The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of dean of the UCLA School of Public Affairs. We seek a bold and innovative thinker to lead top-rank public policy, social welfare, and urban planning programs on the forefront of problem-solving scholarship and practice.
Housed in one of the top five public research universities in North America in one of the largest, most dynamic, and most diverse regions on the globe, the UCLA School of Public Affairs is ideally situated at the apex of the new east-west dynamics reshaping civil society. Our faculty are among the most distinguished in the nation, and our students rank with the brightest and most diverse anywhere. The new dean will lead three academic departments; seven degree programs (two undergraduate minors, three professional master’s, and two PhD); nine research centers; over 40 full-time faculty; nearly 30 field, practitioner, and visiting faculty; over 500 students; and over 6,500 alumni working at scales ranging from neighborhood to international on topics such as urban poverty, immigration, aging, health care, transportation and trade, as well as national security. For more information on the UCLA School of Public Affairs go to: www.spa.ucla.edu.
The dean will engage with a multidisciplinary faculty whose research interests span a wide range of policy areas, with students, and with constituencies within the academy and in the public sphere. As the chief executive and academic officer for the school, the dean will set the standard for intellectual engagement and accomplishment by providing strategic vision for and operational leadership of the academic programs. The dean will serve as a catalyst to link the work of public affairs faculty and students to other disciplines in the academy, and to public and private communities and interests outside of the university. The dean will be the school’s public voice, promoting initiatives within UCLA, and articulating the school’s contributions in local, state, regional, national and international arenas. The dean will pursue an aggressive development program to build the school’s resources. In conducting this work, the dean will collaborate with the chancellor, executive vice chancellor and provost, vice chancellors and vice provosts, deans, and department chairs at UCLA and across the University of California system. He or she reports to the executive vice chancellor and provost.
The successful candidate will be a nationally recognized leader in research, teaching, and public service with experience in engaging social and economic issues in a wide variety of settings. Position requirements include substantial administrative experience, preferably at a research university, proven success in external fund development, and credentials that merit appointment at the rank of full professor in the University of California system.
A full leadership profile is available on request. Inquiries and nominations should be directed to Mary Elizabeth Taylor at 212-686-2676 or Elizabeth Bohan at 630-575-6161. Applications containing a letter expressing interest in the position and describing one’s qualifications and a curriculum vita should be sent electronically to uclaspa@wittkieffer.com. Candidate review begins in January 2008, with announcement of the appointment targeted for spring. Start date is negotiable, though July 1, 2008 is preferred. Compensation is highly competitive.
The University of California is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, and seeks candidates who are committed to the highest standards of scholarship and professional activities and a campus climate that supports equality and diversity