Dean of Students and Director of Student Life
- Employer
- Southern Oregon University
- Location
- 97520
View more
- Executive Administration Jobs
- Deans
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
Dean of Students and Director of Student Life
Southern Oregon University
Position Number: A00409
Rate: $87,000 or commensurate with experience. (This position may be subject to a 20% furlough)
Position Summary:
Reporting directly to the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs and collaborating with constituents across the campus and in the Ashland community, the Dean of Students and Director of Student Life has responsibility for the following functions: Student involvement, including civic engagement, outdoor and recreation programs, resources for commuter students, and student publicity; and the Stevenson Union and working in close partnership with the Director of Housing. The Dean/Director also provides planning and leadership for student support services at SOU. This includes planning, directing, coordinating, and collaborating on intervention and retention strategies across the University. The Dean of Students and Director of Student Life holds primary responsibility for the leadership and direction of the crisis and behavioral intervention for students and participates with other University leaders on the Crisis Management Team and risk assessment processes for faculty and staff. The Dean/Director provides planning and leadership for the Student Support Network, a multidisciplinary behavioral intervention and threat assessment team. The Dean/Director provides development, planning, and leadership for the online reporting system, SOU Cares, and has primary responsibility for triage, case assignment, and oversight of all interventions involving at-risk students. The Dean/Director serves on the campus wide Equity Grievance and Title IX Team (maintaining a close collaboration with the Director of Equity Grievance/Title IX Coordinator). The Dean/Director provides leadership and supervision of student conduct as adjudicated through the Student Code of Conduct. The Dean/Director directly engages in post-hospital discharge care planning and other risk reducing support plans for students. The Dean/Director is responsible for advising the Vice President with regard to at-risk students and institutional protocol. The position supervises the work of the Associate Dean of Students and Directors for Student Life. The Dean/Director collaborates closely with the members of the Student Support Network, as well as other campus resources such as Enrollment Services, Financial Aid, Admissions, Trio Student Support Services, Disability Resources, and University Housing. The incumbent serves as the primary point of contact for community resource providers, hospitals, and parents. The Dean/Director oversees and manages a budget of approximately $4 million. The Dean/Director will provide oversight of major campus programs and spirit initiatives, including orientation, civic engagement, and recreational opportunities. Additionally, the Dean/Director will ensure that co-curricular programs and activities align with and support institutional goals relating to diversity & inclusion and health & wellness. The Dean/Director will also participate actively in the campus Student Support Network, on-call crisis response team, and work closely with Campus Public Safety and Student Health & Wellness Center staff.
*Effective 4/22/21, slight revisions have been made to the position description to better reflect the position expectations.
Minimum Qualifications:
A master’s degree is required, preferably in student development, higher education, counseling, social work, or other related field
administration, or a related field, plus at least 5 years progressively responsible experience in residence life, student activities, or a related field within higher education, Individual client assessment, intervention, case management and counseling, program planning and coordination.
Experience with/ability to interact with a diverse population.
Minimum of five years’ experience working with distressed or at-risk students in a higher education setting and serving on or leading a campus behavioral intervention team/threat assessment team.
Preferred Qualification:
The ideal candidate will have exceptional written and oral communication skills, have the demonstrated ability to inspire staff and students, be committed to the concept of inclusive excellence, and be able to translate creative thinking into concrete accomplishments.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
•Able to communicate a compelling and inspired vision or sense of core purpose, set clear milestones, and motivate large teams or groups of people. Demonstrated ability to provide and implement leadership initiatives.
•Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner, verbally, in writing and visually.
•Demonstrated ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
•Demonstrated ability to interpret and consistently apply a wide variety of complex policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist. Ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures, under pressure of deadlines in a fast-paced environment. Demonstrated ability to make independent decisions within legal and general policy and regulatory guidelines. Skill to conceptualize, analyze and interpret educational issues, policies, and regulations. Knowledge of educational policies and practices that impact the development, delivery, and outcomes measurement of support services to students.
•Strong analytical and research skills; ability to gather, evaluate, and to develop well-reasoned conclusions and recommendations. Ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems.
•Initiative in independently planning, organizing, and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters. Ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail.
•Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and time-sensitive deadlines.
•Efficient computer skills and proficiency with a variety of computer applications including word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, and online systems.
•Ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information, use of sound judgment and strict discretion, and maintain strict confidentiality of privileged information.
•Broad knowledge of, or ability to quickly learn, higher education governance, organizational structure, instructional programs, and academic policies and procedures to encompass a global perspective within a university setting.
•Ability to interact diplomatically with diverse personalities and to exercise judgment and tact in interactions with faculty, staff, students, and the public.
•Proven ability to mentor and develop direct reports and enable high performance as individuals and as teams. Strong personnel management skills, including strategic planning, the ability to manage multiple functions, and organize institutional resources to meet goals and objectives.
•Demonstrated ability to work with senior officials and executives from within and outside the University, and ability to think strategically and serve as a sounding board for executive managers.
•Proven experience developing, organizing, and administering budgets.
•Knowledge of administrative practices, and organizational and management practices as applied to the analysis and evaluation of projects, programs, policies, procedures and operational needs. Commitment to process monitoring and continuous process improvement in systems and services.
•Thorough knowledge of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Affirmative Action, Equal Employment Opportunity, and other applicable laws.
•Demonstrated ability to conduct, plan, organize and lead investigatory efforts, facilitations, and prepare reports; Listen, identify elicit and distill essential information needed to assess and resolve problems and issues; Diffuse and manage situations involving intense conflict.
