Human Resources / Applying for a Position

Meredith College seeks nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the School of Business, who will report to Senior Vice President and Provost, Dr. Matthew Poslusny and become a key member of both an experienced,  collaborative Provost and Deans Council. The School of Business is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), one of few women’s colleges worldwide with such accreditation. The School enrolls approximately 180 women in undergraduate majors and 60 women and men in its MBA program. Undergraduate programs include business administration (accounting, human resources, and marketing), economics, and hospitality and tourism management.

Responsibilities
As the chief academic officer, the Dean of the School of Business is responsible for the stewardship of the School of Business resources to achieve the School’s mission: its faculty, students, and fiscal resources. This management includes ensuring that the School of Business maintains the standards of academic excellence and assessment for continued AACSB accreditation and collaborating with other divisions at Meredith College in support of the College as a whole.

Supervision
In the current structure, the Dean of the School Business directly supervises these positions:

- Department Head
- Director of Student Support
- Program Directors for Economics and Hospitality and Tourism Management Majors
- Associate Director of the MBA Program
- MBA Admissions Coordinator
- Administrative Assistant, School of Business
- Full (15) and Part-time (5) Faculty

The Dean also interacts and collaborates with four other academic Deans: Arts and Humanities; Education, Health, and Human Sciences; Natural and Mathematical Sciences; and the Library, as well as with the members of the Executive Leadership Team, which consists of the President, Senior Vice President and Provost, Vice President for College Programs, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Vice President for Marketing and Communications, and the Vice President for Business and Finance. The Dean of the School of Business is expected to engage in fundraising activities, working closely with the President and Vice Presidents.

The Dean also works closely with the Business Advisory Board, a group of business leaders from the Raleigh area. This Board provides advice, analysis, and assistance to the School of Business in areas including academics, accreditation, placement of graduates, and fundraising.

Current Challenges and Opportunities
Meredith very successfully achieved AACSB re-accreditation in the Spring of 2020. The Dean will continue work on assessment and strategic planning for the School.  The Dean will also continue to support faculty and students engaged in research to exceed accreditation standards. Innovation and a keen awareness of ways in which Meredith is competitive among its peers and regional institutions will be areas for growth and development.

The School of Business provides important ways for students to be involved beyond their classes through student organizations, the Broyhill Business Fellows program, and student honors societies. Each of these is an opportunity for the Dean to connect the work of the School to the business community in the Raleigh region and to seek new ways for students to be engaged and supported in their studies.

Faculty, staff, and students are keenly aware of the need for greater diversity within the College community, as well as the need, in times of such social unrest, for cultural competency and understanding of bias and privilege. For a leader with empathy, financial acuity, and understanding of higher education organizations, this is an extraordinary opportunity to work with a close-knit, dedicated college community with strong ties to a vibrant region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many IT and logistical challenges for the College, and faculty in the School of Business have responded well to challenges like moving from primarily offering face-to-face classes to a variety of modalities (asynchronous, synchronous online, hybrid); utilizing Zoom boards in classrooms; using other technologies to enhance collaboration in online classes and virtual project teams; and offering co-curricular programming in a virtual format. There are continuing areas to explore, however, related to the use of technology in the School of Business. Current students note that there is a need for greater investment in the technologies that will make them competitive and successful as they enter the workforce.

CREDENTIALS AND LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS

Highly Preferred Credentials
These highly preferred credentials for this position ensure that candidates have a detailed knowledge of accounting practices in a higher education setting:

- An earned doctoral degree in a business-related field from an AACSB-accredited institution
- A distinguished record of teaching and scholarship that would be consistent with achieving tenure at the College.
- AACSB accreditation experience.
- Fundraising experience.
- Fiscal management experience.
- Experience in a higher education setting, with an understanding of faculty and student culture and best practices, current issues, and trends in business schools and generally in colleges and universities.

Preferred Leadership Characteristics
In addition, the successful candidate will demonstrate these preferred leadership characteristics:
- A track record of successful work with business communities.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, characterized by openness, integrity, and a spirit of collaboration.  
- A thorough understanding of the business environment and education at the collegiate level.
- Ability to encourage and sustain a culture of community, a sense of shared purpose and direction, and a vision for the success of faculty and students.
- Successful and progressive leadership experience in academic or other complex organizational structures, particularly in those responsibilities typical of academic leadership at this level (such as scheduling, curriculum development, personnel management, project management, financial management, and process and policy development).
- Ability to work closely with the Business Advisory Board, a volunteer group of community leaders with extensive experience in business in the Raleigh area.
- Ability to expand and optimize resources (human, financial, and physical) to achieve the School’s and the College’s strategic goals.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
- An innovative, collaborative approach to leadership within the context of shared governance at the School, with the Deans’ Council, and across the College.
- Ability to attract potential students to the School through sound enrollment management, recruitment activities, and articulate expression of the merits of the School of Business at Meredith College.

TIMELINE, APPLICATIONS, AND NOMINATIONS

Start Date
The preferred start date is July 2021.

Applications
Applicants should send these PDF documents to the email address below: (1) a cover letter expressing their interest in the position and addressing how they meet the requirements and leadership characteristics described in this search profile; (2) their curriculum vitae; and (3) a list of names, titles, brief description of professional relationship, and contact information (email address and phone number) for five professional references. These references will not be contacted without applicants’ prior permission.

Nominations
Nominators are encouraged to send a letter of nomination and, if possible, the nominee’s curriculum vitae, to the email address below. All nominations are confidential.

Deadline
Although the search remains open until the position is filled, the Search Committee will begin to review applications in February 2021; submission of applications is therefore encouraged by February 12, 2021, for full consideration.
Academic Search is assisting the Meredith College Dean Search Committee in this process. All inquiries, nominations, and applications will be held in the strictest confidence. Applications and nominations should be sent electronically to MeredithBusDean@academicsearch.org. To learn more about this opportunity, nominators, nominees, and applicants may contact executive search senior consultants Kate Nolde at kate.nolde@academicsearch.org or Dr. Ginny Horvath at ginny.horvath@academicsearch.org.