DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Dean of the Graduate School – Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the Office of the Executive Vice President / Executive Vice Chancellor, the Dean of the Graduate School is the chief administrator for all graduate programs within the university’s schools and colleges.  The Graduate School is the pathway and official school of record for graduate student applications, admissions, registration and enrollment, monitoring and recording of academic progress and milestones (admission, residency, qualifying examinations, candidacy, defense of dissertation), and the awarding of degrees.  Candidates for Southern University’s Dean of the Graduate School should have a distinguished record as a scholar and teacher, should have a PhD or an equivalent doctorate, and should qualify to be appointed as a tenured professor. 

In addition, all candidates are expected to possess the following:

• A strong, unwavering commitment to excellence in graduate education;
• Leadership skills that will take graduate education to the next level at Southern University Baton Rouge;
• Demonstrate a true commitment to teaching and research;
• An ability to communicate and to engage effectively with a wide range of constituents within and outside of the university;
• Desire to harness institutional potential and seize the opportunity to grow the size and the number of existing graduate programs;
• Commitment to collaborate with academic units to start and gain approval for programs that are interdisciplinary;
• Seek and gain external funding to support graduate education, expand opportunities in online and distance education;
• Experience serving as a leading administrator for a PhD program;
• A strong instinct for collaboration and the ability to navigate various administrative environments;
• Intellectual curiosity, innovative spirit, bold thinking, and a willingness to take calculated risks; and,
• A deep appreciation for Southern University’s mission, culture and commitment to ensure the advancement of both the Graduate School and the university’s focus on teaching, research and public service.

Essential Job Description and Responsibilities of the Dean of the Graduate School

1. Provide leadership to graduate programs for expanding, revising, and developing them including short- and long-range planning.
2. Work with the Provost, academic Deans, and Online and Distance Education to create and execute overall strategic enrollment planning for graduate education programs at the university.
3. Provide leadership to and oversight of graduate admissions processes.
4. Oversee the overall  operations of graduate programs management, assisting the program directors  with decisions on waiver requests, appeals, extension of time requests, etc.
5. Supervise the Graduate Assistantship (GA) support budget and allocaton to the graduate prograsms of the university.
6. Collaborate and work closely with the Graduate Council to develop and oversee policies and procedures for graduate education, including program approval.
7. Convene a subcommittee of the Graduate Council in response to a graduate student appeals or grievances.
8. Oversee Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness activities for graduate programs, including compilation and analysis of assessment data and generation performance measures
9. Lead efforts to assis grasdaute faculty with applications to national and international fellowship programs, e.g. Fulbright Fellowship, NSF Graduate Fellowship.
10. Strengthen programs and policies that improve graduate student retention, degree completion, professional opportunities, and overall success.
11. Plan, direct, and coordinate the operational, personnel, budgetary, and technological activities of the Graduate School.
12. Engage in recruiting activities, including speaking to student groups, participating in recruitment events both nationally and internationally.
13. Strengthen and expand the recruitment of high-quality graduate students and provide direction for the use of graduate assistantships, including policies and procedures related to the awarding and renewal of assistantships, the distribution and creation of assistantships, and the budgetary implications of tuition remission and assistantship stipends.
14. Be an overall advocate of graduate education on campus.
15. Perform other related duties as assigned by the Executive Vice President/Executive Vice Chancellor, including teaching and research in primary field of expertise.

Minimum Qualifications:

Will have an earned terminal degree and holds tenure at the rank of professor; has a record of significant scholarly research and evidence of sustained excellence in graduate teaching, supervision of graduate student research and advisement of graduate students to degree completion; an appreciation of the role of graduate education and a commitment to rigor and excellence in graduate programs; a commitment to successful recruitment of prospective graduate students, the academic success and professional development of current graduate students, quality mentorship by graduate faculty and well developed grantsmanship skills.

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Preferred Qualifications:

Administrative experience in the capacity of a graduate coordinator, a member of the Graduate Council, or other graduate related administrative role.

Minimum Experience

Demonstrated successful experience in academic leadership at department, the college and/or university level; evidence of successful teaching in higher education; evidence of scholarly activity and professional achievement in an academic discipline commensurate with appointment to Professor in an academic department; experience with fiscal management procedures in higher education

The application package must consist of a cover letter that includes the candidate’s administrative philosophy for the graduate school, current curriculum vitae, unofficial transcripts of terminal degree, and the complete contact information for at least three professional references.

To upload your CV, cover letter, unofficial transcripts, and the names of three references click on the following: