Berry College invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of Personal and Professional Development. The dean will create and oversee a new Center for Personal and Professional Development, guiding a four-year planning and goal-setting process for all students. The dean is responsible for integrating and strengthening existing programs related to professional learning experiences, career advising, internships and mentoring. The dean will lead the LifeWorks program, Berry’s distinctive student work experience program that offers all students eight semesters of paid professional development.

Berry is a selective independent college of 2,100 located adjacent to Rome, GA, midway between Atlanta, GA, and Chattanooga, TN. Berry’s educational approach deliberately unites challenging academic programs with practical work experience in a residential campus community that encourages faith and emphasizes caring for the needs of others above self. This commitment to an “education of the head, heart and hands” remains as relevant today as when our founder instilled this ethic more than a century ago.

Nationally recognized for quality of learning and quality of life, Berry offers first-rate undergraduate degree programs in the sciences, humanities, arts and human sciences, as well as undergraduate and master’s level opportunities in business and teacher education. The College’s stunning 27,000-acre campus affords opportunities that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. Berry’s ongoing commitment is to provide exceptional educational experiences to talented students from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds.

Berry seeks a creative leader who can collaborate across campus constituencies including students, staff, faculty, and alumni. As a key student-success unit, the Center serves students across all four academic schools. The dean is expected to devise intentional strategies that engage and support career and life readiness. The dean is responsible for enhancing work path advising and the reflective component of the LifeWorks program. The dean will refine student learning outcomes, formative feedback processes, and a robust training program for work supervisors in support of effective supervision and mentoring for all students. The dean also oversees career center programs including internship and employer development, alumni career connections, and a campus/community work partnership. The dean is also expected to develop effective assessment tools to enable data-driven decisions about student success and program vitality.

The dean is expected to nurture a highly engaged team within the center as well as creating effective coalitions across the campus to support the center’s work. The dean will work closely with the associate provost, the director of the Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership, the director of the center for teaching excellence, the chaplain and the vice president for student affairs. The dean will collaborate with the vice president for advancement to enhance alumni/student career and mentoring connections. The dean is expected to be a champion for the college’s mission and culture in addition to the goals and mission of the Center for Personal and Professional Development.

QUALIFICATIONS: An advanced degree (doctorate preferred, master’s required) in a appropriate discipline with at least ten years of relevant professional experience. In addition to excellent oral and written skills, the successful candidate will be adept in finding and using technology that extends the work of the center.

Berry is a Chronicle of Higher Education 2018 “Great College to Work For.” The college offers competitive benefits and salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. An Equal Opportunity Institution, Berry complies with all applicable laws and provisions prohibiting discrimination in its educational and employment policies. Berry respects the essential dignity of all individuals and accordingly hires and promotes employees without regard to matters of personal identity such as ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and political affiliation.

APPLICATION INFORMATION: Applicants should electronically submit a letter of application, resume, and the contact information for three professional references to: employment@berry.edu or ____ Recruitment, P.O. Box 490039, Mount Berry, GA 30149. The job is open until filled. Application review will begin immediately and continue until a qualified individual has been hired. A summer 2019 start date is anticipated. For ADA Accommodations please contact our ADA Coordinator at 706-233-4062.