Willamette University College of Law seeks Dean

Willamette University College of Law invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the College of Law.

Click here to view position profile: http://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Willamette_Dean_College_of_Law_Profile.pdf

The Position:

The dean of the College of Law will be committed to excellence in teaching and pedagogy, research and scholarly productivity, and service. The dean will serve as a broker and architect of partnerships within the university and across the larger community to facilitate excellence and encourage innovation as the institution embraces its university identity. The successful candidate will also demonstrate the capacity to work collaboratively with students, faculty, and staff; to raise funds to support the college and its initiatives; to manage budgets effectively; and to engage effectively with a variety of local, state and national stakeholders.

 

Responsibilities:

Reporting to the provost, the dean provides strong leadership in planning, development, and implementation of all college programs and policies and works with the Deans’ Council to advance the mission of the university. Specific responsibilities include approval of hiring, tenure, and promotion decisions; effective management of resources; coordination of outreach activities; support of research, including the pursuit of external funding; and college development. The dean has primary budgetary responsibility and accountability for the college and its programs and plays a leading role in developing and implementing programs promoting academic and student success.

Opportunities and Challenges:

Specific areas where the College of Law currently seeks insight and vision in the new dean include:

• Awareness of Emergent Trends in Legal Education: Attend to the emergent trends and best practices in the administration and management of schools/ colleges of law and bring an ability to bridge the gap between theory and practice;
• Communication and Transparency: Promote a culture of open communication, inclusivity, transparency and accountability among faculty, staff and students;
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Develop, implement and review ongoing initiatives focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion for all faculty, students and staff within the College of Law;
• Faculty Development: Provide opportunities for faculty to continue to grow as teachers and scholars and offer guidance and support for their professional and personal development. Manage hiring, reappointment, promotion, and tenure of faculty according to university policy;
• Enrollment: Work with the University Office of Marketing and Communications to develop a unified enrollment management strategy and brand identity, thus enhancing the ability of the College of Law to recruit high-caliber students in an increasingly competitive academic/professional legal environment;
• Alumni Engagement: Foster the existing relationship between the College of Law and alumni regionally, nationally, and globally;
• Fundraising and Revenue Development: Expand external support through fundraising and outreach to friends in the community and across the region to bolster student scholarships, develop faculty, and promote student success.
  

Qualifications:

The dean of the College of Law must have demonstrated significant achievement in leadership, scholarly activities, and administration. The dean should be committed to shared governance and open communication and, specifically, the candidates must demonstrate evidence of the following qualifications:

• A Juris Doctor or other appropriate doctoral degree from an accredited institution of higher education and eligibility to hold professorial rank within the College of Law;
• A distinguished record of teaching, research, and scholarship along with a strong commitment to promoting the scholarship of others;
• The strategic acumen and experience to lead the College of Law in its drive to increase excellence;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to relate effectively with the varied constituencies of the college, university, and the larger community;
• A demonstrated history of working with diverse groups and an ability to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity among staff, faculty, and students;
• The ability to identify, recruit, and retain distinguished faculty for the school;
• A record of responsible administrative experience and achievements that will enable a focus on admissions, bar passage, and school ranking;
• A commitment to excellence in all the educational programs in the college, to the expansion of student success, research opportunities, and innovative program development;
• Ability to foster a collaborative environment;
• Excellent fundraising skills and experience, along with the demonstrated capacity to attract significant philanthropic investments in the academic enterprise;
• Excitement about the opportunities of a liberal arts university where connections are forged among graduate and undergraduate programs;
• A confident leadership style that inspires trust and that models the expectations for faculty, staff, and students alike;
• Highest standards of integrity, honesty, and professional ethics combined with an approachable, engaging, and optimistic personality.

About the Institution:

Willamette University is a nationally renowned, private liberal arts university in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, Willamette was the first university established in the western United States. Situated in the capital city of Oregon on a beautiful and historic campus, Willamette enrolls more than 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students; employs more than 260 faculty members across three academic units, the undergraduate College of Liberal Arts, the Atkinson Graduate School of Management and the College of Law; and is supported by more than 29,000 alumni around the world.

About the College of Law:

Located across the street from the Oregon State Capitol complex and Supreme Court, the Willamette University College of Law is situated at the nexus of state law, government, and business. Founded in 1883 and accredited by the ABA since 1938, the College of Law was the first law school in the Pacific Northwest. Students learn from faculty who are top scholars, seasoned practitioners and members of the judiciary while also having the opportunity to work with mentors who are Supreme Court justices, heads of Fortune 500 companies, elected officials and distinguished attorneys. With significant strength in law and government, a historical reputation in the area of dispute resolution, and a developing and innovative program in business lawyering, the College of Law offers unique experiential and professional learning opportunities.

The College of Law’s faculty members are a distinguished, intellectually-engaged group of dedicated scholar-teachers who actively participate in contemporary legal debates on the local, national, and international stage. Numbering 22 tenured and tenure- track professors, a full-time clinical professor, and 20 adjunct professors, faculty members publish widely, serve as Fulbright scholars and hold important leadership roles in a wide array of civic and professional associations.

Like the faculty, the student body is a selective, diverse, and gifted collection of intellectually ambitious individuals. The college enrolls over 300 full-time JD students and has a student-to-faculty ratio of approximately 11 to 1. Emphasizing its commitment to a learning environment in which faculty closely interact with students, almost three-quarters of all upper-division courses have an enrollment of 24 students or fewer. The most recent first-year class for which data is available has a median LSAT score of 152 and came from 20 different states and 78 different undergraduate institutions. 49 percent of students are women and 23 percent are from historically underrepresented groups. The College of Law was recognized in 2017 by PreLaw Magazine as one of the most diverse law schools in the nation — the only Oregon school recognized on the list of 60 institutions. With more than 80 percent of 2018 graduates employed in “gold standard” positions by March 2019, the College of Law has posted the top employment numbers in Oregon six out of the last seven years.

In keeping with the liberal arts tradition, Willamette recognizes exploration and discovery as primary educational values and asserts that wisdom, insight, and the nurturing of democratic values are enhanced by a shared appreciation and understanding of diversity in all aspects of human endeavor. The university’s long-range plan states that diversity is not just essential to quality education, but central to “our sense of moral duty to overcome racism, bigotry, and discrimination in all forms.” To learn more about this distinguished university, please see willamette.edu/law.

To Apply:

Applicants should submit a resume and cover letter describing their interest and professional qualifications, as well as how they have successfully supported and advanced the values and principles of diversity and inclusion in their prior professional experiences and places of work. All inquiries will be considered confidential.

Please submit materials to:

https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su161

by September 13, 2019 in order to be given first priority by the search committee.

For nominations or further information:

Kristen Farha, Senior Consultant, Summit Search Solutions, Inc.

Direct: 316-650-0069, [email protected]

Employment at Willamette University means being part of a community that values education and its impact on the world, one that is friendly, supportive and increasingly diverse. Believing that diversity contributes to academic excellence and to rich and rewarding communities, Willamette is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and student body, and seeks candidates whose work furthers diversity and who bring to the campus varied experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds.

Willamette University’s educational facilities, activities, and employment opportunities are offered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, veteran status, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or status with regard to pregnancy, disability or age. Willamette is firmly committed to adhering to the letter and spirit of all federal and state equal opportunity and civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and their implementing regulations. If you have questions, need assistance or require special accommodations, please reach out to the Office of Human Resources at [email protected] or 503-370-6210.