DEAN DIVISION OF ONLINE LEARNING UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA THE SEARCH The University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) seeks a dynamic and innovative individual with an entrepreneurial spirit to serve as the next Dean for the Division of Online Learning. UNCG Online intersects with all academic units across the University to develop, promote, and administer high quality online courses and degree programs. UNCG is a public, coeducational, doctoral-granting, residential university and one of the three original institutions of the University of North Carolina System. The University holds two classifications from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a doctoral university with high-research activity and for deep community engagement in its curriculum, outreach, and partnerships. The University is known for its inclusive learning community with a campus wide culture that embodies access, equity, diversity, excellence, and collaboration. The campus is known for its focus on enhancing health and wellness, promoting vibrant communities, including visual and performing arts, and translating scholarly findings into programs, policy, and practice. The next Dean of Online Learning will provide leadership for the vision, strategic planning, and management of quality online academic programming for undergraduate and graduate programs, continuing professional education, and summer sessions. The incumbent will collaborate with academic deans across the campus to design, develop, and deliver scalable, contextually rich, engaging, and objective-driven courses that meet Quality Matters Online Standards. The Dean oversees a team of about 50, and as a member of the Provost Leadership team, reports directly to the Provost. UNCG has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in this critical recruitment. All inquiries, nominations, referrals, and applications should be directed in strict confidence to the firm as indicated at the end of this document.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO UNCG aims to redefine the public research university for the 21 st century as a collaborative and responsive institution making a difference in the lives of students and the communities it serves. UNCG was originally designated in 1891 as the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial School, and later became known as the Woman s College. The academic programs have expanded from the liberal arts, home economics, and education to include professional programs such as business, health and human sciences, nursing, and the fine and performing arts. The University s scope now includes graduate education, online courses and programs, and world-class research. With an enrollment of more than 20,000 students, including 3,500 graduate students and 2,500 full-time faculty and staff, UNCG is considered one of the most diverse universities in the UNC System and was named to the Department of Education s list of the top 15 American institutions helping low income students persist and graduate. The current student body is broadly diverse across any number of dimensions including gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality, and age. Ethnic minority students make up more than half the student body, and 67 percent of students identify as female. The University has received national recognition for its student success initiatives aimed at improving retention and graduation rates. In February 2017, UNCG joined the Frontier Set, a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to identify successful strategies to improve graduation rates, especially for low-income, first generation, and students of color. In March 2017, the Education Trust s A Look at Black Student Success report cited UNCG as one of the nation s top institutions for success in graduating black students. In addition, UNCG was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for excelling in access and success for increasing graduation rates among low-income students, the only North Carolina school listed in the top 15 and one of just 12 public four-year universities. At its core is a vision of UNCG as: A learner-centered, accessible, and inclusive community fostering intellectual inquiry to prepare students for meaningful lives and engaged citizenship; An institution offering classes on-campus, off-campus, and online for degree-seeking students and life-long learners; A research university where collaborative scholarship and creative activity enhance quality of life across the life span; A source of innovation and leadership meeting social, economic, and environmental challenges in the Piedmont Triad, North Carolina, and beyond; and A global university integrating intercultural and international experiences and perspectives into learning, discovery, and service. Page 2 of 7
Academic Programs UNCG offers 85 undergraduate programs in over 100 areas of study, 74 masters programs, and 32 doctoral programs. The University's academic schools and programs include the College of Arts and Sciences; the Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics; the School of Education; the School of Health and Human Sciences; the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, which is joint with North Carolina A&T; the College of Visual and Performing Arts; the School of Nursing; the Division of Online Learning; the Graduate School; the Warren Ashby, Ione Grogan, and Cornelia Strong Residential Colleges; and the Lloyd International Honors College. The student to faculty ratio is about 18:1. Fifty-one percent of full-time faculty members are tenured, and 78 percent hold a doctorate or terminal degree in their field. More than $35 million in grants and contracts for research and creative activity is awarded to faculty members annually. Among the most prominent of UNCG's research initiatives are the Gateway