Position description

Dean of the Institute of Technology
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

The University of Minnesota is seeking an experienced leader for the position of Dean of the Institute of Technology. This senior administrative position reports to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Responsibilities include enhancing the Institute’s national and international standing as a premier college of science, engineering, and technology in a major urban, public land-grant, research university; providing leadership to focus the intellectual direction of the Institute; creating an environment that attracts talented faculty and staff and promotes excellence in teaching, research, and outreach; cultivating relationships both within the University and with the broader community; and ensuring the long-term financial viability of the Institute and its programs.

Institute of Technology

The Institute of Technology (IT) is the University’s second largest collegiate unit and the state’s premier college of science, engineering, and technology. As these disciplines reconfigure the world, the Institute of Technology is working at “Inventing Tomorrow” to ensure that Minnesota will be in the vanguard of emerging technologies and groundbreaking scientific research, while educating the next generation of leaders in engineering, the physical sciences, and mathematics. IT is unique in its combination of mathematics, science, and engineering, consisting of 13 departments (aerospace engineering and mechanics, astronomy, biomedical engineering, biosystems and agricultural engineering, chemical engineering and material science, chemistry, civil engineering, computer science and engineering, electrical and computer engineering, geology and geophysics, mathematics, mechanical engineering, and physics) and 24 research centers (including the NSF Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics and the Army High Performance Computing Research Center). Together, faculty, research associates, and students are exploring and expanding their disciplines, for example by applying engineering and technology to problems in medicine, biology, and the environment; fostering the emerging nanotechnology revolution; promoting the powers of information technology; while advancing traditional disciplines such as mathematics, engineering, chemistry, physics, and astronomy.

The Institute of Technology’s annual expenditures exceed $214 million with the majority of support coming from state allocations, tuition, sponsored projects, and endowment earnings. IT has 370 faculty members, and serves 4,300 undergraduate students and 2,400 graduate students. Nineteen of IT’s 18 undergraduate and 28 graduate programs are nationally ranked among the top 20 (with six programs in the top five, including chemical engineering ranked first by NRC).

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is one of America’s most comprehensive universities, with a flagship research campus and three coordinate campuses, an academic health center with a major medical school, agricultural programs, and a statewide extension service. The Twin Cities campus is one of only three public campuses that rank among the top 25 public and private research universities, and ranks among the top three public research universities in the nation. It is both the state land-grant university, with a strong tradition of education and public service, and the state’s only research institution, with scholars of national and international reputation. The U of M is one of the leading recipients of federal research, training, and public service grants and contracts, receiving more than $500 million in grant and contract awards from federal and private sources in fiscal year 2003. The University of Minnesota enrolls almost 64,000 students throughout the state and offers more than 400 degree programs. The Twin Cities campus has a student enrollment of almost 50,000 with more than 2,300 tenured and tenure-track faculty. The University awarded more than 11,500 degrees in 2002–03, approximately twelve percent of which were from the Institute of Technology.

Additional information about the University of Minnesota and the Institute of Technology can be found at www.umn.edu and www.it.umn.edu.

Appointment

The position of Dean is a University of Minnesota senior administrative appointment and is classified as a Professional and Administrative position under the institution’s human resource policies. This position offers competitive compensation and tenure, with salary and faculty rank contingent upon academic qualifications and professional accomplishments.

Academic preparation

Candidates must have an earned doctorate or requisite terminal degree in a relevant field; a record of teaching, research and scholarly distinction commensurate with appointment as a tenured professor in a department of the Institute; and meet the qualifications for tenure at the University of Minnesota.

Qualifications

• Distinguished record of professional accomplishment in the academy and in the scientific community
• Strong commitment to high academic standards, and ability to provide leadership in maintaining and strengthening academic excellence and enhancing the Institute’s national standing
• Ability to articulate the role of a school of science, engineering, and technology in a major urban, public land-grant, research university
• Significant management and leadership experience, preferably in a university or comparably complex organization, with demonstrated ability to lead strategic and short-term planning, and effect appropriate change in a dynamic organization including ability to ensure long-term financial viability of the Institute
• Record of successful working relationships with internal and external constituencies, including faculty, students, alumni, and the larger professional scientific and engineering community, and ability to work with external constituencies including industrial partners, legislators, and donor communities
• Ability to build collaborations and partnerships across disciplines or fields of study and to foster a culture that supports interdisciplinary work
• Demonstrated effectiveness in attracting and retaining talented professionals, and in creating an environment that supports and rewards their productivity in research, teaching, and outreach, including demonstrated commitment to equal opportunity and affirmative action, and to leading an organization that values and practices diversity

Applications and nominations

Applications and nominations will be reviewed beginning July 12, 2004, but will be accepted until the position is filled. Applications should include a letter of application, current curriculum vitae or resume, and the contact information for three professional references. Individuals desiring to nominate qualified candidates for this position should submit a letter of nomination, including the name, present position title, address, telephone, and email address of the nominee.

The chair of the IT Dean Search Committee is Frank Bates, Professor and Head, Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science, Institute of Technology. Applications and nominations should be sent to: Chair, IT Dean Search Committee, c/o Leanne Wirkkula, Office of the Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, 234 Morrill Hall, 100 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, wirkkula@umn.edu, (fax) 612/624-3814. The preferred deadline for initial application review is July 12, 2004.

The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.