Job Announcement: Dean of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture

Dean of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
 

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) invites inquiries, nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture.

With origins dating back to 1939, the programs in the newly structured UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture have evolved into some of the most distinguished in the nation. The school’s faculty are committed to advancing the arts and professional education in architecture and design through strong traditions of innovative teaching and creative practice, pioneering scholarship, engagement in professional and civic service to the global society, and commitment to the fundamental human value of creativity and what the arts are becoming in society. One of UCLA’s 12 professional schools, the school has approximately 114 full-time and part-time faculty (of whom 56 are tenure track) who teach approximately 1,200 majors and other students enrolled in liberal arts programs (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) and professional degree programs (M.F.A., M.Arch.). In the last year, 366 degrees were awarded. The school is organized in four departments, including architecture and urban design, art, design|media arts, and world arts and cultures/dance; each is engaged in deep questioning, seeking to define anew its missions and its disciplines at this seminal time for the school and this moment in a postmodern and transnational world. The school also houses seven faculty-led interdisciplinary centers and a school-wide minor in visual and performing arts education, and it currently includes three public units – the Fowler Museum at UCLA, the Hammer Museum and the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. The faculty are recognized for their contributions to scholarship, teaching and practice in a broad and interdisciplinary spectrum of creative fields that have significant societal impact. The school has an operating budget of $54 million, of which 45 percent is provided by state general funds. It raises about $25 million annually in philanthropic and other external support. Endowed funds total $23 million.

As the chief executive and academic officer for the school, the dean sets the standard for intellectual engagement and accomplishment by providing strategic vision for and operational leadership of the academic programs. The dean works to advance scholarship and education – promoting initiatives within and outside UCLA; enhancing excellence through diversity in educational programs and faculty and student recruitment; and linking the work of arts and architecture faculty and students to other disciplines, communities and interests within and outside the academy. He/she serves as the school’s public voice, articulating its contributions to local, state, regional, national and international communities, pursuing an aggressive development program to build the school’s resources and managing its finances and its facilities, including aspirational capital projects. Reporting to the executive vice chancellor and provost, he/she serves on the deans council and the council of professional school deans, collaborating with the chancellor, executive vice chancellor and provost, vice chancellors and vice provosts, deans and department chairs at UCLA and across the University of California system.

Ideal candidates will be nationally recognized with demonstrated leadership and administrative experience and a strong commitment to arts and architecture education and scholarship. Minimum requirements include a record of distinguished intellectual leadership and scholarly accomplishment and/or practice in the arts and/or architecture; substantial administrative leadership; demonstrated success in external and alumni relations and development; an established record of advancing diversity; and 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, wellness, 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 12 professional schools. UCLA is consistently ranked among the top institutions nationally for research funding, having generated an average of $1 billion in research grants and contracts annually over the past five 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 email a letter of interest and curriculum vitae to UCLAArtsArch@wittkieffer.com by August 15, 2016. Address inquiries to Mary Elizabeth Taylor and Zachary A. Smith at 949-851-5070 or Robert Luke at 781-564-2620.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct