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Dean, College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Employer
Northeastern University
Location
Boston, Massachusetts (US)
Salary
Commensurate with experience
Closing date
Jan 27, 2023

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Dean, College of Social Sciences and Humanities

 

Northeastern University seeks a leader of vision, accomplishment, intellectual breadth, and entrepreneurial energy to serve as the next Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH). Reporting to the Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean will play a leadership role in expanding the College’s presence and engagement across Northeastern’s global network of campuses. Responsible for guiding the College’s academic direction and integrity, for sustaining its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, for directing its fiscal and operational activities, for overseeing the recruitment and development of faculty and staff, and for advancing its characteristic innovation in curriculum, pedagogy, and programs, the Dean will advance the distinctiveness, reputation, and impact of the College and the University and will further strengthen the values and impact of liberal-arts education at one of the most dynamic universities in the world.

Northeastern University is a leader in global experiential learning and interdisciplinary research, focused on global challenges in health, security, and sustainability. CSSH has become the home of Experiential Liberal Arts at Northeastern, redefining liberal-arts education for the next generation of global leaders by combining the University’s signature focus on experiential learning with the rigorous study of society, culture, politics, and ethics at a rapidly growing international scale.

The College’s 17 schools, departments, and programs house an interdisciplinary group of scholars with global perspectives and a culture of inclusion. The College is also the home of 15 dynamic, cross-disciplinary research centers, several of them anchored across multiple schools of the University. By advancing the integration of liberal-arts disciplines and values with the constructive use of digital and computational tools, CSSH has become a locus of Northeastern’s mission in Humanics – the combination of technological, data, and human literacies that will enable humans to thrive in a world being transformed by artificial intelligence. Its next Dean will guide CSSH to new levels of excellence and prominence that capitalize on the unique momentum of Northeastern University.

In 2016, CSSH became the first of Northeastern’s colleges to establish a strategic plan to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in its mission, programs, and community. Other noteworthy developments over the last decade include fostering research and curricular collaborations across Northeastern’s global campus network, from the first experiential doctoral placement in London to serve the Mapping Black London Digital Humanities project to executive education on resilience and sustainability in Seattle. CSSH is home to many faculty, staff and students engaged in high-impact research and initiatives for social change. These efforts aim to create and disseminate knowledge that advances social justice, promotes well-being, and protects environmental integrity by working closely with communities to improve institutions, policies, and practices. These teams are often highly interdisciplinary, tackling complex problems and challenges through engagement with community partners. CSSH prioritizes the inclusion of students at all levels in these research teams.

 

Qualifications

The university seeks a Dean who possesses unquestioned integrity and exemplary interpersonal and communication skills, a leader with the ability to inspire align constituents and to leverage the College’s and the university’s strengths. A committed teacher-scholar who values and supports faculty development and appreciates the full range of methods of inquiry, forms of research, and approaches to pedagogy represented in the College, the Dean will be a tireless and resourceful champion for the College and for the humanities and social sciences at and beyond Northeastern.

The ideal candidate will be a passionate advocate for the virtues of a liberal-arts education in the twenty-first century who can imagine their reinvention in the dynamic, trans-disciplinary, entrepreneurial, and globalizing environment of a university committed to innovation and impact. They will be deeply supportive of faculty research and creativity and will promote collaboration across boundaries. This candidate will understand how to position CSSH at the center of Northeastern’ s mission – to solve the world’s hardest problems and to prepare students for lives of accomplishment.

Candidates must possess a demonstrated commitment to initiatives that advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and must show strong evidence of visionary leadership, innovative and entrepreneurial action, administrative and fundraising acumen, and the ability to foster an environment of growth, intellectual development for students, faculty, and staff, collegiality, and respect.  Candidates should demonstrate the ability to work effectively within Northeastern’s shared-governance practices on the basis of a management style that builds confidence, promotes teamwork, enhances creativity and collaboration, and builds consensus.

Qualified candidates will have an earned doctorate or equivalent terminal degree in their academic field and a distinguished record of accomplishment as a scholar and educator appropriate for appointment as a tenured full Professor at Northeastern University in one of the academic departments or schools of the College.

 

To Apply

Northeastern University has engaged Opus Partners to assist with this search. Craig Smith, Partner, and Abigail Maynard, Associate, are leading the search. To seek additional information, nominate qualified candidates, or to apply, please email Abigail Maynard:  abigail.maynard@opuspartners.net.

An application should include a CV and cover letter. Letters should highlight relevant experience, explain interest and motivation, and describe an initial vision for leading the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Northeastern University values diversity, equity, and inclusion and will seek a leader who is committed to promoting these values in leading CSSH. We encourage candidates to describe in the letter initiatives and accomplishments they have led or participated in that have lowered barriers and increased participation by historically under-represented groups and to address how they might advance diversity, equity, and inclusion as the Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Northeastern University is an equal-opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please

see www.northeastern.edu/diversity.

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