Marist College 

Dean, School of Communication and the Arts

Marist College seeks an innovative, collegial, and entrepreneurial dean to lead the School of Communication and the Arts. The dean is the school’s chief academic and administrative officer overseeing ten undergraduate programs and two graduate degrees set among our main campus in the historic Hudson River Valley of New York; our branch campus in the rich cultural center of Florence, Italy; and online. The school comprises five departments, 48 full-time faculty, 15 full-time staff, and about 90 part-time faculty, 1,500 undergraduate students, and 115 graduate students. 

As a member of both the Dean’s Council and the President’s Cabinet, the dean fills an important leadership position at an institution with a national reputation for teaching excellence and technology innovation. Reporting to the vice president for academic affairs/dean of faculty, the dean is responsible to develop and implement programs that bring students and distinction to Marist; work closely with Admissions and Enrollment Management; engage with alumni, advisory boards, and other professionals to promote grants, post-graduate placements, internship opportunities, and support for academic initiatives; and hire and evaluate all full-time faculty in the school. The dean exercises supervisory responsibility for the school’s personnel, planning, fiscal management, project development, facilities, operations, assessment, and other administrative functions.

 Minimum Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have experience in the academic community, although candidates with distinguished careers in communication or the arts will be carefully considered.  The candidate will be aware of disruptive trends in higher education and will possess the vision and skills to array our talented faculty and other resources to meet those challenges and opportunities. Proven experience in developing support and cultivating partnerships with internal and external constituencies is required, as is a record of progressively increasing responsibility and demonstrated leadership in a senior management role. Further, the new dean will be dedicated to the assessment of student learning and will understand of the role of the liberal arts in a comprehensive institution. A terminal degree in a relevant field or comparable outstanding achievement in the private sector is required. 

Essential Functions:

• Help implement the goals of the College’s Strategic Plan.
• Exercise general administrative supervision of all areas of responsibility, including personnel, facilities, budget, planning, and development.
• Oversee regulations and requirements of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, New York State Education Department, and accrediting bodies relevant to the school; supervise preparation of materials/proposals to and compliance with these bodies.
• Develop and implement new programs that draw students and distinction to Marist.
• Ensure the quality and relevance of all academic programs.
• Engage external constituencies to enlarge network of opportunities for internships, fellowships, graduate school placements, and job opportunities, etc.
• Lead the school in effective outcomes assessment, including oversight of documentation of faculty activities, program results, and student learning; tracking of post-graduate placements and other measures of progress.
• Guide faculty through the steps of promotion and tenure, and execute corresponding personnel policies. Take primary responsibility for the quality of teaching, scholarship, and service within the school.
• Complete formal annual performance evaluations for all full-time communication and the arts faculty and staff.
• Collaborate with department chairs and program directors to document and communicate plan for the projected personnel needs to the VPAA/Dean of Faculty; prepare the school budget and annual short- and long-term projections of the school’s financial needs.
• Approve and supervise the allocation, administration, and monitoring of school funds.
• Coordinate the search process for new faculty and/or staff within the school.
• Consult with department chairs/program directors to make decisions regarding the reappointment of all probationary, non-tenure track, and adjunct faculty in the school.
• Facilitate the compensation plan of the College within the school.
• Provide leadership in the development of advisory boards related to the academic programs of the school. Provide guidance to board members regarding advisement of curriculum, internships and placement, resource generation and other potential benefits.
• Oversee development of grants, contracts, and other external funding in support the strategic priorities of the College and school.
• Supervise the preparation of promotional materials, including catalog statements and all representation of the school via electronic media.
• Collaborate with the Admissions office and other schools and coordinate faculty communication with prospective applicants in order to continually recruit high-quality students.
• Review overall enrollment picture for school; communicate data pertaining to student enrollment, student performance, attrition, grading, and academic standards regularly to department chairs and program directors.
• Assist in development of articulated agreements with other colleges and universities, including community colleges.
• Review and decide upon appeals from students regarding decisions or actions of school faculty.
• Support and facilitate implementation of technology in the teaching and learning process, as stated in the College Strategic Plan.
• Foster good working relationships with Student Affairs and all academic support services.
• Teach the equivalent of one three-credit hour course per year within an area of expertise.
• Oversee the Media Center.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the VPAA/Dean of Faculty.

About the Department and School

Undergraduate programs include communication, fashion design, fashion merchandising, art history, studio art, digital media, games and emerging media, film and television, music, conservation studies, and interior design. Graduate programs include master’s degrees in integrated marketing communication and museum studies.  

Recent initiatives include:   

• New certificates at our branch campus in Florence, Italy, including global marketing communication and global sports communication 
• World class study sites in Paris and Dublin 
• Our “Marist in Manhattan” program, featuring semester- and year-long internships in New York City 

Other signature programs include: 

• A top ranked fashion program 
• The Center for Sports Communication, offering production of professional sports media and student interaction with leaders in the field 
• Collaborative projects with the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, one of the nation’s premier independent survey research centers 
• An art program that offers both digital and traditional media and an art gallery featuring international artists 
• An outstanding internship program, offering students placement in top communication, fashion, marketing, advertising, and design firms 
• The College’s Media Center, responsible for all campus audio/video/visual instructional technologies

About Marist

Located on the banks of the historic Hudson River and at its Florence, Italy campus, Marist College is a comprehensive, independent institution grounded in the liberal arts. Its mission is to “help students develop the intellect, character, and skills required for enlightened, ethical, and productive lives in the global community of the 21st century.” Marist is consistently recognized for excellence by The Princeton Review (Colleges That Create Futures and The Best 385 Colleges), U.S. News & World Report (10th Best Regional University/North, 5th Most Innovative School/North), Kiplinger’s Personal Finance (“Best College Values”), and others. The College is top-ranked for long-term study abroad (#4 in the U.S.) by the U.S. State Department’s Open Doors report. Marist educates more than 5,000 traditional-age undergraduate students and 1,400 adult and graduate students in 47 undergraduate majors and numerous graduate programs, including fully online MBA, MPA, MS, and MA degrees, and also Doctor of Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant programs.  To learn more, please visit https://www.marist.edu/about

Applications

To learn more or to apply, please visit https://www.marist.edu/careers. Only online applications are accepted.

Marist College is strongly committed to the principle of diversity and is especially interested in receiving applications from members of ethnic and racial minority groups, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and persons from other under-represented groups.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER