Dean of the School of Art
- Employer
- Pratt Institute
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
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- Faculty Jobs
- Arts & Humanities, Design, Professional Fields, Architecture & Urban Planning
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- Deans
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Open Date
Oct 7, 2019
Pratt Institute's School of Art seeks a dynamic and accomplished dean with demonstrated expertise and leadership skills to define and implement a visionary direction for the school in alignment with the institute's strategic plan and the School of Art's mission, vision and values. The School provides a rigorous, student-centered education that emphasizes risk-taking and exploration. We graduate diverse artists and professionals who use their expertise with insight, enriching culture and the world.
As the School of Art's chief academic and administrative officer, the new dean will be a collaborative individual with extensive, forward-thinking leadership experience and the capacity to relate to a range of internal and external partners. The dean will lead and enhance ongoing initiatives such as facility enhancement in support of academic excellence and chart new initiatives in collaboration with faculty and chairs.
The dean will have a collegial style, outstanding communication, interpersonal and management skills, a creative approach to problem-solving, an understanding of the complex range of challenges that students, faculty, and chairs face in the 21st century and beyond, and a strong commitment to academic excellence.
The dean will be a passionate advocate for arts education and promote excellence when it comes to enacting meaningful work around diversity, equity, and inclusion among faculty, staff and students. The dean will also be an active practitioner and creative thought-leader in the field with the capacity to raise the profile of the School of Art within a local, national and international arts community.
The School of Art comprises eight departments offering the four-year undergraduate art programs and both associate and graduate programs in numerous artistic fields and disciplines. Its 36 full-time and 320 part-time faculty are distinguished scholars and practitioners in their fields.Located on Pratt's historic 25-acre campus in the culturally diverse neighborhood of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, Pratt is an internationally recognized school of architecture, art, design, information science, and liberal arts and sciences, which draws students from diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds. We are committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in our curriculum as well as in the ranks of our faculty, students and staff and seek applicants who can contribute to the furtherance of these goals.
Building on Pratt's Strategic Plan and the School of Art's mission, vision and values the dean will provide leadership in the following areas:
Faculty
- In collaboration with chairs, lead the development of a strong and diverse faculty, overseeing hiring, recruitment, development and promotion activities in accordance with the faculty handbook and union contract.
- Develop and support faculty in light of the changing nature of faculty work and workforce.
- Support faculty efforts to promote equity for students seeking multiple pathways towards academic excellence.
- Support and promote faculty members' professional practice and research.
Chairs
- Appoint, evaluate and collaborate with chairs to ensure excellent leadership of academic programs.
- Provide mentorship and support for chairs' leadership growth and professional development.
- Promote a collaborative culture among chairs and encourage cross-departmental learning and strategic program development.
Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
- Work with faculty, chairs, and school-wide committees to ensure high-quality academic programs and curricula.
- Work with chairs and faculty to identify the resources, policies, and practices necessary to support, promote and recognize teaching excellence.
- Provide support for chairs and faculty to assess and improve program quality.
Advancing the School of Art
- Lead the School of Art in developing world-class exhibition, fabrication and studio/classroom facilities to best support 21st-century art education.
- Lead the School of Art in development activities in collaboration with Institutional Advancement.
- Lead the School of Art on its research initiatives within an arts context and as they relate to the institute's wider research goals.
- Lead the School of Art on outreach to external advisors who can help advance its mission and goals.
Administration
- Oversee School of Art budgets.
- Facilitate and support departmental assessment efforts.
- Support and enhance department, school, and Institute-wide accreditation efforts.
- Ensure transparency and openness in communications.
- Promote engagement and communication across departments, disciplines, positionalities (students, teachers, faculty, staff, chairs, administrators) both within and beyond the school.
Higher Education Context
- Demonstrated ability to develop collaborative relationships and partnerships with faculty, staff, and academic leadership.
- Capacity to mentor faculty and build strong relationships across the institute.
- Possess a comprehensive understanding of higher education and the role of schools of art within it.
- Demonstrated understanding of and ability to lead the School of Art in implementing academic accreditation standards and procedures.
