Dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies

Posting Details

Position Information

Position Title

Dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies

Job Description

Missouri Western State University (Missouri Western), located in Saint Joseph, Missouri, invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies.

The Dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies at Missouri Western will have an excellent opportunity to lead a cohesive and collaborative College as well as to build on Academic Affairs and college-level strategic planning and tradition of excellence. The Dean will be responsible for maintaining a strong leadership team, and collaborating with administrators, faculty, and staff to address college and university level goals including student recruitment, retention, and persistence. The Dean’s portfolio will include creating and supporting educational programs of the highest quality; managing budgets and resource allocation; pursuit and management of external funding; serving as the chief spokesperson and College advocate with internal and external entities including partners and accreditors; recruiting and maintaining an excellent and diverse faculty; guiding the work of advisory boards; and contributing to college advancement including fundraising and enhancing relationships with alumni, donors, partner institutions, and community and civic leaders.

Supervision:
Faculty and Staff within the College of Business and Professional Studies

Position Overview:

• The Dean is responsible for the administration of the College of Business and Professional Studies within the University. The Dean will work with the faculty in the Steven L. Craig School of Business, the Departments of Criminal Justice & Legal Studies, Education, Engineering Technology, Military Science, and the Law Enforcement Academy, as well as the Center for Franchise Development.
• The Dean reports directly to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and serves as principal administrator on educational policies and practices, academic planning, college budget and finance, and all matters related to the College.
• The Dean serves as ex-officio on all committees as designated by the bylaws.
• The Dean provides creative and dynamic leadership to address strategic recruitment and retention goals, meets workforce needs, as well as supports our campus commitment to applied learning and access to higher education.
• We value the ability to serve students from a broad range of backgrounds and seek a leader committed to collaborating with faculty, staff, and community partners who share that commitment.
• MWSU seeks a leader possessing a strong grounding in academic excellence and student success and who values working in a collegial, collaborative environment, and who is excited by innovation and prioritizes a commitment to helping all students achieve their educational goals.
• A successful candidate will demonstrate visionary leadership in support of teaching excellence and student learning, as well as experience leading change and innovation utilizing strategic planning and continuous improvement.
• The Dean will manage, coordinate, develop, evaluate, and execute the College’s strategic plan and programs, grants, projects, and activities related to its disciplines.

Essential Job Duties:

• Leads the overall operations of the College of Business and Professional Studies. Providing leadership, and mentorship that supports the growth, development, and success of the team.
• Promotes dynamic and positive College and departmental environments that encourage collaboration and excellence with a focus on student success, applied learning and innovation.
• Facilitates the continued development of the strategic plan, key performance indicator development and measurement, and data collection for the College and departments with input from department chairs, faculty, and staff. Plans both short-term and long-term goals for the College including curricular and program development.
• Plans, monitors, and administers program budgets and expenditures. Strategically allocates resources to support division needs. Identifies and secures outside funding opportunities for the College and departments.
• Collaborates with faculty to promote curriculum development in response to student, workforce, and community needs; including establishment and use of student learning outcomes.
• Initiates and leads the innovation and continual improvement of the College’s academic programs through effective communication, instructional program planning and systematic program reviews.
• Facilitates, leads, and inspires collaboration between faculty and business and industry partners in response to evolving needs of the region and workforce.
• Ensures that policies and procedures are followed as required and stipulated in University policies, administrative procedures, program certification and accreditation, articulation activities with colleges and universities, and local, state and federal guidelines.
• Directs accreditation processes for individual programs and assists with the institutional accreditation process and maintenance.
• Leads the promotion and marketing of instructional programs to the community and stakeholders. Works collaboratively with relevant programs and faculty to establish partnerships and linkages with business, industry, and community organizations.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
A successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Visionary leadership in support of teaching excellence and student learning, experience leading change and innovation utilizing strategic planning and continuous improvement.
• Success as a creative, innovative, energetic instructional leader with a strategic, collaborative, and forward-thinking approach.
• Experience as an academic leader committed to continued improvement.
• Success as a visible, organized, and accessible leader who encourages and acknowledges the contributions of others.
• A fair-minded, ethical, and honest leader with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• The ability to creatively problem-solve and make decisions that incorporate data, experience, and collaboration with faculty and staff.
• A commitment to open and transparent division-level financial processes and communication.
• Skill in developing and evaluating academic programs and assessing student learning outcomes.
• A student-centered philosophy.
• The ability to manage with effective human relations, critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent organizational skills in planning, budgeting, and resource allocation.
• Effective written and oral communication skills with various groups.
• A proven ability to build consensus, handle conflict, and manage change, and to work effectively with all students, faculty, and staff.
• Effective performance as a member of a team.
• The ability to maintain effective working relationships and relate successfully with staff, students, and people of diverse cultural, social or educational backgrounds.

Required Qualifications

• Terminal degree in a field in business discipline.
• Five (5) or more years in leadership roles in higher education.
• We value the ability to serve students from a broad range of backgrounds, and seek a leader committed to collaborating with faculty, staff, and community partners who share that commitment.
• MWSU seeks a leader possessing a strong grounding in academic excellence and student success, who values working in a collegial, collaborative environment, and who is excited by innovation and prioritizes a commitment to helping all students achieve their educational goals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a department chair or director.
• Experience with program or disciplinary accreditation and/or licensure processes.

Physical Demands

Light Work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.

FLSA

Exempt

Additional Demands

Designated as the State of Missouri’s applied learning institution, Missouri Western State University is a public open-access institution located in St. Joseph, Missouri, on a beautiful 744-acre campus approximately 35 minutes north of the Kansas City International Airport. With approximately 4,000 plus graduate and undergraduate students and over 29,000 alumni, Missouri Western is designated as a First-Gen Forward campus dedicated to academic innovation, regional and community partnerships, and a student-centered experience.


Missouri Western State University is an active participant in the educational, economic, cultural, and social development of the people and region it serves, and the campus’ distinctive focus on applied learning and research is a hallmark of its innovative teaching and learning environment. Missouri Western is an equal opportunity educational institution.

Hours of Work

May require some evenings or weekend hours.
The ideal start date for selected candidate would be in the summer months.
Faculty/Staff Plan week starts August 18, 2025.
First day of Fall semester classes is August 25, 2025.

Posting Detail Information

Posting Number

S760P

Open Date

02/21/2025

Priority Deadline

04/30/2025

Open Until Filled

Yes