Dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts (EXPIRED)

San José State University seeks a strategic, innovative leader and a powerful spokesperson deeply committed to the humanities and the arts for its next dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts.

San José State University (San José State), located in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, is the fifth largest of the 23 campuses of the California State University (CSU) System. Founded in 1857, San José State is the oldest public institution of higher education on the West Coast. As one of the 200 top research universities in the nation, San José State offers rigorous course work and research opportunities to almost 35,000 undergraduate and graduate students in seven colleges.

The College of Humanities and the Arts offers high-quality programs that prepare students to be lifelong learners, skilled critical thinkers and professionals in the arts. It is home to eight departments and one school: Art and Art History; Design; English and Comparative Literature; Film and Theatre; Humanities; Linguistics and Language Development; School of Music and Dance; Philosophy; and World Languages and Literatures. In addition, the college administers and is responsible for San José State’s partnership with the city of San José for operation of the Hammer Theatre Center. The Hammer is a 532-seat state of the art performing arts center in downtown San José. The college’s operating budget is $24 million. It is home to more than 450 full and part-time faculty and staff and 3,800 undergraduate majors and graduate students. The college also serves nearly 16,000 undergraduates per year through its wide range of general education courses.

Reporting to the provost, the dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts provides leadership and direction for the college’s programs and departments. Through team-oriented and collaborative leadership, the dean defines, articulates and successfully implements an innovative and distinctive vision for the college as it strives to become a national and international leader for the 21st century. As a member of the provost's academic affairs leadership team and the President’s Leadership Council, the dean works with the president, provost, other deans and senior administrators to accomplish the university’s goals.

The incoming dean will have a strong record of accomplishment and a vision for the future of higher education. Experience as an academic leader with a demonstrated track record of promoting faculty and scholarly excellence will be important, as well as supporting a student-focused learning environment and innovation to improve student success. The dean will have the ability to lead the development and articulation of a clear vision and engender support from internal and external constituents in implementing that vision. The dean will demonstrate the skills to build strong alliances and partnerships across the university and throughout the community. Experience with or strong potential for fundraising and ability to generate new revenue for the college is highly desirable. A terminal degree in a discipline represented by the college's academic programs or equivalent experience is required.

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. For fullest consideration, applicant materials should be received by Friday, September 19, 2017. Candidates are asked to provide a CV, letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in the leadership profile and the names and contact information of five references. Candidate confidentiality will be respected and references will not be contacted without prior knowledge and approval of candidates. Inquiries and application materials should be sent via email to the search consultants, Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D., Suzanne Teer and Sophie Stava at [email protected]. Questions may also be directed to the consultants through the office of Eden Stroud at 630-575-6154.

SJSU is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action employer.  We consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or disability.

It is the policy of SJSU to provide reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose.