Dean of Arts and Sciences

Brandeis University

Waltham, Massachusetts

 

Brandeis University (Brandeis) is seeking a visionary academic leader to serve as its next Dean of Arts and Sciences. This Dean will build upon the platform of excellence that has been established over Brandeis’ 69 year history, and will lead a world-class faculty in ground-breaking research and innovative, effective teaching, while ensuring a top-notch student experience is delivered to students.

Brandeis is a medium-sized, non-sectarian private research university with global reach, dedicated to a first-rate undergraduate and graduate education while concurrently making significant intellectual discoveries. The more than 550 faculty members are leaders in their fields, and are as passionate about teaching and mentorship as they are about pushing the boundaries of knowledge. The University's 5,700 undergraduate and graduate students are talented, curious, and compassionate, and they are open to exploring new and challenging experiences. Located in the suburbs of Boston—a global hub for innovation and higher education—Brandeis remains animated by a core set of values: reverence for learning; an emphasis on critical thinking; and making the world a better place through one’s talents and actions.

Arts and Sciences is the academic home for most of Brandeis’ undergraduate and graduate programs and is the intellectual platform for its culture of learning and engagement. The Dean, therefore, has a uniquely prominent role in the direction of the University. The Dean will be expected provide an entrepreneurial vision for the school; hire, guide and support an excellent faculty; oversee changes to general education requirements; ensure the continued excellence of the graduate program; provide strategic leadership to improve the student experience within and outside of the classroom; align admissions and enrollment with the goals of the institution; support and promote a diverse and inclusive culture; oversee strategic and financial planning;; and create clear and efficient organizational processes and structures.

The successful candidate will bring a keen desire to work across different academic disciplines and will possess a demonstrated history of innovative and effective leadership in a highly consultative, collaborative, and complex academic environment. Candidates will bring significant experience in recruiting, retaining, and nurturing faculty; have capability in advancing curricular and co-curricular innovations, especially at the undergraduate level; and have strategic planning and financial stewardship experience. This Dean will be knowledgeable and entrepreneurial in envisioning, managing, and facilitating access to funding; will have experience in advocating for diverse disciplines; and will have an unwavering commitment to shared governance. Additionally, the Dean will bring a distinguished record of scholarship and academic achievement in a field appropriate for appointment as a full tenured professor in one of the 24 departments in Arts and Sciences.

Brandeis has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist with this important search.

All inquiries, nominations/referrals, and resumes with cover letters, should be sent electronically and in confidence to:

Rebecca Swartz, Principal

Matthew Tzuker, Senior Associate

Sydney Giller, Associate

Isaacson, Miller

263 Summer Street, Boston, MA  02110

www.imsearch.com/6357

Brandeis University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women and minorities.