Northeastern University
Dean, College of Arts, Media and Design
More information about the position can be found here.
Northeastern University seeks a leader of vision, accomplishment, creative and intellectual breadth, and entrepreneurial capacity to serve as the next Dean of the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD).
With its six academic schools and departments – architecture, art + design, communication studies, journalism, music, and theatre – and multiple research centers and labs, CAMD is a vibrant community of creators, educators, innovators, and researchers dedicated to expanding human potential CAMD’s approach is to integrate human experience with cutting-edge advancements in technology, data, and emerging media to innovate creative industries, inform and develop new kinds of scholarship, art, and practice, and solve the challenges of the future.
Reporting to the university’s Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the dean will play a leadership role in activating the college’s presence and engagement across Northeastern’s global network of campuses. The dean will advance the distinctiveness, reputation, and impact of the college and the university and will be responsible for:
- Guiding the college’s academic direction and integrity
- Overseeing the recruitment and development of faculty and staff employees and supporting them in their work
- Continuing the college’s innovation in curriculum, pedagogy, and programs
- Generating resources to advance its mission
- Fostering a sense of belonging within and beyond the college
- Directing its fiscal and operational activities
The College of Arts, Media and Design has established itself as a vibrant community of creators, communicators, designers, and scholars working together to harness data and emerging technologies to advance human potential and solve the challenges of the future. Housed in a remarkably innovative university, CAMD is well placed to advance the leading edge in how creative endeavors and emerging technologies such as AI inter-relate.
In its education, research, creative, and community impact, CAMD’s faculty aim to transform the academic and research landscape of its disciplines through interdisciplinary collaborations, based on four foundational pillars: Design for Experience; Communication for the Future; Creativity for Innovation; and Technology and New Media.
CAMD leverages Northeastern’s distinctive strengths, attributes, and energy. The university’s unique value proposition is grounded in several key tenets: an experiential education that prepares graduates to thrive in a technology-driven world; a global network of campuses and partners for students and faculty to leverage for learning and research; a deep investment in lifelong and experiential learning; pedagogical innovation; and a highly collaborative, partner-fueled research enterprise focused on high-impact solutions.
Qualifications
Northeastern University seeks a dean who possesses unquestioned integrity and exemplary interpersonal and communication skills, a leader with the ability to inspire and align constituents and to leverage the college’s and the university’s strengths. The dean will be a tireless and resourceful champion for the college and for the fields of arts, media, and design as well as a committed teacher-scholar and/or practitioner who values and supports faculty development and appreciates the full range of methods of inquiry, forms of research, and approaches to pedagogy represented in the college.
The ideal candidate will be a passionate advocate for the virtues of education, research, and practice in media, design, and the arts in the twenty-first century who can imagine their reinvention in the dynamic, trans-disciplinary, entrepreneurial, and globalizing environment of a university committed to innovation and impact. They will be deeply supportive of faculty research and creativity and will promote collaboration across boundaries. This candidate will understand how to position CAMD to contribute to and derive value from Northeastern’s mission: “to solve the world’s hardest problems and to prepare students for lives of accomplishment.” And, crucially, they will have the strategic capacity, collaboration and communication skills, and ability to execute initiatives necessary to succeed in Northeastern’s fluid, fast-paced, innovative, and results-driven environment.
Candidates must possess a demonstrated commitment to initiatives that promote a sense of belonging for all and must show strong evidence of visionary leadership, innovative and entrepreneurial action, administrative and fundraising acumen, and the ability to foster an environment of growth, intellectual development for students, faculty, and staff, collegiality, and respect. Candidates should demonstrate the ability to work effectively within Northeastern’s shared-governance practices on the basis of a management style that builds confidence, promotes teamwork, enhances creativity and collaboration, and builds consensus.
Qualified candidates will have an earned doctorate or equivalent terminal degree in their academic field and a distinguished record of accomplishment as a scholar, educator, creator, and/or practitioner appropriate for appointment as a tenured full professor at Northeastern University in one of the academic departments or schools of the college.
Application Instructions
Northeastern University has engaged Opus Partners to assist with this international recruitment. Craig Smith, Senior Partner, and Abigail Maynard, Managing Associate, are leading the search. To seek additional information, nominate qualified candidates, or to apply, please email Abigail Maynard: .
An application should include a CV and cover letter. Letters should highlight relevant experience, explain interest and motivation, and describe an initial vision for leading the College of Arts, Media and Design. Northeastern University values fostering a sense of belonging among students, faculty, and staff and will seek a leader who is committed to promoting a sense of inclusion and belonging in leading CAMD. We encourage candidates to describe initiatives and accomplishments they have led or participated in that have lowered barriers to and increased participation for all and to address how they might advance a sense of belonging as the Dean of the College of Arts, Media and Design. Review of applications will begin February 10, 2025 and will continue until the university concludes the search.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by the law.
