Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (EXPIRED)

NC State invites applications and nominations for the position of dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The university seeks a visionary leader with a bold commitment to refine and enhance the college’s international reputation as a place which equips students and communities with knowledge that solves problems and leads to productive and satisfying lives.

The dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences must be an experienced, innovative, creative and collaborative leader who understands the importance of interdisciplinary scholarship on human thought and action to help students and faculty learn, create new knowledge and to solve complex problems.The dean should have a healthy appreciation for the humanities and the social sciences, their role in contemporary thought and society, and the unique methods and goals of various disciplines within both the humanities and social sciences. The dean should have a strong commitment to student achievement, faculty scholarship and staff development, and possess the drive to move the college forward nationally and internationally. The dean is the chief academic, administrative and budgetary officer of the college. They are the spokesperson for the college and reports directly to the executive vice chancellor and provost.

The dean is responsible for the following:

• Providing strong leadership and strategic direction for the college;
• Representing the college within the university at a skilled, politically astute level with respect to campus resources and issues;
• Representing the diverse clientele, programs and interests of the college persuasively to both internal and external constituencies;
• Promoting a culturally competent and inclusive environment, with a strong commitment to recruiting and retaining diverse faculty, staff and students;
• Openly communicating in a transparent manner that provides clarity in financial management and decision-making;
• Efficiently managing the financial resources of the college and effectively advocating for resources;
• Being a successful fundraiser and a visible, interactive participant in external-facing activities with alumni and donors;
• Recognizing and valuing the contributions of everyone in the college;
• Fostering high-impact interdisciplinary collaboration and partnership within the college and externally with other programs;
• Integrating diverse academic units under one vision for the college;
• Supporting innovative, traditional and distance-delivered educational programs;
• Promoting, recognizing and rewarding excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students;
• Providing programs and opportunities for students to develop research, leadership and communication skills;
• Serving faculty at all levels (including tenured, tenure-track and professional track) and supporting their research, extension and engagement activities;
• Providing transparent supplemental support of the departments; and
• Encouraging the high-performance and excellence of faculty, staff and units within the college and the delivery of high-quality academic programs.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences:
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is one of the largest colleges at North Carolina State University, housing the following academic units (Department of Communication, Department of English, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Department of History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Department of Psychology, School of Public and International Affairs, School of Social Work, Department of Sociology and Anthropology) and supporting three community-oriented centers (Center for Family and Community Engagement, Genetic Engineering and Society Center, Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies). The college offers more than 55 undergraduate majors, more than 40 undergraduate minors, 12 master’s degrees, five Ph.D. programs, three dual-degree honors programs and four graduate certificate programs.

The mission of the college is to support the research, education, scholarship and engagement that advance frontiers of knowledge in the college’s disciplines and programs, which impacts the human condition and problems facing local communities, the nation and the world as well as develop future leaders and global citizens.

One way the college fulfills its mission is by creating a welcoming and inclusive community and is a campus leader in promoting and exploring diversity through events, research and engagement activities. The college works to both recruit and retain a diverse, inclusive and high-achieving student population. Departments create and maintain diversity recruitment and retention plans for faculty. Minority representation in the college has increased over the last 10 years, and percentages of underrepresented minority students and female faculty are higher than the university average.

The college consists of more than 600 faculty and staff and 324 teaching and research assistants. The college’s nationally-recognized, productive faculty are Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellows. They have earned top awards in their fields and are called upon by state government and industry, national corporations, the White House and international media for their expertise. They inspire students to think critically, creatively and independently and to act purposefully.

The college’s scholarship and research yields new knowledge and perspectives. More than 4,200 students develop a lifelong commitment to learning, to seeking out innovative solutions to personal and global challenges, and to engaging with their communities. The highly competitive college is home to several programs ranked in the top 50 nationally and leverages the resources of a STEM-intensive university to engage students and faculty in interdisciplinary study.

The college graduates more undergraduates each year than any other college at NC State. More than 43,000 alumni make the college proud every day. They’re national policy leaders, financial managers, counselors, attorneys, entrepreneurs for social change, New York Times best-selling authors, James Beard award-winning chefs, concerned and involved citizens and generous souls. In addition to their unique areas of expertise, they’re all critical thinkers who use their collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills for the betterment of people, communities and society.

The college expended $65.3 million in FY 2020, with research expenditures totalling $6.4 million and endowment assets of $24 million.