Associate Dean, Graduate College Administration (T)

The Graduate College Associate Dean of Student Success provides collaborative, strategic leadership, playing a major role in planning, improving, and evaluating graduate student success. The successful candidate will work closely with the Dean to promote innovations in graduate education and student success through collaboration with directors of graduate studies, department heads/school directors, and other campus administrators (e.g., the Office Research and Partnerships) in order to enhance success for every graduate student. They will provide oversight for all student services and support throughout the graduate student lifecycle and supervise a team of staff and career-track faculty who conduct the day-to-day operational activities of the Graduate Center. In addition, the individual in this role will lead teams to submit grant submissions that support the success of graduate students. As part of this role, they will collaborate with campus leaders, university systems, and institutional offices on matters connected to graduate student success and support. This individual will report directly to the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate College. The major duties and responsibilities are listed below, and other duties may be assigned.

The University of Arizona Graduate College plays a central role in advancing graduate education, research excellence, and student success across the university. The Graduate College supports graduate programs by fostering an academic environment that prepares students for leadership in research, industry, public service, and academia. Through collaboration with colleges and departments campus-wide, the Graduate College promotes innovative scholarship, professional development, and access to graduate education while upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and mentorship. Committed to student-centered support and institutional impact, the Graduate College drives initiatives that strengthen graduate outcomes, research engagement, and the university's mission as a leading public research institution.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Strategic Analysis and Management of Graduate Student Success Initiatives:

• Collaborates in the design of and advocates for initiatives that advance Graduate College strategic goals, including fostering innovative ideas in graduate education, increasing access to and support for students across the graduate student lifecycle, and stewarding resources and finances wisely.
• Provides leadership and strategic guidance on graduate student success policies, procedures, and best practices, including active participation in the development and implementation of goals, ensuring that strategies have aligned initiatives, implementation, and assessment plans.
• Serves as a resource for leadership on matters related to Graduate College workload policies and procedures, including working with team(s) to roll out new processes or process changes across campus.
• Directs initiatives to improve the pipeline of undergraduate students progressing to graduate school and collaborates on the design and implementation of graduate student recruitment and enrollment initiatives.
• Collaborates with Graduate College senior leadership on student grievance procedures and oversees cases related to graduate student support.
• Plans, directs, and reviews the activities and operations of the Graduate Center team to ensure achievement of established goals and objectives.
• Oversees the recruitment, programming, and outcomes of the University Fellows program.
• Develops long- and short-range goals to identify opportunities to improve operational functions and structures and strategically align student support services with overall goals of the University.
• Directs, manages, and evaluates the day-to-day operational activities and outcomes associated with student success initiatives, including future staffing requirements which may emerge and succession planning.
• In collaboration with the Graduate College management team, collects and analyzes student success data and its relationship to timely completion of degrees.

Lead Research Initiatives on Graduate Student Success:

• Provides strategic leadership in the development, submission, and implementation of grant proposals focused on innovative concepts to improve graduate student success across the lifecycle.
• Leads the Graduate Center team in identifying emerging challenges, opportunities, and evidence-based practices related to graduate student academic progress, mentorship, well-being, professional development, degree completion, and career outcomes.
• Collaborates with the Office of Research and Partnerships and other university offices to strengthen grant development strategies and align with institutional priorities.
• Ensures that graduate students' perspectives, including those of students from varied backgrounds and academic pathways, inform research priorities, program design, and institutional recommendations.
• Translate research findings and assessment results into actionable strategies, policies, programs, and resource-allocation recommendations for the Graduate College and academic units.
• Develop pilot initiatives based on research findings and oversee their implementation, refinement, and potential expansion across the university.
• Leads the Graduate Center team in disseminating findings through institutional reports, presentations, scholarly publications, professional conferences, grant reports, and communications to university leadership and campus partners.

Cultivating Campus Partnerships:

• Designs, coordinates, and evaluates outreach efforts to increase utilization of Graduate Center programming.
• Collaborate with colleges and directors of graduate programs to enhance and expand the portfolio of student success programs offered, including strategic and innovative initiatives stemming from research projects.
• Collaborates with colleges and directors of graduate programs to resolve graduate student grievances.
• Collaborates with graduate programs to identify opportunities for program improvement and incorporate best practices to facilitate foundational support across the graduate student lifecycle.
• Collaborates with the Offices for Native American Initiatives and Hispanic Serving Institutions on initiatives to improve graduate student support.

• Doctoral degree in a related field.
• The successful candidate must hold the rank of associate or full professor with tenure.
• The candidate must demonstrate at least 5 years of service to graduate education through contributions from the Graduate Council, departmental/school committees related to graduate education, graduate program leadership, and/or collaboration on external grants supporting graduate student success.

• Demonstrated expertise in data analysis and interpretation, paired with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating with faculty members, staff, students, and external partners.
• Demonstrated successful leadership of teams.
• Prior experience with revising and implementing academic policies.