NDSU College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources Associate Dean

North Dakota State University   Fargo, ND   Full-time     Education
Posted on September 7, 2024
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Major Duties and Responsibilities
  • College vision and strategy
    • Work closely with the Vice President/Dean and other team members to develop a compelling vision for the College
    • Work closely with the Vice President/Dean to enhance and build partnerships with industry leaders, state and federal agencies, higher education institutions, and other partners to facilitate internships and career paths for students and to understand workforce needs
  • Recruitment and retention
    • Supervise the College Recruitment Coordinator and work closely with them to develop and execute their efforts in on- and off-campus recruitment events including Discover NDSU, Saturday Visit Day, individual student (and parent) visits, represent the College at the Minnesota College Fair, represent the College at various 4-H and FFA events, and other recruitment events
    • Work with faculty and department heads/chairs/directors to develop and implement retention plans for each program
    • Work with other team members to ensure the College programs are highly visible to prospective students
    • Develop plans for an engaging recruitment strategy that builds on existing pathways and enhances the recruiting campaign by reaching non-traditional, prospective students, and under-represented groups with strategies to retain students once enrolled
  • Administration
    • Oversee the CAFSNR Administrative Staff that include Recruitment Coordinator and administrative support
    • Participate actively in the process for promotion, tenure, and evaluation of faculty within the College. Provide input to the Vice President/Dean related to teaching and advising as it pertains to promotion and tenure and post-tenure review.
    • Manage the academic, fiscal, and personnel resources of the College in a manner that maximizes the opportunities granted in a tuition return model including decisions related to investment of faculty resources
    • Work with department heads/chairs/directors to review and implement workload guidance from the Provost's Office, as well as guidance related to quality of teaching, retention, and the work of the NDSU Transform plan
    • Administer teaching equipment awards
    • Ensure the College faculty are informed of all requirements implemented by central administration or the College related to the teaching mission
    • Oversee accredited programs within the College and ensure standards are met
    • Contribute to University honor system process as necessary
  • Advising
    • Participate in orientation sessions for freshman and transfer students
    • Work closely with the College academic advisors to ensure advising for freshman and sophomore students runs smoothly
    • Ensure students smoothly transition from academic advisors to faculty advisors within departments
  • Scholarship administration
    • Oversee recipient selection for the College scholarship awards and lead the College scholarship selection committee
    • Collaborate with NDSU Foundation Directors of Development and review new scholarship Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) developed by the NDSU Foundation
    • Oversee the planning of the fall CAFSNR Scholarship Recognition Luncheon
    • Coordinate the Duncan Scholars Program for Undergraduate Research
  • Coordinate various student activities:
    • CAFSNR Outstanding Senior and Top 10 Senior Awards
    • Assist Recruitment Coordinator in advising the NDSU Ag Ambassadors, including helping them plan Ag Week activities
  • In the absence of the Vice President/Dean, represent the College and act on behalf of the Dean's Office at meetings and events including:
    • Deans Council
    • Graduate Council of the College of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies
    • Commencement
    • Student functions
    • Alumni functions
    • Other meetings, events and functions where the Dean's presence is desired or required
  • Philanthropy and development
    • Work closely with the Vice President/Dean and staff from the NDSU Foundation to execute the vision for philanthropy that directly meets the teaching mission of the College
  • Coordinate and lead the College's annual faculty meeting
  • Coordinate and participate as needed in student, alumni, and faculty/staff recognition events
  • Other duties as assigned
Benefits

This position is a full-time position .

Salary and Benefits: Salary is commensurate with duties and responsibilities.

NDSU offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes single or family health insurance coverage with premiums paid for by the university - with an effective date for new employees the first of the month following the date of hire. Other benefits include wellness benefits, basic life insurance, retirement plan, tuition waiver, annual leave, employee assistance program, sick leave, and holiday pay. Optional benefits include supplemental life, dental, vision, long-term care insurance, flexible spending account, and supplemental retirement plans.

Position Description & Details

The College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources (CAFSNR) at North Dakota State University seeks a dynamic, visionary leader to serve as the Associate Dean.

The Associate Dean serves as the chief operating officer for the College and is an integral part of the leadership team within NDSU Agriculture. This team member will be responsible for all aspects of the undergraduate and graduate academic portfolios within the College. Agriculture, food production systems, and demands on natural resources are evolving rapidly. The need for highly skilled graduates to fill jobs in these fields is high and these job opportunities require the College to carefully evaluate course offerings, curricula, and extracurricular offerings to ensure graduates are well prepared for a dynamic and rapidly evolving workplace.

The successful candidate will report to and work closely with the Vice President for NDSU Agriculture (Joe and Norma Peltier Endowed Vice President for NDSU Agriculture), who also holds the position of Dean for CAFSNR. The Associate Dean and Vice President/Dean will jointly craft a vision for the College that honors the traditions long held by the College, and that is able to evolve to meet a future that is dynamic. The successful candidate will lead the College as it transforms educational programs, course offerings, and curricula in response to a rapidly changing landscape for higher education. The Associate Dean will also work closely with other leaders in NDSU Agriculture to help move the College ahead in the areas of recruitment and retention, advising, and other areas related to the teaching mission of the land grant university.

The successful candidate will develop and lead initiatives to shape the future of agriculture and food systems, and natural resources, through new and innovative undergraduate and graduate curricular offerings; mentoring and training the next generation of agricultural professionals and leaders; and equipping our students with skills necessary to be successful in a rapidly changing work and career environment. The Associate Dean will work with a highly motivated team dedicated to using technology to improve the human condition, increasing food security globally, improving conservation practices for our natural resources, and ensuring the implementation of more sustainable agricultural, food systems and natural resources.

The Associate Dean will be responsible for managing the budget for the College, investing resources in key initiatives that fit with the vision for the College, and developing priorities related to the academic programs. The Associate Dean, in concert with the broader leadership team in NDSU Agriculture (NDSU Agriculture Leadership Team and academic heads, chairs, and directors), is also responsible for executing the portions of the NDSU Agriculture strategic plan related to academic programs.

Minimum Requirements
  • Tenured faculty member in an agricultural, food systems, or natural resource discipline (rank of Associate or Full Professor) at an accredited institution conferring agricultural degrees or the qualifications commensurate with the ability to be tenured at NDSU. If Associate Professor, must have credentials to attain rank of Professor at hire date.
  • Demonstrated excellence in the classroom and innovation in teaching pedagogy including innovative curricular development
  • Demonstrated ability to recruit and retain students
  • Proven track record of high quality advising and mentoring of students
  • Demonstrated commitment to student success
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to interact with students, prospective students, and their families
  • Ability to set personal bias and interests aside and work collaboratively in a team setting
  • Ability to professionally represent the Dean's Office in professional and informal settings
  • Self-starter, ability to work independently
Preferred Qualifications
  • Leadership experience (e.g. program director, department chair or head, or other academic leadership roles) including past experience effectively supervising employees
  • Experience in managing budgets, especially as it relates to tuition return models or Responsibility Center Management (RCM) budgets
  • Experience in development and management of online programs and course offerings
  • Demonstrated interest in working with and representing the broad array of majors and programs in the College
  • Experience building partnerships and relationships with the agriculture industry and workforce
  • Demonstrated ability and interest in working with donor centric philanthropy models
  • Currently tenure at a land grant university
Applicant Materials Required
  • Letter of application outlining interest and qualifications for this position (maximum of 3 pages)
  • CV (maximum of 10 pages), statement of teaching and leadership philosophy (maximum of 4 pages)
  • List of three professional references (one reference should be a former or current student) by July 22, 2024.
Questions regarding the position may be directed to Dr. Francis Casey ( francis.casey@ndsu.edu ).

Benefits:

NDSU offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes single or family health insurance coverage with premiums paid for by the university - with an effective date for new employees the first of the month following date of hire. Other benefits include: wellness benefits, basic life insurance, retirement plan, tuition waiver, annual leave, EAP, sick leave and holiday pay. Optional benefits include: supplemental life, dental, vision, long-term care insurance, flexible spending account, and supplemental retirement plans.

About Us:

North Dakota State University is distinctive as a student focused, land-grant, research university. We educate leaders who solve national and global challenges by providing affordable access to an excellent education that combines teaching and research in a rich learning environment.

NDSU is in the highest Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, R1, granted to the top research institutions in the country.

NDSU has offices across the state of North Dakota, and the main campus is in Fargo, on the Minnesota border. Along with Moorhead, Minnesota, Fargo forms one of the largest metropolitan centers between Minneapolis and Seattle. The community is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live.

No Smoking Notice :

As an employer, the State of North Dakota prohibits smoking in all places of state employment in accordance with N.D.C.C. § 23-12-10.

EO/AA Statement:

North Dakota State University is an Equal Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, gender expression/identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, participation in lawful off-campus activity, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, public assistance status, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, spousal relationship to current employee, or veteran status, as applicable.

Diversity Statement:

NDSU strives to be a community of belonging, recognizing unique differences as strengths of our university. We seek to recruit and retain a diverse workforce that supports a community in which diverse populations and perspectives will know and learn from one another. NDSU values candidates who are committed to our core values of respect, inclusivity, community, creativity, excellence, impact, innovation, integrity, resilience, responsiveness, and transformation. Successful candidates will be committed to and help advance our strategic goal to create and maintain an open and respectful environment to promote inclusivity and diversity as a cornerstone of education, research, and outreach.

Veteran's Preference Notice:

This position is subject to North Dakota Veteran's Preference requirements.

Reasonable Accommodation Information

North Dakota State University is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education, and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, please contact Human Resources at 701-231-8961 or ndsu.hr@ndsu.edu .

Land Acknowledgement

We collectively acknowledge that NDSU, a land grant institution, on the traditional lands of the Oceti Sakowin (Dakota, Lakota, Nakoda) and Anishinaabe Peoples in addition to many diverse Indigenous Peoples still connected to these lands. We honor with gratitude Mother Earth and the Indigenous Peoples who have walked with her throughout generations. We will continue to learn how to live in unity with Mother Earth and build strong, mutually beneficial, trusting relationships with Indigenous Peoples of our region. (see www.ndsu.edu/inclusioncouncil/native_american_initiatives/ ).