Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Oxford College of Emory Oxford, Georgia

THE SEARCH

Oxford College of Emory University seeks a dynamic, accomplished, and experienced leader to serve as its Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Reporting to the Dean of Oxford College, the Senior Associate Dean will partner with the Dean to oversee and enhance all aspects of the academic mission of the college. As a member of the Dean’s Council, the Senior Associate Dean will be a trusted partner to other senior leaders, faculty, staf f , and students.

Built on decades of distinctive teaching and learning and the pioneering work of generations of faculty, staff, and students, Oxford thrives because of the strong academic profile of its students, the quality of programs that its outstanding faculty and staff members deliver, its stunningly beautiful campus and inclusive community, and the myriad of resources available by being an integral part of a top research university. Oxford provides a distinctive acade mic experience that draws on strengths as a residential, liberal arts campus with a philosophy of integrative learning and leadership, starting in the classroom and expanding to campus and society.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced academic leader, reputable scholar, natural collaborator, and gifted manager who can effectively lead the faculty and staff of Oxford’s academic affairs division. The Senior Associate Dean will build upon the strong foundation of successful and collaborative academic leadership and partner with the Dean to thoughtfully and strategically plan for the future of Oxford; recruit, retain, and cultivate excellent and diverse f aculty; and integrate equity, diversity, and belonging into the fabric of Oxford. The ideal candidate should understand the liberal arts mission of Oxford College within the Emory University context and must be committed to playing a visible and engaged role within the college community and in partnership with the broader University.

Oxford College of Emory University has retained the services of Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in conducting this important search. All inquiries, applications, and nominations for this opportunity should be directed to the search firm, as indicated at the end of this document.

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EMORY UNIVERSITY

In 1836, the Methodist Episcopal Church founded Emory College in the town of Oxford, Georgia. By the 20th century, the small liberal arts college began offering additional programs to its students, including degrees in the sciences, law, theology, technology, and tool craft.

The trustees of Emory College were eager to continue expanding the institution and agreed that their higher aspirations would necessitate a move to a more urban, central location. In 1914, after a falling out between the Methodist Church and Vanderbilt University, church leaders identified Emory as the institution that would become their landmark university in the Southeast. Asa Candler, the founder of The Coca-Cola Company and brother to former Emory President, Warren Candler, helped the church identify Atlanta as the university’s new home. Writing to the Educational Commission of the church on June 17, 1914, Candler offered $1 million and a subsequent gift of 72 acres of land in Atlanta. With remarkab le foresight, Emory kept its original campus in Oxford, Georgia; this is the stunningly beautiful site where the distinctive educational work of Oxford College happens.

In November 1979, the of Emory's history changed dramatically. Robert Woodruff, an Emory alumnus and former chairman of The Coca-Cola Company, and his brother, George, transferred to Emory $105 million in Coca-Cola stock (worth nearly $1 billion dollars in 2005). At the time the largest single gift to any institution of higher education in American history, the Woodruff donation made a profound impact on Emory's direction over the next two decades, boosting the university into the top ranks of American research . In the decades since, Emory has built on its considerable strengths in the arts and humanities, the health sciences, and the professions through strategic use of resources.

For more information on Emory University, please see the appendix at the end of this document.

OXFORD COLLEGE

As one of Emory University's nine academic divisions, Oxford offers a distinctive, small- campus, residential setting particularly conducive to significant academic accomplishments and personal development for first-year and second-year undergraduates. Over one-quarter of Emory University’s undergraduates experience their first two years at Oxford. Students who complete Oxford's liberal arts intensive program are automatically enrolled as juniors in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences, or they may apply to enter the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing or Goizueta Business School. The Oxford College community is distinguished by its excellence in teaching, growing research programs, leadership and teamwork, life lived in community, and innovative liberal arts curriculum. Oxford enrolls approximately 993 students, with about 100 faculty and 150 staff.

Oxford College is America’s only top-tier liberal arts college whose students continue their pathways within a top-tier research university. Oxford offers its students distinctive advantages - all of which are a product of its unique historical evolution. Oxford students benefit from a campus environment with a clear mission; it concentrates on the intellectual, social and developmental needs of first-year and second-year undergraduates. Opportunities for leadership development are abundant on campus, and programs like Leadership Oxford and ExCEL help students develop and practice their newfound skills.

Oxford College of Emory University Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Page 3 of 9 Classes are intimate, with much discussion and interaction. The largest class at present is 28 students; the average class size is 19; and the Discovery Seminars are all 16 students. Af ter classes end, most students are engaged in campus life as participants in the arts, in athletics, or as leaders in various interest groups. Oxford's student body is rich in cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, making cross-cultural friendships and learning opportunities standard fare.

