Job Announcement: Dean of UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) invites inquiries, nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSE&IS).

Founded in 1939 as the first of UCLA’s 11 professional schools, GSE&IS includes the highly ranked departments of education and information studies and a number of nationally recognized research enterprises, including the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST); the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI); the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles (CRP/PDC); the UC All Campus Consortium on Research and Diversity (UC ACCORD); the Center for Information as Evidence (CIE) and the Center for International and Development Education (CIDE), among others. GSE&IS is also home to UCLA Lab School, a university-based laboratory school for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade; and a partner to the UCLA Community School, a UCLA-supported Los Angeles Unified School District pilot school. The department of education offers M.A., M.Ed., Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs, along with an undergraduate minor. The department of information studies offers M.A., M.L.I.S. and Ph.D. programs, as well as a post-master’s certificate of specialization.

GSE&IS is preeminent in the areas of equity, access and multiculturalism; K-12 and higher education; and library, archival and information services; the school’s mission statement emphasizes making a difference in the education and information fields through both scholarship and professional practice. GSE&IS scholars, teachers and practitioners research, teach and prepare students in learning and information fields with a shared goal to enhance the life experience of all individuals through inquiry, professional practice and policy that lead to equitable access to quality education and useful information. GSE&IS is a member of the iSchool consortium, an organization of information schools dedicated to advancing the information field.

As the chief executive and academic officer for GSE&IS, the dean provides strategic vision for and operational leadership of the school, which has an annual operating budget of approximately $50 million. The dean works to advance scholarship, education and civic engagement, promoting initiatives within and outside of UCLA; enhancing excellence through diversity in educational programs and faculty and student recruitment; and linking the work of GSE&IS faculty and students to other disciplines, communities and interests within and outside of the academy. He/she serves as the school’s public voice, articulating its contributions to local, state, regional, national and international communities, and pursuing an aggressive development program to build the school’s resources. Reporting to the executive vice chancellor and provost, he/she serves both on the deans’ council and the council of professional school deans, and collaborates with the chancellor, executive vice chancellor/provost, vice chancellors and vice provosts, deans and department chairs at UCLA and across the University of California system.

The successful candidate will be nationally recognized with demonstrated leadership and substantial administrative experience, strong scho3larly visibility within the education and/or information studies research communities, and the capacity to exercise policy leadership at the local, state, national and international levels. Minimum requirements include a strong commitment to research, teaching and public service; administrative leadership experience; a record of distinguished scholarly accomplishment; demonstrated intellectual leadership in the areas of education and information studies; proven success in—or aptitude for—external and alumni relations and development; a record of advancing diversity; and academic credentials that merit appointment at the rank of full professor.

Situated on 419 acres, five miles from the Pacific Ocean, UCLA is enriched by the cultural diversity of the dynamic greater Los Angeles area, as well as the geographic advantages of Southern California. One of the world’s preeminent public research universities, UCLA is an international leader in breadth and quality of academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs, with more than 4,000 faculty members who teach approximately 40,000 students in the College of Letters and Science and 11 professional schools. UCLA is consistently ranked in the top five institutions nationally for research funding, having generated more than $1 billion in research contracts and grants for two consecutive years.

Confidential review of applications, nominations and expressions of interest will begin immediately and will continue until an appointment is made. To be ensured full consideration, please forward a letter of interest and curriculum vitae to GSEISDeanSearch@conet.ucla.edu by November 28, 2011 (electronic files preferred). Address inquiries to Traci Considine, manager of executive searches in the Office of the Chancellor (310-206-8003).

The University of California is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, and seeks candidates committed to the highest standards of scholarship and professional activities and to a campus climate that supports equality and diversity.