Dean of the College of Architecture and Planning

The University of Utah invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the College of Architecture + Planning. The Dean will be a tenured professor serving as the College’s chief academic and administrative officer. Duties include oversight of academic programs, fundraising, recruiting/retention of outstanding and diverse faculty, staff, and students; collaborating with other Deans and leaders across colleges; and communicating within the University, and to the community-at-large, the goals and achievements of the College. The ideal candidate for this role will be well-connected within the profession and active in professional associations, with broad connections across the field.

The Dean will serve a five-year renewable term and will report to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost. This is an exciting time to join the University of Utah as the Dean of CA+P will be part of a large cohort of new senior leadership, including a new president, provost, and several academic deans.

The University of Utah seeks a dynamic academic administrator with a proven ability to lead academic departments who embodies a philosophy that embraces and supports students of all backgrounds in the rapidly changing world of higher education.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as chief academic officer of the College; Provide leadership for strategic planning, including developing and enhancing the College’s academic programs; Oversee College advancement, including development, marketing and communications, donor cultivation and fundraising, and alumni relations; Recruit outstanding, inquisitive, and diverse students to the CA+P, facilitating equitable and just access to degree programs for all students, continuing and expanding the growth in enrollments and interest in the College’s majors and programs; Oversee recruitment, supervision, professional development, and retention of strong and diverse faculty and staff; Promote an environment where equity, diversity, and justice are fostered accountably throughout the teaching, research, and service activities of the College; Ensure continued accreditation and state approvals; Support faculty research and the related development required to ensure continued, strong contributions in this area; Promote and facilitate interdisciplinary programming and collaboration between the three academic departments within the College and between CA+P and the broader University; Manage College budget, course scheduling, and staff; Participate in University governance, including service on standing and ad hoc committees, and represent the College to external constituencies. Click here for additional details related to the responsibilities of the Dean.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications

The successful candidate for this position will possess:

• A terminal degree in one or more disciplines related to one of the College of Architecture + Planning programs. Evidence of the ability to meet the professional requirements of a tenured position in the College. The characteristics of productive research/creative activity may differ depending on the candidate’s area(s) of specialization and professional goals. Assessments of faculty activity in the RPT process take into account the professional context of the candidate and the communities in which they are embedded. The College fosters research and creative activities that include discovery, innovation, application, and/or engagement. A minimum of three years in a leadership role with management experience in strategic planning, change management, budget oversight, human resources, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. A commitment to fostering a diverse educational environment and an ability to work with a diverse student and faculty population.

Desired Skills and Attributes

The successful candidate will provide evidence of possessing many of the following experiences, skills, and attributes:

• A commitment to developing and promoting innovative practice in the field, including research, design, community engagement, and technology. A commitment to shared governance, transparency, and open communication. A record of overseeing growth and development in academic programming, including the promotion of innovative and best-practice educational delivery models and processes. Experience managing academic units, including identifying, recruiting, and retaining distinguished and diverse faculty. Developing and deploying strategic initiatives to advance high-quality research and research funding. A record of developing forward-thinking strategies for identifying new sources of revenue and fundraising. A track record of leading or participating in interdisciplinary design initiatives, projects, or programs.

About the College of Architecture and Planning:

The University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning (CA+P) is a community of award-winning and highly recognized faculty, entrepreneurial students, and support staff that together form a creative community unlike any other. Structurally, the College is made up of the School of Architecture, the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, and the Division of Multi-Disciplinary Design. CA+P is also home to two research centers–the Ecological Planning Center and the Metropolitan Research Center and two collaboratives: the Healthy and Resilient Places (HaRP) Collaboratory and the Transforming Places, Practices, and Pedagogies (TP3C) Collaborative.

CA+P enrolls approximately 575 undergraduate and 145 graduate students and employs 21 tenured track faculty and 7 career-line faculty. The College’s total budget is approximately $9,800,000.

CA+P is at the leading edge of transforming architectural, design, and planning education, engaging in critical work within an ethic of care. The College functions from an understanding that the global dynamics of population growth and aging, environmental degradation, and resource inequality are calling on 21^st-century architects, designers, and planners to think, work and make in new ways. As such, students, faculty, alumni, and clients are challenged to seize upon these intrinsic resources to inform the creation of purposeful, aesthetically-elegant interventions that foster ecological, social, and economic resilience, and further health and well-being for all, especially those for whom design makes the greatest difference.

CA+P is guided by four commitments related to teaching, scholarship, creative work, and service:

1. Responsibility: A responsibility to past, present, and future generations for the sustainability of our creative expressions that reallocate natural resources. Resilience: A systemic understanding that polycultures and diversity nurture greater ecological and community resilience. Respect: A respect for the health and culture of all people and all places. Response: The demand to respond to the grand challenges of our time through innovative and collaborative modes of practice that demonstrate our commitment to excellence and quality.

CA+P puts its values into action, leading to a record of successes that includes:

• The development of student support resources including a campus model of a Student Success Center with private consulting rooms and dedicated advisors, a digital fabrication lab, collaborative studio/lab spaces, a video/photo lab, and a café that serves as the social hub for the College as well as the adjacent College of Fine Arts; A recruitment and retention strategy resulting in 150% growth over seven years and one of the most diverse units on campus served by a female-majority faculty and the most diverse staff on campus; Extensive work with community partners throughout the Intermountain West including University Neighborhood Partners, the Navajo Nation, activities that cut across teaching, research, and service; The first-in-nation collaborative space with professional organizations AIA Utah and ASLA Utah in downtown Salt Lake City; DesignBuildUTAH@Bluff, an exemplary design-build program that works with the Diné in the Four Corners frontier area of the state; An innovative multi-disciplinary design program partnering with external non-profits (e.g. National Park Service) and commercial leaders (Adobe) across physical and digital design domains; Extensive work with Intermountain West community partners on activities that cut across teaching, research, and service, including University Neighborhood Partners, The Naatsiilid Initiative, Adult & Aging Services of Salt Lake County, Osher Institute of Lifelong Learning, Dark Matter University, Giv Communities, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Utah Seismic Safety Commission, Sorenson Unity Center, and Assist Community Design Center. #7 Small Program in the Nation - Master of City & Metropolitan Planning, as rated by Planetizen; #12 Public Architecture Program in the U.S., as rated by College Scorecard.

About the Institution:

The University of Utah (the U) is the state’s flagship institution of higher education, with 18 schools and colleges, more than 100 undergraduate and 90 graduate degree programs, and an enrollment of more than 32,000 students. In 2019, the University joined the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only, prestigious group of 65 leading research institutions marked by excellence in academic expertise and research impact, student success, and securing resources in support of core missions, which are focused on serving the increasingly diverse student population at the U. In Fall 2021, domestic students of color accounted for more than 30% of the undergraduate population—up from 18% in 2009.

The U is located in Salt Lake City, one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing—economically and culturally—metropolises in the U.S. The city is uniquely situated to offer both unmatched outdoor and exciting urban experiences, with mountain vistas only a few steps away and vast red-rock desert landscapes within reach of a scenic afternoon drive. Additionally, the Utah Asia Campus was established in 2014 and is located in Songdo International Business District in South Korea. Students attending the Utah Asia Campus find the same world-class U.S. academic experience offered at the campus in Salt Lake City.

At the U, you'll find world-class research, education, and clinical care complemented by a lively social, cultural, and athletic campus experience. An unparalleled spirit of entrepreneurship, collaboration, and community service has enabled the U to innovate across fields, pioneer new programs with social impact, generate path-breaking discoveries, fuel critical research, and inspire innovative approaches to education.

President Taylor R. Randall became the 17th President of the University of Utah in August 2021, following a prior tenure as the dean of the University’s David Eccles School of Business. Under his leadership, the Eccles School gained a national reputation as a place of innovation, garnering top 10 entrepreneurship rankings for both undergraduate and graduate programs. During his time as dean, the value of an Eccles School education increased dramatically. He established the First Ascent Scholars Program, which cultivates, encourages, and enables academically focused students with significant financial needs to attend the Eccles School. President Randall recently released his strategic vision for the University of Utah calling for increased enrollment to 40,000 students and an increase in research funding to $1 billion by 2025. This plan emphasizes the collaboration between the main and health campuses at the University of Utah, which is referred to as “One U.” Working together across campus will allow the U to meet the vision described by President Randall to accelerate the University’s rise as it focuses on four overarching goals: student success, knowledge transfer, community engagement, and institutional vitality.

The U strives to be a model public university in delivering unmatched value in higher education and health care while making social, economic, and cultural contributions that improve the quality of life throughout the state, the nation, and the world. The U’s reputation for excellence draws top-tier faculty and attracts motivated students nationally and internationally. Students bring diverse experiences and outlooks – representing traditional and nontraditional students alike – thereby enhancing the exceptional educational experience the U offers.

Learn more at utah.edu.

Leadership

MARTELL L. TEASLEY is Interim Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost. Appointed dean of the College of Social Work in 2017, Martell is in his second term as president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Social Work. Martell was Professor and Chair of the Department of Social Work in the College of Public Policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio from 2012 until 2017. As the lead investigator on the Social Work profession’s Grand Challenge to Eliminate Racism, his major research interests are African American adolescent development, school social work practice, and diversity in social work education. He is the former Chair of the Social Work and Disaster Recovery Program at Florida State University College of Social Work.

Dr. Teasley served in the U.S. Army for 10 years and participated in the First Persian Gulf War as a Licensed Practical Nurse. His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Fayetteville State University in North Carolina in 1994. He received a Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, in 1996, and his doctorate in Social Work in 2002 from Howard University, located in Washington, D.C.

To Apply:

Confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled; parties who apply by October 26^th will be given first consideration. Please submit 1) a CV that includes the scope and scale details for your related roles 2) a cover letter addressing how your experience aligns with the qualifications, your record of success, and your particular interest in this role 3) a diversity statement (maximum two pages) that addresses the ways in which your personal and professional philosophy and related record as a leader aligns with the University’s “4 Pillars to Lead to Equity” and demonstrates your ability and willingness to embrace and advance this mission 4) a portfolio (10-12 pages maximum) or a research sample (a full published article or chapter).

All applications and nominations will be held in confidence. To apply online, go to: https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su327

For more information or to offer recommendations or nominations:

Kristen Farha

Senior Consultant

Summit Search Solutions, Inc.

Direct: 316-650-0069

kfarha@summitsearchsolutions.com

The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities. Please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 201 S. Presidents Circle, Room 135, (801) 581-8365 (V/TDD), for further information or to request an accommodation. The University of Utah is committed to diversity in its workforce. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.