University Research Park and the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. Both of these partnerships are with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a local historically black research institution. Administration Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. was elected as the eleventh Chancellor of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, effective September 8, 2015. Chancellor Gilliam brings to UNCG and the UNC system a wealth of experience from a career that spans over thirty years in higher education. UNCG s first-ever African American Chancellor, Dr. Gilliam served as Dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles from 2008 until his appointment at UNCG. He has had a long and distinguished career as a professor of public policy and political science, researcher, and administrator. Dr. Dana Dunn serves as UNCG s Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and is responsible for curriculum and program development, the advancement of teaching, and the support of research and other scholarly and creative work in the academic community. She also facilitates the integration of academic affairs, student affairs, and research and engagement functions in support of the University mission. Dr. Dunn joined UNCG in 2014 from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she held progressively responsible academic leadership and faculty roles over a 27-year period, including leading academic affairs for eight years, first as Vice President and later as Provost. The arrival of Chancellor Gilliam and Provost Dunn has brought a spirit of excitement and renewal across campus. There is broad agreement among faculty, staff, students, and alumni that this new administration is innovatively and collaboratively leading UNCG into the future. Page 3 of 7
Division of Online Learning The Division of Online Learning intersects with every academic unit at the University to develop, promote, and administer high quality online courses and degree programs. As an academic entrepreneur, UNCG Online combines traditional academic values with new technologies, innovative curricular design, faculty engagement, and proven practices in business and education. UNCG Online serves as a centralized academic service unit for online education, primarily focused on new online program planning and development, targeted online course development, marketing and recruitment, and faculty support. UNCG Online continues to work with faculty to incubate and administer transdisciplinary online programs focused on in-demand workforce skills. The unit strives to connect targeted populations, such as rural students, returning adults, and military populations, with UNCG online learning opportunities and programs. UNCG Online is also charged with the administration and growth of Summer Session, both oncampus and online, with a focus on enhancing students timely progress to degree, increasing revenue, and optimizing resource efficiencies. In addition, the unit supports outreach and programming efforts for non-credit, continuing education programs. UNCG Online partners with academic units to provide student support services for prospective and current online students including 2,500 students taking only online courses and 5,800 students taking some online courses, 13 and 29 percent of the student population, respectively. In 2017-18, UNCG Online offered 39 online programs, 600 online courses, 208 of which were developed by the unit, and 140,000 web-based semester credit hours. UNCG Online developed and manages the Bachelor of Science in Integrated Professional Studies, a signature online degree completion initiative, and the Master s in Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS). The division recently launched an online Master s in Gerontology and partnered with the School of Health and Human Sciences to create the first ever online Doctor of Education in Kinesiology. UNC System policies enables UNCG Online to offer a very competitive tuition and fee structure for both in-state and out-of-state students. As UNCG Online grows online courses and programs across the United States and worldwide, the division and University is committed to ensuring tuition and fees are structured to maintain access, healthy enrollment growth, and fiscal stability. UNCG Online has a budget of approximately $8.5 million and retains a staff of about 50 full-time instructional designers, coders, graphic designers, multimedia specialists, writer/editors, recruiters, student support professors, and marketing experts. Page 4 of 7
ROLE OF THE DEAN The Dean reports to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, Dana Dunn, and is supported by an Administrative Support Team that includes an Executive Director, a Senior Director of Online Development and Support, and a Senior Director of Marketing and Business Development. The Dean also oversees the Master s in Applied Arts and Sciences, the Online MA in Gerontology, and the Bachelor s in Integrated Professional Studies. This signature degree-completion program uses hands-on experiences to teach core skill to become a T-shaped professional someone with the depth and breadth to succeed in today s workplace. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES The next Dean will inherit a much respected and highly functioning organization and will be expected to continue this record of excellence. At the same time, the change of leadership provides an opportunity for bold creativity and innovation. The division will look to the Dean for fresh perspectives, new energy, and a passion for moving the strategic goals forward. The fundamental opportunities and challenges for the new Dean are: Capitalize on the University s strategic positioning to drive the future growth of the division and increase its impact The University has identified three key areas of focus for the future; health and wellness, vibrant communities, and global engagement. As the University moves forward, health and wellness will be central to its future and offers numerous avenues for exploring new online programs, certificates, and degrees. This coupled with the division s tremendous multi-front growth over the last several years will provide an opportunity for the Dean to work with the division team and campus stakeholders to chart a vision, strategy, and plan for the future that capitalizes on the University s overall direction, while effectively embracing and navigating the everchanging online education landscape. The University s participation in The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), a national initiative to provide greater access to online courses while maintaining compliance standards with state regulatory agencies, further allows UNCG Online to extend its reach across the nation. Strengthen and build collaborative relationships across the University and state UNCG Online has a long history of working with not only academic departments but also individual faculty across the University. The division works collaboratively with multiple stakeholders and constituencies, from individual online course design, through developing and launching entire programs online. In addition, the division provides significant resources for academic support services to strengthen the online learning community at UNC Greensboro. The Dean will maintain and strengthen existing relationships and actively reach out across the campus, the surrounding community, and state of North Carolina to establish new productive collaborations and partnerships. Page 5 of 7
Centralize online development and support services Online enrollments continue to increase annually, and with that growth comes the responsibility to provide students and faculty with centralized services that support this increased demand. From development and instruction to web accessibility and academic integrity, UNCG Online is poised to streamline services across the University to increase efficiencies, reduce unnecessary redundancies, and enhance the overall quality of the University s online courses. The Dean will examine existing services and lead a discussion of how to fully support student success and the implementation of changes to services and structures, as needed. Maintain and enhance UNCG Online staff to meet evolving needs in online education UNCG Online employs a talented staff with diverse skills. The Dean of UNCG Online will need to support the existing staff and professional development and adapt roles, as needed, to meet the changing landscape of the online environment. Outreach to special populations The Dean will lead and ensure the continued strength of UNCG Online s capacity to support outreach and programming efforts to connect targeted populations such as rural students, returning adult students, and military populations with online learning opportunities and programs, and will encourage and support the development of innovative programming QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES The Dean will bring many of the following professional qualities and experiences: A deep appreciation for and ability to articulate the vision, mission, achievements, and aspirations of UNCG to a diverse audience. A minimum of 5 years of successful experience in a leadership capacity with faculty, staff, students, and administrators in an environment of shared governance with demonstrated success in: o Curricula and instructional technology design, planning, implementation, delivery, and evaluation; o Course management systems and/or learning management systems experience; o Academic leadership, program management, and supervision; Demonstrated ability to analyze data and make data-driven decisions, recommendations, and proposals; Demonstrated experience and skills in fiscal and budget management; Page 6 of 7
Knowledge of online education revenue and enrollment growth strategies and ability to secure alternative funding sources and grants; Knowledge and applications of business models, entrepreneurial application, and marketing management principles; A collaborative, collegial approach; a demonstrated ability to work effectively across all levels of a large, complex organization and engage a broad range of individuals and constituencies; Proven ability to build, manage, mentor, motivate, and empower an effective, integrated team, providing strong support and opportunities for growth and development; Exemplary interpersonal and listening skills; impeccable attention to detail; strong personal integrity and work ethic coupled with a sense of humor and perspective; Commitment to diversity, intercultural understanding, inclusive institutional excellence, and global engagement; A proven track record of progressive leadership responsibilities; and, A Doctoral Degree with a record of success in research, scholarship, or professional experience that would support an appointment to the rank of professor in his or her academic discipline is strongly preferred. Persons whose accomplishments in online learning are extraordinary, but do not meet the strongly preferred profile, may be considered. TO APPLY UNCG has retained Isaacson, Miller to assist in this search. Please direct all inquiries, nominations, referrals, and applications in strict confidence to: Jackie Mildner, Partner Kaden Stearns, Associate Isaacson, Miller 263 Summer Street, 7 th Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02210 www.imsearch.com/6673 In adherence to the UNCG Policy on Discriminatory Conduct, the University has been and will continue to be committed to the equality of employment opportunities and does not discriminate against applicants or employees based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, creed, veteran s status, political affiliation, or sexual orientation. Page 7 of 7