Oxford’s curriculum is structured as a coherent two-year pathway. Each student chooses a first-semester Discovery Seminar taught by the who is that student’s academic advisor and initial mentor. Students explore the liberal arts through excellent coursework across the disciplines and at least one experiential-learning opportunity, such as community engagement in metro Atlanta, applied work at the Organic Farm, or academically grounded internships. These explorations often consider ethical issues and social responsibility, make connections across disciplines, and expand classroom learning with real-world experiences. In their concluding semester at Oxford, students reflect upon coursework and related learning in a “Milestone” project. Oxford has its own general education requirements (GERs), and many of its courses fulfill Emory College components, including the new race and ethnicity GER. Oxford are deeply committed to the art of teaching and encourage students to think for themselves and work toward the kind of personal intellectual breakthroughs that are hallmarks of a liberal education. There is an unusually high amount of student-faculty interaction in and beyond the classroom, through community-engaged learning, travel courses in the US and abroad, the Oxford Scholars program, and collaborative research.

Campus and Location

The significant investment in Oxford’s 56-acre physical campus infrastructure over the past decade has enriched Oxford’s aesthetic appeal and operation making the campus a great asset for student and employee recruitment and for the daily work of residential, integrative learning. Four residential communities house all students on campus. A new dining facility opened in 2017 and the new Oxford Student Center opened in 2020. Historic academic buildings have been renovated — Johnson Hall (2013), Pierce Hall (2018), Phi Gamma Hall (2019), and Humanities Hall (2021). The Oxford Library was masterfully restructured and rebuilt in 2013 with the needs of today’s students in mind —with extensive classroom, research, and collaboration space available. Future campus projects will focus on needs related to maintaining and “greening” a historic campus and to augmenting the student experience, potentially including an enhancement of athletics, recreation, and wellness spaces. Dean Douglas Hicks is co-chairing Emory’s efforts to build twin memorials, one at Oxford and one on the Atlanta campus, to recognize the labor of enslaved persons in building Emory’s original campus.

Oxford, Georgia, a quiet community located 38 miles east of downtown Atlanta and Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport, boasts numerous trails, forests, and wide boulevards with historic homes and buildings. A campus shuttle offers regular service between the Emory Druid Hills campus and the Oxford campus as well as access to other Atlanta activities.

The nearby city of Covington is located just south of the Oxford campus. Covington Square, often listed among top small-town centers, is host to many events and a center of local activity. Covington has also become a regular site for the television and film industry.

Oxford College of Emory University Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Page 4 of 9 The eleven-acre Oxford College Organic Farm began producing crops for the campus and community in 2014 on a nearby site donated to the College in 2011. The organic farm was created to be and is operated as a critical resource for our education mission. Oxford faculty members partner with the farm to develop dozens of courses around environmental issues, food security, and sustainability. Located just across from the campus, the produce is used not only on the Oxford campus but also in the dining hall on the Atlanta campus, the Emory Farmer’s Market, and a community supported agriculture program. The farm was developed in rotational blocks filled with a variety of vegetables and cover crops that serve to support crop growth.

Leadership

Gregory L. Fenves, President

Gregory L. Fenves was named Emory’s president in 2020. Before arriving at Emory in August 2020, Fenves was president of The University of Texas (UT) at Austin from 2015 to 2020. During his first year at Emory, he has led the university through the challenges of a global pandemic by setting priorities and establishing policies to unite the community, bolster public health, and advance learning, teaching, research, and creative expression—all while charting a course for Emory’s future. He has also focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, launching a series of university initiatives aimed at strengthening Emory’s commitment to social justice.

Douglas Hicks, Dean, Oxford College

Douglas Hicks, noted academic leader, teacher, and author, joined Oxford College as Dean in July 2016. In his first five years as dean, he has led Oxford College to expand its faculty to bolster scholarly strength and curricular reach ranging from STEM fields to film and media studies and creative writing. Prior to coming to Oxford, he was a professor and /Dean of the Faculty at Colgate University.

THE ROLE

Reporting to the Dean and serving on the Dean’s Council, the Senior Associate Dean is responsible for overseeing multiple aspects of academic matters for the college including planning for and hiring faculty, supporting the development of faculty and the tenure and promotion processes, annual reviews of the faculty and salary evaluations, and in conjunction with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, implementing the curriculum and scheduling of classes. In close collaboration with the Dean and senior leadership of Oxford, the Senior Associate Dean helps plan strategic initiatives and the development of the college.

The Senior Associate Dean chairs the Academic Policy and Planning Committee (the faculty curriculum and key governance committee), meets regularly with the Academic Division Chairs, and sits on college and university committees. In their administrative roles, the Academic Division Chairs report to the Senior Associate Dean. Additional direct reports include: the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, the Advising Support Center, the Curriculum Coordinator, the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Director of the Oxford Center for Teaching and Scholarship, the Director of Academic Technology, the farmer/educator for Oxford’s Organic Farm, the Director of Institutional Research, the Director of the Writing

Oxford College of Emory University Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Page 5 of 9 Program, the Director of Global Learning and Undergraduate Research, and the Director of Community Engaged Learning and Internships.

The opening for Oxford’s next Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs represents an exceptional opportunity for an experienced, collaborative, and accessible academic and administrative leader. In close partnership with the Dean, the Senior Associate Dean will build upon the college’s strong foundation and thoughtfully and strategically plan for the future of

Oxford: recruit, retain, and cultivate excellent and diverse faculty; integrate equity, diversity, and belonging into the fabric of Oxford; and collaborate strategically with Emory University. The Senior Associate Dean must thrive in a connected, living and learning community while serving as a strong representative of Oxford beyond the campus.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Senior Associate Dean will face many of the following opportunities and challenges at Oxford:

Celebrate Success and Build on Oxford’s Strengths to Maintain a Distinctive Vision for the College

The Senior Associate Dean will build on the momentum of Oxford College and its f aculty over the last decade and thoughtfully plan for its future. In partnership with faculty, staff, administration, and students, the Senior Associate Dean will encourage innovation , collaboration, and cultivate the ethos of a residential liberal arts teaching laboratory. Building on a strong foundation, the Senior Associate Dean will help shape a distinctive vision for the future. With an ongoing commitment to fostering excellence in teaching, the next Senior Associate Dean will continue to invest in building and strengthening scholarship and research across all academic divisions.

Serve as a Strong Partner to the Dean and Senior Leadership

As Emory and Oxford emerge from the global pandemic and look ahead to chart the course for the next strategic plan, the Senior Associate Dean will serve as a key partner to the Dean. The Senior Associate Dean will represent and champion the academic enterprise, strategically shape academic resource allocation, and evaluate processes and structures to increase efficiency in close partnership with the Senior Associate Dean for Finance, Operations, and Technology. A strong administrative manager, the Senior Associate Dean will review the existing Academic Affairs organizational structure in order to identify and build the most effective model for Oxford’s current size and objectives.

Recruit, Retain, and Cultivate Exceptional and Diverse Faculty

The Senior Associate Dean will deeply understand the value and work provided by faculty across roles and rank. As the Oxford faculty has grown significantly over the past decade, particularly at the assistant and associate levels, professional development and clear processes for progression through tenure and promotion have lagged. The Senior Associate Dean will engage with all faculty to update and clarify professional development, mentorship,

Oxford College of Emory University Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Page 6 of 9 promotion, governance, service, and workload and support the implementation of newly established promotion and tenure guidelines that raise scholarship expectations while continuing to prioritize teaching excellence. Additionally, the Senior Associate Dean will serve as an advocate for faculty and staff and will recognize and broadcast their contributions and achievements across the college, university, and amongst one another. Furthermore, the Senior Associate Dean will work to enhance teaching, research, and learning support for both f aculty and staf f . Finally, the Senior Associate Dean will work to enhance retention, with a focus on hiring, retaining, and supporting more diverse staff and faculty that more closely reflect Oxford’s diverse student population.

Integrate Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging into the Fabric of Oxford College

The next Senior Associate Dean will bring an understanding of, experience with, and unwavering commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging as central tenets of an Oxford education and campus experience. They will work in partnership with the Dean and Emory’s Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer to more deeply integrate these principles into all decisions and structures across Oxford. The Senior Associate Dean will work with the faculty to ensure that Oxford is continuing to become more representative and intersectional. They will also be comfortable sitting in discomfort, cultivating diverse voices around the table, and working to ensure that the faculty, staff, and student experience at Oxford is one of belonging.

Advocate for Oxford and Collaborate with Emory University

Oxford College holds a singular position in higher education as a nimble residential liberal arts institution that fosters scholarship, research, and teaching excellence within a top research university. The Senior Associate Dean will be an active leader and advocate for Oxford across the university. The Oxford curriculum and experience are distinctive, and while collaboration and partnerships across campus are essential, the Senior Associate Dean will continue to champion Oxford’s distinct educational approach, environment, and experience.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Successful candidates will possess or exhibit many of the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

• An earned doctorate and a record of distinguished teaching and scholarship that would meet the standards for a tenured full professor. • An authentic commitment to residential liberal arts education that emphasizes teaching and students. • A track record of strong administrative experience and managerial acumen. • Commitment to and demonstrated experience and success in advancing diversity, equity, access, belonging, and fostering an inclusive campus environment. • A proven record of successful recruitment, development, and retention of faculty. • A commitment to the principles of shared governance. • A demonstrated capacity to build on excellence and a vision to advance the academic profile of Oxford college and faculty as world-class teacher-scholars.

