RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION
Reporting to the dean of the college, the associate dean of student affairs serves as a key advisor to the dean, supporting priorities and initiatives by identifying and managing the logistics and communications required to fulfill the division’s mission and strategic objectives. The associate dean serves as a cross-divisional liaison to campus partners, convenes and serves on committees and working groups, and promotes cross-functional and cross-divisional communications and alignment. In partnership with the dean of the college and the divisional management team (DMT), the associate dean identifies and responds to student issues, promotes divisional near and long-term objectives, identifies and develops divisional funding initiatives, and partners with advancement to plan, propose, and steward philanthropy and donor management efforts. The associate dean serves in the divisional senior staff in charge on-call rotation, responding to significant campus emergencies or student crisis issues after hours. Further, this position will lead one or more divisional departments as organizational management needs evolve, including parent and supporter services.
Key responsibilities include:
- Informs high-level decision-making by the dean of the college, and the DMT, by gathering and presenting information critical to fulfilling the division’s mission and objectives.
- As a member of the senior team, speaks for the dean of the college and takes the lead on divisional projects as assigned.
- Serves as a divisional liaison to and collaborates with campus partners (e.g., admissions and financial aid, advancement, alum relations, athletics, campus services, information, technology, and consulting [ITC], and institutional diversity & equity [IDE]), to represent student affairs priorities and effectively synchronize division and college-wide priorities and objectives.
- Demonstrates a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness by developing programming and through actions, interactions, and communications with others.
- Partners with the dean of the college and central divisional staff to strategically balance short, medium, and long-term demands effectively in support of the dean’s priorities and responsibilities.
QUALIFICATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
The successful candidate will have a master’s degree with significant years of progressively responsible administrative and management experience in higher education and student affairs. In addition, the associate dean must have experience in student affairs administration or related areas and demonstrated cultural competence and proven effectiveness in serving the needs of a diverse student population. Exceptional oral and written communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills; knowledge of higher education issues and organizational culture, policies, and processes; and demonstrated competency in initiating, organizing, and managing complex projects and monitoring progress toward articulated goals are all required qualifications. Further, the next associate dean will have proven success in fostering strong, effective relationships with students, faculty, staff, families, and campus partners; organizational and strategic planning skills with the ability to assess program efficiency and effectiveness and recommend improvements; and a proven record of successful experience responding to individual and campus community issues and crises.
In addition to the qualifications stated above, key stakeholders identified the following capabilities and attributes of a successful candidate:
- Serves as a true partner to the dean and the divisional management team, sharing information, problem-solving, and helping to shape the vision for the division and its path forward.
- Demonstrated commitment to trust, honesty, and transparency in all endeavors.
- Superior organization and project management skills with a keen awareness for details, administrative functions, and higher education trends.
- Possess a profound interest in student success with a broad knowledge of student affairs, best practices, the profession, and a commitment to encourage and support professional development and mentoring experiences at all levels within the division.
- Solid critical thinking capabilities and demonstrated experience incorporating mission, goals, and initiatives with sound strategic plans.
- Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to deal with conflict, effectively work with staff members at various levels of development and knowledge, and demonstrate authenticity, passion, and empathy in all endeavors.
- A strong systems thinker who can assist the division in a proactive approach to upcoming trends, issues, and needs.
- Bring an entrepreneurial spirit to the position with creative approaches to allocating resources, cultivating donors, and fundraising.
- Skilled in data collection and ability to analyze and make educated decisions.
- Proficient at formulating policies and protocols to guide and support the division’s work.
- Ability to effectively manage daily activities and operations while always being cognizant of the more significant issues impacting higher education on a regional, state, and national level.
- An understanding and deep commitment to social justice and demonstrated cultural competence with a strong belief in the value of diversity in enriching the learning experience and the quality of life on campus.
- A strong understanding of the division’s needs and goals with the facility to strategically advocate for the division across campus.
- A compassionate, ethical leader with excellent communication skills to articulate vision, direction, and purpose and earn the respect and confidence of the faculty, staff, students, parents, and alums.
- A firm commitment to using best practices, technology, and innovation to continually provide students with innovative programs and services.
- A strong community builder and collaborator, capable of building bridges to departments, faculty, staff, students, and the community of Hanover.
- Possess a basic understanding of advancement work and how to leverage it to improve student affairs.
- Highly energetic individual with a strong sense of self and the ability to appropriately infuse humor and enthusiasm into the workplace and campus community.
HISTORY OF THE POSITION
A long-serving Dartmouth professional served in the associate dean of student affairs role for many years. Upon their retirement, the most recent associate dean was selected and served as a one-year interim, then converted to an ongoing role before accepting a position outside of higher education.