- Demonstrated experience with supporting assessment for learning.
- Skill in addressing student needs and concerns.
Pratt Context
- Affinity for Pratt's place in higher education with specific attention to schools of art, design, and architecture.
- Ability to align and integrate the development of the School of Art with that of the Institute as a whole.
Qualifications
Terminal degree in an arts discipline from an accredited institution required.
Experience:
Must be an accomplished practitioner in a relevant field and have significant experience with academic leadership and administration.
Experience as a faculty member, Department Chair or Director of a significant program required. Experience as a Dean preferred.
Skills:
Leadership and Management
- Demonstrated leadership ability accompanied by collegiality, creativity, sound judgment, and discretion.
- Demonstrated capacity to establish strategic organizational vision; to develop organizational plans, policies, and priorities; and to assess progress toward achievement of those priorities.
- Ability to effectively use managerial principles and practices, including strategic planning and continuous quality improvement.
Communication
- Demonstrated advocacy skills, including the ability to articulate school values and priorities to a range of audiences.
- Evidence of superior interpersonal and communication skills that reflect clarity of expression and effectiveness in working with diverse groups in a complex organizational setting.
Development and Partnerships
- Ability to raise funds for facilities, research, programming and teaching, and learning.
- Affinity for, and ability to develop partnerships with New York City institutions and beyond to enhance teaching and learning, research, creative practice, programming, civic engagement, and exhibition opportunities.
Application Instructions
Review of applications will begin on December 1st and will continue until the position is filled. For full consideration, please have all materials submitted by this date.
To apply please submit a cover letter, CV, and a statement describing how you have worked to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in your career and how you plan on continuing to do so here at Pratt via our internal application site at https://apply.interfolio.com/69717
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion or belief, national or ethnic origin, citizenship, marital or domestic partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pratt Institute recognizes and values the benefits of a diverse workforce.
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Organization
About Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a coeducational, private, professional college offering associate, bachelor and master's degree programs in art and design, architecture and library science. The Institute has been educating professionals for productive careers in artistic and technical fields since its founding on its present site in Brooklyn in 1887 by the industrialist and philanthropist Charles Pratt. His revolutionary philosophy of education emphasized applied knowledge and the teaching of specific skills demanded by a growing industrial economy.
The Institute currently occupies 25 tree-filled acres in the landmark Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn-an historic residential district featuring turn-of-the-century brownstones, Victorian mansions and wide tree-canopied boulevards. Midtown Manhattan, the heart of New York City, is a 1/2-hour subway ride away and offers students a wealth of vocational, cultural and recreational opportunities. Pratt is the only college for art and design on the east coast that has a traditional enclosed campus with on-site student housing.
Pratt is one of the largest undergraduate and graduate schools for art, design and architecture in the country and offers a wide range of cross discipline study options, dual degrees and major concentrations. The Institute houses five schools: Architecture, Art and Design, Information and Library Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Professional Studies.
The Institute's 25-acre campus contains twenty-four buildings, including landmark Romanesque and Renaissance Revival-style structures, clustered around spacious lawns and tree-canopied plazas. Sixteen buildings contain extensive studio, shop and technical facilities needed to support work in all media-from the traditional to the experimental. Five buildings are student residences. All have computer networking capacities and are Internet accessible. Computer labs, established with the most current equipment and the latest software, are available for instructional purposes and individual project use. Gallery space is extensive and the work of students, alumni, staff and other well-known artists is shown throughout the academic year. Pratt's Library, an historical landmark built in 1896, was the first fully automated academic library in the New York City area. Its art and architecture collection is excellent and contains approximately 208,000 volumes, 500 periodical and newspaper subscriptions, 66,000 slides, 190,000 pictures, 50,000 microforms, and 45,000 governmental documents.
The energy, foresight, money and spirit Charles Pratt gave to his dream remains even today. Here careers are molded, and goals, like those of Charles Pratt, are encouraged. Inscribed on the seal of the Institute is the motto: Be True To Your Work And Your Work Will Be True To You.
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