Oxford College of Emory University Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Page 7 of 9 • An appreciation for and understanding of the relational nature of students’ academic and cocurricular life on a residential liberal arts campus, and commitment to a holistic approach to student success. • The personal qualities to forge strong, collegial relationships. • Outstanding communication skills, ability to speak before the faculty and other groups, and facility with social media to share Oxford’s and faculty members’ stories. • Confidence, humility, and a strong ethical compass. • Careful listening and astute observation skills, and a consultative leader who acts decisively when needed. • Demonstrated understanding of current and emerging issues in higher education with the strategic skills and creativity to develop new approaches to liberal arts education, research, and scholarship. • Financial acumen and analytical ability, with experience setting ambitious, achievable goals, developing and managing budgets, and the successful ability to maximize resources. • The successful candidate will possess integrity, energy, empathy, and be a collaborative, transparent communicator. The Senior Associate Dean will also be highly organized and genuinely enjoy creating effective systems.

TO APPLY Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be sent in strict confidence to:

Keight Tucker Kennedy, Partner Claire Hennessey, Senior Associate Isaacson, Miller www.imsearch.com/8020 1300 19th Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036

Electronic submission is strongly encouraged. Emory University is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

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APPENDIX: ABOUT EMORY UNIVERSITY

Emory is recognized internationally for its outstanding liberal arts colleges, superb professional schools, and one of the Southeast’s leading health care systems. The university’s mission is “to create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity.” To fulfill this mission, Emory supports the full range of scholarship–from undergraduate to advanced graduate and professional instruction, and from basic research to the many applications for such research in serving the public good.

The university’s mission is further supported by an internationally recognized faculty, dynamic staff, superb facilities, and the latest innovations in technology and environmental sustainability. Emory maintains an uncommon balance for an institution of its standing: it generates more research funding than any other university in Georgia while maintaining its traditional emphasis on teaching.

Emory University comprises nine undergraduate and graduate schools: Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, Goizueta Business School, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, School of Medicine, School of Law, James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies, Rollins School of Public Health, and Candler School of Theology.

Emory University is consistently recognized for its outstanding programs. U.S. News & World Report rated Emory 21st in their 2021 report of America’s best national universities and 23rd on their list of Best Value Schools. The Goizueta Business School was ranked twelfth among undergraduate business programs by BusinessWeek. Additionally, Emory received the 2013 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award, which honors U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to building a diverse and inclusive campus community. The institution is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Emory is the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the top 20 national research universities and is the only one that remains religiously chartered. The university enrolls more than 14,700 graduate and undergraduate students from 50 states and 140 nations, and approximately 21 percent of first-year students are international. In 2007, the university launched Emory Advantage, a financial aid initiative to help reduce the amount of money students from families with annual total incomes of $100,000 or less need to borrow to pay for an undergraduate education at Emory. In 2014-15, through this program and others, Emory awarded more than $182 million in financial aid to undergraduate students, including both need-based and merit-based aid. Nearly 71 percent of the aid was provided directly by Emory.

Emory’s world class faculty of more than 3,000 includes exceptional instructors and groundbreaking researchers. All members of Emory’s full-time faculty hold the highest degrees in their field; individual faculty excellence includes scholarly achievement, teaching and advising, the potential to create new knowledge, and a clear dedication to service. Past faculty at Emory include Nobel Peace Prize winners such as: former President Jimmy Carter; His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama; and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Emory boasts an unmatched and enviable array of resources and facilities, including seven libraries and special collections offering more than 4.4 million volumes.

Oxford College of Emory University Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Page 9 of 9 The institution has more than 70 research centers and received over $831 million in research awards in FY 2020. In 2011, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that during the previous four decades, Emory ranked as the most prolific private university in America with respect to the discovery of new drug therapies.

The university’s central campus is located on more than 650 hilly and wooded acres, approximately six miles from downtown Atlanta. Emory has one of the largest campus inventories of LEED-certified building space in the nation, as well as one of the longest- running programs of its kind in the country to integrate sustainability into a university curriculum. Emory students and faculty have access to and benefit from the proximity of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, as well as the national headquarters of both the American Cancer Society and the American of Religion.

One mile from the main campus is Emory’s Briarcliff Campus, a 42-acre campus initially designated to establish a biotechnology development center in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology, but also used for other university offices and functions. Roughly one mile in the opposite direction is Emory’s Clairmont Campus, which is connected to the main campus by a private shuttle road and includes a major student residential and activity complex, plus facilities such as the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, the Mason Guest House for Organ Transplant Patients, and the Autism Resource Center.

Emory University maintains a consolidated operating budget of $5.6 billion, an endowment with a market value of $7.87 billion (ranked 16th among all U.S. universities), as of 2019, and an annual economic impact on Metropolitan Atlanta in excess of $14.8 billion. With over 30,000 employees, Emory is the largest employer in the Metro Atlanta area and the fifth largest in Georgia.