential to the achievement of these objectives. Maintain a leadership team capable of supporting and implementing the College’s vision and strategies. Work with faculty, staff, academic leadership, and University leadership in pursuit of broader institutional goals. Academic Leadership:  Serve as a collaborative and decisive leader who empowers others and has an established record of effectively engaging, convening, and supporting diverse disciplines. Support, enhance, and promote faculty research and creative discovery, teaching excellence, and service. Promote a culture of care, transparency, and shared governance. Advocate and lead active collaborations among other MSU units and external partners. Recruit and retain top faculty who will further the College’s research, creative, and academic mission, attain ambitious standards of excellence, and enhance diversity. Evaluate faculty for appointment, tenure, and promotion. Ensure adequate staffing to support academic goals. Enhance the student experience by fostering excellence in programs and classroom teaching.

Fundraising:  Enthusiastically engage in cultivating and soliciting individual donors, foundations, and corporations.

Financial Management:  Ensure a strong financial future for the College through revenue growth. Manage the College’s financial resources through effective oversight of the annual operating budget, long-term financial planning, and exploitation of strategic opportunities for revenue growth. Oversee College-wide resource acquisition and utilization.

Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships:  Enhance administrative, academic, and research relationships with other entities internal and external to MSU. Leverage and enhance relationships through effective communication with internal and external constituencies, including staff, local, regional, and national organizations/associations, members of senior leadership, and academic communities.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Other - Ph.D. and other related Terminal Degree in a department within the College of Arts and Letters

Desired Degree

Doctorate

Minimum Requirements

The ideal candidate will possess a terminal degree (Ph.D. and other related terminal degrees), have a proven track record of scholarly achievement, demonstrate the level of excellence expected for a full professor in a College of Arts & Letters department, and bring relevant administrative experience to the table. 

Desired Qualifications

While no one possesses them all, the successful candidate will demonstrate many of the following experiences and skills:

Visionary Leadership:  An established record of effective, strong, and collaborative leadership. Demonstrated commitment to enhancing diversity and equal opportunity for individuals from underrepresented or historically marginalized groups. Ability to unite students, faculty, and staff to pursue together a promising future. The courage and discipline to implement the changes that will be necessary to attain this future. A history of developing and promoting shared governance between faculty and administration. The capacity to formulate and articulate a shared vision to persuade a wide range of audiences of its value and to engage others in its implementation. Must be able to see initiatives through to completion. Ability to recruit outstanding new faculty and staff as well as retain the College’s strongest faculty, with specific experience engaging with, recruiting, and retaining faculty of color and diverse backgrounds. Familiarity with appointment, promotion, and tenure procedures. Ability to motivate and inspire others to strive continuously for academic excellence. Strong interdisciplinary ethic. Successful experience as a dean, associate dean, department chair, or research center/ institute director will be deemed a valuable asset to an individual’s candidacy. Ability and willingness to advocate for and enhance arts and humanities across and beyond the institution while working collaboratively with other deans and institutional leaders on advancing MSU’s tripart missions of teaching, research, and outreach and engagement.

Knowledge of higher education trends:  A comprehensive understanding of the state of arts and humanities across the United States and a proactive plan for navigating the landscape and advancing the work of the College in this context. New ways of thinking about the evolution of fields and disciplines in light of societal, cultural, and technological changes. Ability to speak with conviction about the value of liberal arts education.

Focus on Students:  Genuine understanding of the teaching mission and the importance of providing undergraduate and graduate students with the highest quality educational experience. Must understand and value the importance of a diverse student body.

Fundraising Ability:  Demonstrated success in strengthening philanthropic support from individuals, foundations, and corporations, or a genuine appetite to engage in such fundraising. Financial Management Experience:  A distinguished record of operational leadership demonstrating excellence, growth, and financial effectiveness. Demonstrated experience in fiscal management.

Diversity and Inclusive Excellence:  Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Must understand and value the importance and benefits of a diverse student body, faculty, and staff.

Required Application Materials

Michigan State invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of Dean of the College of Arts & Letters. Interested candidates should confidentially submit a curriculum vitae, and a letter of interest (Adobe PDF files preferred). Materials should represent qualifications relative to the opportunities and challenges described in this document, inclusive of a statement detailing how your past and future work will contribute to advancing MSU’s commitment to inclusive excellence to MSU.CAL@russellreynolds.com.

For fullest consideration, materials should be received as soon as possible and preferably by January 13, 2025.

Special Instructions

Russell Reynolds & Associates is an executive search firm that will be assisting MSU with the search for the next Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. For questions about the position, please contact Jett Pihakis, Ph.D., Partner and Leader of Higher Education Practice at Jett.Pihakis@russellreynolds.com

Review of Applications Begins On

01/13/2025

Website

https://cal.msu.edu/

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.