Position Announcement
Dean of the College of Art, Media, and Design
The University of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA
The University of the Arts seeks a dean of its new College of Art, Media, and Design (CAMD). The new college is the cornerstone of an ambitious academic vision and plan to reinvent arts education at the University. The dean will lead the effort to define and build the new college and to shape and implement a new approach to art, media, and design education.
The College of Art, Media, and Design will be formed from the merger of two existing colleges of Art and Design and of Media and Communication. The establishment of the new college is a key recommendation of the University’s academic plan, formally adopted by the Board of Trustees in June 2010 after an intensive 18-month planning effort involving the entire University community. The new college will bring together multiple programs in film, design, and fine art that are at present spread across the two colleges.
The dean will lead a multiyear effort to integrate the two colleges and to create three new schools of film, art, and design that bring together existing departments in these areas. He or she will also work with faculty leaders to define and implement the curricular structure that will distinguish the College of Art, Media, and Design.
The two colleges presently employ some 65 full-time faculty, 170 part-time faculty, and 35 full-time staff. The colleges provide instruction to 1500 undergraduate and graduate students in 23 degree programs, including, among others, graphic design, interactive design, film, writing for film and television, illustration, fine arts, and craft. Graduate degrees are offered in such diverse areas as museum studies, art education, book arts and printmaking, industrial design, and fine arts. The two colleges combined budget is $11.5 million. Last year, the colleges raised gifts totaling more than $300,000 to support scholarships and programs.
Instruction is offered in 200,000 square feet of studios, workshops, galleries, other specialized facilities, and classrooms spread across three buildings on South Broad Street in Center City Philadelphia. The University is at the geographic and symbolic heart of Philadelphia’s vibrant arts community and creative economy including outstanding museums and galleries, performance venues and organizations, artists’ communities and collectives, design and multimedia agencies, entrepreneurship incubators, and film and television production facilities.
The new college traces its origins to the Philadelphia College of Art formerly the Philadelphia Museum School of Art alma mater to such distinguished graduates as painter Charles Sheeler, sculptor Charles Long, animators The Quay Brothers, metalsmith Olaf Skoogfors, photographer Deborah Willis, and cartoonist Arnold Roth.
The dean of the College of Art, Media, and Design will be the chief academic and operations officer of the college with ultimate responsibility for its curriculum, teaching and administrative staff, and budget. He or she will report to the University’s provost. The dean will also serve as a member of the University’s senior leadership team, the President’s Council, which meets twice monthly to set policy and discuss strategic issues.
Specifically, the dean will:
– Ensure the educational vitality of the College and academic well being of its students
– Lead the effort to integrate the two existing colleges into a single unit
– Consistent with the University’s academic plan, develop and implement a multi-year strategic plan for the new College
– Develop annual and multi-year budgets for the College and manage the College’s expenses
– In consultation with faculty, appoint directors of the several schools of the new College and work closely with them to develop multiyear strategic plans for their schools
– Lead efforts, undertaken collaboratively with the directors, to grow, renew, strengthen, and support the faculty of the College, including appointments, promotions, and research and creative support
– Oversee the non-faculty staff of the College
– Lead efforts, undertaken collaboratively with the directors, to assess and revise existing curricula and pedagogy and to conceive and develop new degree programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels
– Working with the vice-presidents for facilities and information technology, direct and oversee efforts to renovate, upgrade, and expand College facilities and equipment
– Ensure the strength and vitality and continued excellence of the College’s existing, disciplinary degree programs
– Encourage and facilitate effective collaboration among the several schools of the College and with the College of Performing Arts and the Division of Liberal Arts with a particular focus on cross-disciplinary educational and artistic initiatives
– Identify, encourage, and facilitate partnerships with other organizations in the Philadelphia area and beyond, including educational institutions, cultural organizations, creative industries, etc.
– Oversee the College’s galleries, including the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, the University’s premiere public exhibition space
– Work closely with the admissions and student affairs departments to develop and support recruitment and retention goals
– Work closely with the vice-president for development to identify and seek new resources for the College
– Participate in the Council of Deans and the President’s Council, the University’s principal planning and strategy groups
The candidate appointed to the deanship will have demonstrated success as an educational or organizational leader and will be deeply familiar with contemporary art and design theory and practice. He or she will be committed to educational and artistic innovation and to the possibilities represented by cross-disciplinary collaboration. The new dean will wish to work and lead in a multi-disciplinary community dedicated to preparing young artists and creative professionals not only for leadership in their fields but for a life of exploration, invention, and engagement whatever their ultimate career path.
It is strongly preferred that the dean hold a terminal degree in art, design, or media or in a related scholarly field. The successful candidate will also be eligible to be appointed as a full professor in the college. It is expected the new dean will take up his or her duties on or before July 1, 2011.
Candidates should submit a letter describing their interest and qualifications and a curriculum vitae via email to president@uarts.edu.