With so many exciting changes happening at Dartmouth, the College decided to conduct a national search for this position. Now more than ever, this role will be instrumental in shaping student affairs’ future at Dartmouth.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF THE ROLE
In transitioning to Dartmouth, the associate dean of student affairs will encounter the following opportunities, priorities, and challenges, as shared by key campus stakeholders:
- This is an exciting time to be at Dartmouth with a new president and a possible new arts and sciences college that would be transformational to the campus and student affairs.
- The new associate dean must take the time to get to truly know the entire division, their roles, talents, and contributions to the organization and student success.
- The division is filled with strong, talented staff that need the associate dean to partner with them to bring their projects to fruition, forge relationships across campus for the betterment of the work of the division, and serve as a resource.
- Given how the associate dean works with the entire division, this role must connect people, build coalitions, and add value to projects and initiatives. The position is a supporter and consensus builder.
- Earn the respect of the campus community through accessibility, honesty, visibility, follow-through, and transparency.
- Work to create meaningful networks with alums and advancement to provide support for projects and initiatives.
- The associate dean must positively represent student affairs and its work to the campus and the community by accurately and authentically telling their story.
- The associate dean must be extremely visible and approachable on campus and represent student affairs at events on and off campus.
- The associate dean is expected to work with the dean of the college to share in leadership decisions and initiatives focused on the future of the division.
- Infuse assessment and use of data to guide informed decisions for the department.
- Dartmouth has a new president who has shown a strong interest in the student experience and the work of Student Affairs.
- With its four, ten-week terms the environment at Dartmouth is fast-paced and can be challenging.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
The items listed below will define the new associate dean’s success throughout the first two years of employment:
- Through the building of meaningful connections, the associate dean is well-known and respected within the division and the broader campus community.
- The division considers the associate dean a “go-to person” for advice, knowledge, and assistance without the fear of being controlled or micromanaged.
- The associate dean is an active thought partner within the divisional management team, helping to provide unity, solve problems, and share information.
- The associate dean is working to move student affairs to a place of equal standing with academic affairs.
- The newly formed parent and supporters’ program is thriving.
- The new associate dean and the dean of the college have forged a strong working relationship built on trust and respect.
- Communication throughout the division has improved, with staff feeling kept aware of current issues, projects, and initiatives and understanding the reasoning behind much of the decision-making.
- The associate dean can clearly articulate to campus stakeholders how student affairs contributes to the institution and the value of these contributions.
- The associate dean has built an infrastructure for student affairs to work more effectively and efficiently with the ability to bring the right people together for projects and problem-solving.
- The new associate dean feels genuinely connected to Dartmouth, the division, and its students.
OVERVIEW OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
Mission
“Dartmouth College exists to prepare the most promising students for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership launched by a focus on intellectual and personal growth in a residential liberal arts community. Thus, student affairs fosters the integration of learning and student life, with a view toward students’ contributions to the world beyond Dartmouth. At Dartmouth, our goal is that the ways that students live, learn, and lead seamlessly intersect to create a community of learners and doers.
Whether through co-curricular innovations, advising and academic enhancement programs, student organizations, residential education, health, and wellness programming, faith and cultural identity support, service, and professional development, or traditional college celebrations, Student Affairs seeks to empower all students to reach their full potential as critical thinkers who live, work, and serve in complex communities.
In partnership with students, faculty, staff, and alums, student affairs fosters a learning environment that:
- Integrates intellectual, personal, and professional development into all students’ experiences.
- Constructively engages and strengthens the community.
- Critically examines values, beliefs, systems, and structures.
- Expects and assists students in holding themselves and each other accountable for a community that is welcoming, inclusive, and equitable.
- Embraces challenges as opportunities for growth and celebrates achievements.”
Leadership of the Division of Student Affairs
Scott C. Brown – Dean of the College
Dean of the College Scott Brown is the senior officer responsible for academic and co-curricular life at Dartmouth. He oversees the division of student affairs, including student support services, health and wellness, community life and inclusivity, student life, and residential life.
Prior to coming to Dartmouth, Dean Brown served as interim associate vice president and dean of students at Northern Arizona University, vice president and dean of students at The College of Wooster, associate vice president and dean of students at Colgate University, director of the Daniel L. Jones Career Development Center at Mount Holyoke College, and as an area director in residential life at Dartmouth.
Dean Brown has been active in higher education through leadership involvement in state associations and national conventions, publications, and presentations on a wide range of topics, such as creating powerful learning environments, understanding complex issues of identity, and examining student affairs as a profession. His work has appeared in the American Journal of Sexuality Education, the International Journal of Aging and Human Development, the Journal of College Student Development, and the Journal of Colleges and Employers. A first-generation college student, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, his master’s degree in education from Indiana University, and his doctorate from the University of Maryland.
INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW
Founded in 1769, Dartmouth College is a member of the Ivy League and consistently ranks among the world’s greatest academic institutions. As an R1 institution with high research activity, Dartmouth has forged a singular identity for combining its deep commitment to outstanding undergraduate liberal arts and graduate education with distinguished research and scholarship in the Arts and Sciences and its four leading graduate schools—the Geisel School of Medicine, the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, the Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business. The College serves 6,744 students and encompasses over 161 administrative, academic, residential, and athletic buildings. With its quarter-term academic calendar, Dartmouth’s highly residential 269-acre main campus remains a very active 24/7 environment year-round. The College is located in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire, judged one of the best places to live due to its strong sense of community, rich cultural life, and regional resources that include major teaching hospitals, a burgeoning high-tech sector with global connections, and extensive recreational opportunities. Influenced by its distinctive New England setting and heritage, Dartmouth embodies a pioneering commitment to “making a difference” in a community whose members work together to create knowledge, connect to the world, and further their sense of identity and direction.
The Student Body (Fall 2022 data)
Total enrollment: 6,744
Undergraduate: 4,458
Graduate: 2,286
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Diversity, equity, and inclusivity are directly tied to academic excellence at Dartmouth. A diversity of backgrounds and perspectives is necessary to maximize potential in knowledge creation and education, and equity—supporting every community member in reaching their full potential—is essential if the institution, as a whole, is to achieve its highest ambitions.
Through new support programs and policies and the removal of barriers that impede success, Dartmouth is making important strides toward its diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.
Institutional Leadership
Sian Leah Beilock, President-Elect
Sian Leah Beilock is the president-elect of Dartmouth. She is the first woman to be elected president of Dartmouth by the Board of Trustees and began her tenure on June 12, 2023.
Beilock previously served as the eighth president of Barnard College at Columbia University.
During her tenure at Barnard, Beilock enhanced STEM research and teaching programs to parallel the college’s renown in the arts and humanities; implemented Feel Well, Do Well, a campus-wide health and wellness initiative; and launched Beyond Barnard, a one-stop shop for career resources at Barnard and beyond. Building on Barnard’s relationship with Columbia, Beilock has established options for students to transition directly from Barnard into a range of master’s programs at Columbia through unique five-year BA/MS degrees. Beilock has also led Barnard to record fundraising, increased applications for admission, and increased diversity among students, faculty, and staff. Almost half of Barnard students identify as women of color.
Before joining Barnard, Beilock spent 12 years at the University of Chicago, where she was the executive vice provost, serving as an officer of the university, and the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology. As executive vice provost, Beilock oversaw and had budgetary responsibility for major academic centers including the university’s library system, the University of Chicago Press, the university’s art museum, and its professional theater. Beilock was also responsible for campus-wide space allocation and oversaw several major building projects. She played the lead role in developing a system to account for how income (such as tuition and grants) and expenses flowed across the undergraduate college, the graduate, and professional schools, and UChicago Medicine. She created and led UChicagoGRAD, a university-wide initiative designed to prepare the university’s 10,000 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for leadership roles in academia, government, industry, and the nonprofit sector.
Beilock is one of the world’s leading experts on the brain science behind “choking under pressure” in business, education, and sports. In the last several years, her research has focused specifically on success in math and science for women and girls and on how performance anxiety can either be exacerbated or alleviated by teachers, parents, and peers.
She is the author of the critically acclaimed Choke and How the Body Knows Its Mind, which have been published in more than a dozen languages, and she has published 120 peer-reviewed scientific papers. She works closely with individuals, Fortune 500 companies, sports teams, and government organizations to help them build high-performance teams and use research-driven strategies to create environments that attract, retain, and get the best out of their talent. Beilock is an independent director on the Bridgewater Associates Operating Board of Directors and serves on the Board of Advisors for C Street Advisory Group.
Beilock’s research has been featured in media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and CNN. She was chosen as one of 25 “Women to Watch” by Crain’s Chicago Business and won several awards from national and international societies devoted to psychology, sports psychology, and education. Most notably, Beilock is the recipient of a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation and, in 2017, she won the Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences for her “fundamental contributions to our understanding of human skill learning and performance breakdowns in high-pressure and anxiety-provoking situations.” Her 2017 TED Talk has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
Beilock earned her bachelor of science in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego, and doctorate degrees in psychology and kinesiology from Michigan State University.
BENEFITS OVERVIEW
For a full benefits guide for Dartmouth College, see here.
Review of applications will begin immediately, and continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position please click on the Apply button, complete the brief application process, and upload your resume and position-specific cover letter. Nominations for this position may be emailed to Heather J. Larabee at hjl@spelmanjohnson.com. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895 or email info@spelmanjohnson.com.
New Hampshire is a state that does not require public salary disclosure. For more information, please contact Heather J. Larabee.
Visit the Dartmouth College website at home.dartmouth.edu
Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected status. Applications by members of all underrepresented groups are encouraged.