Dean of Faculty Affairs

Duke Kunshan University invites senior faculty with administrative experience to apply for the position of Dean of Faculty Affairs. The Dean of Faculty Affairs is a senior academic leadership position that reports to the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs (VCAA), DKU’s chief academic officer. The successful candidate will lead oversight and administration of faculty evaluation and reappointment and promotion procedures; provide strategic support to the VCAA on faculty development; on the VCAA’s behalf, serve as arbiter of faculty conduct under DKU faculty handbook; provide support for faculty development initiatives; and oversee the development and approval of new or amended faculty-related policies. The successful candidate ought to be able to obtain tenure at Duke Kunshan University at the rank of Full Professor.   

Expectations of Applicants:  

Required: 

• Ph.D. degree or doctoral equivalent   At least 15 years of work experience in academia, with at least two years as a tenured faculty member  Record of superior discretion  Exceptional communication skills  Experience leading a small team while developing junior faculty and reporting staff   Proven ability to balance the needs of various stakeholders  Ability as a problem-solver, quick learner, and sophisticated interlocutor with faculty   

Preferred: 

• Previous and substantial experience with rank and tenure procedures   Experience of working in a multicultural environment is strongly preferred, as is the ability to adapt to work in a fast-paced and growing international institution.  
• Experience of developing and managing office budgets   

About DKU and Application Instructions 

DKU is a collaborative partnership of Duke University, Wuhan University and the Municipality of Kunshan, China (https://dukekunshan.edu.cn/).  Our campus provides an innovative and robustly interdisciplinary undergraduate liberal arts experience to a student body that will number 2000 students and 150+ faculty, with an acceptance rate of <8% and a student body represented by over 60 countries. We also offer a discrete number of Master’s level graduate programs. The DKU pedagogical model draws on the best of Duke’s educational experience and resources to reimagine undergraduate instruction on an intimate campus setting.  

Similar to the best liberal arts colleges in the United States, DKU values dedication to teaching excellence in a liberal arts environment, as well as a strong commitment to successful scholarly engagement and research. This includes research with undergraduate students.  As a whole, the Duke Kunshan faculty will have strong commitments to teaching and research, and outstanding quality in both areas will be highly valued.  

Candidates must hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent and have at least at least 15 years of work experience in academia, with at least two years as a tenured faculty member. Previous and substantial experience with rank and tenure procedures is strongly preferred, but faculty with broad administrative experience are also encouraged to apply. 

Candidates ought to be eligible for tenure at the rank of full professor at DKU. Applicants should provide a cover letter including a clear statement of the candidate’s specific interest in DKU and previous relevant experience, a curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, a teaching statement, and three reference letters. All materials should be submitted through Academic Jobs Online: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/28009. The search committee also invites and encourages letters of nomination for potential candidates. Nominations and questions about the positions may be sent to dku-academicaffairs@dukekunshan.edu.cn using the subject “Dean of Faculty Affairs” in the subject line. Priority will be given to applications received by December 1, 2024. We will accept applications until the positions are filled. 

The DKU campus is 37 miles west of Shanghai in Kunshan, and is connected to Shanghai via an 18-minute high-speed train and a subway-light rail train system. DKU provides internationally competitive compensation, housing allowance, child education benefits (for applicable faculty positions), and a discretionary fund or start-up package.