Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

University of Colorado; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 440,000 - 510,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and retirement plans

Tuition assistance for you and depend‑

ECO Pass for local transit

Generous paid time off

CU Advantage program perks

Job summary

University of Colorado Boulder seeks a Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences to advance academic and research excellence, student success, and organizational effectiveness. The Dean will lead a large, distributed college with three divisions and collaborate with faculty, staff, students, and university leadership.

The successful candidate will articulate a compelling vision, steward a $256M budget, and drive fundraising, governance, and strategic initiatives in a complex, research-intensive

Qualifications

• Must hold a doctorate or terminal degree in a discipline represented within the College.
• National scholarly prominence with a distinguished record for appointment as tenured full professor.
• Progressively responsible academic administrative leadership experience at a research university.

Responsibilities

• Lead as chief academic officer of the College of Arts and Sciences and partner with Deans of Divisions and university leadership.
• Set strategy, governance, and budget priorities to advance excellence, student success, and organizational effectiveness.
• Foster collaboration across divisions, drive fundraising, and ensure the College operates cohesively while preserving disciplinary strengths.

Skills

Academic leadership

Budget management

Strategic planning

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Fundraising

Communication

Education

Doctorate/terminal degree

Tenured full professor

Administrative leadership experience

Job description

The Dean is the principal academic and administrative leader of the College of Arts and Sciences and is responsible for advancing the College's academic and research excellence, student success, and organizational effectiveness. Working in close partnership with faculty, staff, students, Deans of Divisions, and university leadership, the Dean will articulate a compelling vision for A&S that builds upon the distinctive strengths of its three divisions, Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. The Dean will set direction, guide strategy, and foster effective governance, while strengthening the identity, impact, and cohesion of the College.

The Dean leads in a highly collaborative and distributed leadership environment. The Dean exercises leadership through and in partnership with the Deans of Divisions, who serve as the primary academic and administrative leaders of their respective divisions with delegated authority over divisional faculty affairs, academic programs, personnel, and resources. Thus, the Dean leads the Deans of Divisions and senior A&S staff as a cohesive team to establish and pursue shared priorities, promote collaboration across divisions, and ensure that A&S operates as a unified College while preserving the disciplinary strengths, cultures, and appropriate autonomy of its constituent units. The Dean will be expected to listen to A&S constituents and build trust while also providing clear direction, making timely decisions, and creating accountability for collective results.

As a member of the Provost's leadership team, the Dean will be a strong advocate for A&S and serve as an important partner in advancing CU Boulder's institutional priorities with a campus-first perspective. The next Dean will play a defining role in strengthening A&S as an innovative and influential academic community and in advancing CU Boulder's position among the nation's premier public research universities.

The Dean will champion the essential role of the liberal arts and sciences in the University's teaching and research missions; elevate the visibility of the College's exceptional scholarship, creative work, and educational impact; and foster interdisciplinary opportunities within A&S and across the University. Grounded in CU Boulder's vision to transform lives in service to a just and sustainable world, the Dean will also position the College to respond creatively to changes in higher education, research funding, technology, artificial intelligence, and the evolving needs of students and society.

The Dean will steward significant financial and human resources with transparency, discipline, and strategic purpose; strengthen support for and retention of faculty and staff; advance undergraduate and graduate student success; and lead an ambitious fundraising agenda. At a moment of renewed leadership and possibility at CU Boulder, the next Dean has an opportunity to bring greater stability, connection, and shared purpose to a college of extraordinary breadth and intellectual distinction and to make the whole of A&S greater than the sum of its parts. A&S is keenly interested in stable executive leadership. As such, the College hopes to recruit a Dean who will be long-serving and deeply committed to putting the College on a trajectory for long-term success.

The Dean serves as the College's chief academic officer and reports to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Dean will manage a $256M budget and be supported by a leadership team, which includes the following direct reports:

• Dean of Division Arts and Humanities
• Dean of Division Natural Sciences
• Dean of Division Social Sciences
• Associate Dean of Budget and Finance
• Associate Dean of Faculty Success
• Associate Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Research
• Associate Dean of Student Success
• Assistant Dean of Access and Community Engagement
• Assistant Dean of Administration & Strategic Initiatives
• Assistant Dean of Advancement
• Assistant Dean of Buildings and Infrastructure
• Assistant Dean of Communication and External Relations
• Senior Executive Aide

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

What We Can Offer

The annual salary range for this role is $440,000-$510,000 plus consideration for one-time signing or housing support.

At the University of Colorado Boulder, we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County's largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world-class outdoor recreation. In fact, CU Boulder has been named one of Forbes' America's Best Large Employers, ranking #4 among large employers in Colorado and #28 among universities nationwide. Explore additional perks and programs through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be creative. Be impactful. Be Boulder.

What We Require

The next Dean will be an accomplished academic leader with the intellectual breadth and curiosity, administrative sophistication, financial acumen, and interpersonal skills necessary to lead one of CU Boulder's largest and most complex academic units. The next Dean will understand that effective leadership of A&S requires influence, collaboration, and distributed leadership rather than a top-down approach. It will be absolutely critical for the next Dean to listen extensively and synthesize differing perspectives before establishing priorities and launching new initiatives. CU Boulder seeks a leader with an entrepreneurial mindset who is willing to take calculated risks, make difficult decisions, and hold others accountable. In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Required Qualifications:

• A doctorate or terminal degree in a discipline represented within the College.
• National scholarly prominence and a distinguished record of scholarship, research, creative work, and/or teaching sufficient for appointment as a tenured full professor within an appropriate A&S department.
• Progressively responsible academic administrative leadership experience within a research university.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex academic units and working effectively across multiple disciplines and constituencies.
• Appreciation of and support for the full breadth of disciplines represented in the College.
• Fiscal and budgetary management experience, including experience making strategic investments and tradeoffs.
• A demonstrated commitment to academic excellence, student success, academic freedom, shared governance, and the integration of research and teaching.
• Demonstrated success advancing research, scholarship, creative work, and interdisciplinary collaboration.