General Statement of Job

The dean serves as the senior administrator and chief academic officer of the College of Health, Life Sciences and Education at Missouri Southern State University. Reporting to the provost/vice president for academic affairs, the dean is a key member of MSSU’s academic leadership team, working collaboratively with faculty, staff, and administrators to advance the missions of both the college and university. Representing the college within the university and among a wide range of external stakeholders, the dean promotes MSSU’s statewide mission; executes its strategic plan; strengthens collaboration; and fosters excellence in all aspects of the college enterprise.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

The Dean of the College of Health, Life Sciences, and Education (CHLSE) will:

• Provide visionary and strategic leadership in undergraduate and graduate programs for the following academic disciplines: nursing, allied health (respiratory therapy, radiology, dental hygiene, EMT/paramedic, and healthcare administration), psychology, kinesiology, teacher education, biology, and environmental health and safety. The dean also provides leadership to the following auxiliary units: The Acacia Center, Lion Cub Academy, and Lion Co-Op.
• Support and encourage high-quality and effective teaching, research, and service (both within the university and the broader academic disciplines).
• Enhance the university and college’s profile by facilitating collaboration between CHLSE faculty, industry partners, and state/federal/tribal governments, most notably in support of the university’s expanded statewide mission of global/international education, health and life sciences, and immersive learning.
• Encourage and actively participate in advancement initiatives (fundraising, alumni relations, student recruitment, media relations, marketing, and governmental relations), grant seeking, and public/private partnerships.
• Plan, monitor, and administer program budgets and expenditures, ensuring effective management and strategic allocation of university, foundation, and grant-funded financial resources to support CHLSE needs and strategic goals.
• Provide proactive/forward looking leadership, actively seeking and identifying opportunities for collaboration, new/expanded revenue, and student recruitment.
• Support effective and efficient faculty recruitment, retention, evaluation, and professional development.
• Collaborate with faculty and academic affairs leadership to promote program and curriculum development in response to student, workforce, and community needs, including establishing and measuring student learning outcomes.
• Lead change and innovation across the college using strategic planning and continuous improvement processes that include key performance indicators.
• Promote a dynamic and positive work environment within the CHLSE and academic departments that encourages collaboration and excellence with a consistent focus on student success.
• Seek and maintain national specialized accreditation for the college’s academic programs where appropriate and helpful.

Education, Experience, and Licenses

Required qualifications for the Dean of the College of Health, Life Sciences, and Education (CHLSE) are:

• A terminal degree in a field represented by the college; and
• Five years or more of leadership experience in higher education.

Preferred qualifications include:

• Experience in a field represented by the university’s expanded statewide mission in health and life sciences; and
• Experience working collaboratively with industry partners to advance program development, student recruitment, employment, and/or fundraising.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common business and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
• Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints.
• Ability to effectively communicate both verbally and by written means at a very high level.
• Ability to make ethical decisions doing what is best for students and University.
• Ability to effectively present information to administrators, faculty, staff, accreditors, regulators, students, public groups, and/or Board of Governors.
• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, proportions, and percentages.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, feel or use a computer keyboard and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

NOTICE: The above job profile does not include all essential and nonessential duties of this job. All employees with disabilities are encouraged to contact Human Resources to review and discuss the essential and nonessential functions of the job. An employee with a disability can evaluate the job in greater detail to determine if she/he can safely perform the essential function of this job with or without reasonable accommodation.