•Extensive understanding of the complexity and multiple dimensions of diversity, inclusion, and equity, including — but not limited to — age, class, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, religion, sexual identity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status as it relates to the impact, implementation, and management of effective diversity change efforts.
•Demonstrated knowledge, skills, awareness of and demonstrated commitment to contemporary issues of inclusion, social justice, diversity, access, and equity, including the current scholarship and pedagogical approaches that inform and address these issues.
•Understanding of under-represented student group development with the proven ability to advise students from diverse backgrounds, and ability to relate effectively with students, faculty, administrators, staff, and the public, particularly around sensitive issues of diversity and inclusion.
•Maintain confidentiality and professional relationships in dealing with sensitive, complex civil rights, legal and human resource issues and situations together with the CDO, campus Legal Counsel, Human Resources, and other respective entities.
Special Instructions to Applicants:
Each applicant is required to provide (as attachments to the online application) the following supplemental documents: (1) letter providing some detail of the applicant’s qualifications and interest in the position; (2) current resume/CV; (3) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least three professional references; If you are unable to attach the supplemental materials to the online application please contact Human Resource for assistance.
For inquiries and additional information, please contact: Human Resource Services via email at hrs@sou.edu or by phone at (541)552-8553.
Special Conditions
•Must be willing to travel and attend training programs off-site for occasional professional development.
•Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis.
•Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check.
•Under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA):
•The person holding this position is considered a “mandated reporter” under the Oregon Revised Statues and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon department of Human Services.
Notice to Prospective Employees
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act, and The Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (now referred to as the “Clery Act”), requires that prospective employees be notified of the availability of SOU’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report provides the annual statistics and campus policies for the reporting of and responding to campus crimes and fires; access to campus facilities; conduct code and campus policies on use, possession and sale of drugs/alcohol; and educational/information programs to inform the campus community about campus security procedures and crime prevention.
An electronic copy of the Annual Security Report (ASR)can be accessed at the following link:
https://inside.sou.edu/assets/security/AnnualCrimeReportFinal.pdf. A physical copy of the ASR is available at no charge upon request. To request a copy please visit the Campus Public Safety Office at 382 Wightman Street, Ashland OR 97520. For more information call 541-552-6258, or email clerycoordinator@sou.edu.
All applicants must apply online at https://jobs.sou.edu/postings/8860.
Diversity Statement
Southern Oregon University is a welcoming community committed to inclusive excellence and the celebration of diversity. Without diversity, our educational process is diminished. Working together in support of our commitment to diversity, we strengthen and enrich our role as learners, educators and members of a tightly connected global community. We encourage those who share in our commitment to diversity, to join our community and we expect all our employees to demonstrate an ability and desire to create an inclusive campus community.
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Organization
Welcome to SOU
The University
Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a contemporary, public liberal arts and sciences university with selected professional programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. One of seven institutions in the Oregon University System (OUS), SOU is an inclusive campus community dedicated to student success, intellectual growth, and responsible global citizenship. Last year, The New York Times named Southern Oregon University as a “hidden gem” of higher education.
Southern Oregon University is committed to providing its 5,000 students a challenging and practical liberal arts education centered on student learning and civic engagement. SOU offers more than 100 areas of study with 34 majors, as well as partnerships, public service, outreach, sustainable practices, and economic development activities that address regional needs. SOU’s outstanding programs draw on and enrich our unique arts community and bioregion.
SOU serves the whole of southern Oregon and the northernmost counties of California. The University is a major partner in the economic, cultural, and environmental developments of this vast area, offering students valuable opportunities to find their place within our unique bioregion with its diverse community. An OUS-designated Center of Excellence in the Fine and Performing Arts, SOU has also gained recognition for its outstanding education and research in science fields and technology.
SOU’s culture of close faculty-student mentoring relationships is ideal for undergraduate instruction (21:1). Classes are taught by faculty, who are experts in their fields—93 percent hold terminal degrees—in a friendly, service-oriented environment.
Pursue Your Passions—Students engage in hands-on research and community projects that complement classroom, laboratory, and studio learning. SOU also offers numerous postbaccalaureate certificates and the Accelerated Baccalaureate Degree Program, which allows students to graduate with their four-year degree in three years.
SOU, committed to student success, offers the Ronald E. McNair Achievement program. The McNair program provides undergraduate students assistance in locating, applying for, and being accepted into doctoral programs. With state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, the SOU Biotechnology Center enhances undergraduate research in the emerging interdisciplinary fields of biotechnology.
The University’s Schneider Museum of Art (SMA) hosts major art exhibitions and youth programs, and the Center for the Visual Arts (CVA) features artwork by faculty, students, and visiting artists. SOU is home to the Southern Oregon Singers, the Rogue Valley Symphony, and the Chamber Music Concert Series (CMC). Its Music Department also provides frequent concerts and recitals by exceptional faculty and students.
Become a Global Citizen—Named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll in 2007, Southern Oregon University emphasizes worldwide citizenship through international student enrollment, exchange programs, and longstanding sister university alliances—the most notable alliance is the Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico. SOU students are globally engaged with international internships in 45 different countries on six continents.
The University’s rising national reputation is based on its faculty’s notable research and creative talents, as well as its practical liberal learning. Southern is one of 24 institutions across the nation to be selected for membership in the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC).
SOU is environmental progressive as one of the first universities in the nation to offset 100 percent of its electric and natural gas use with clean, renewable power. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized SOU’s commitment to sustainability by naming the University the 2007-2008 Individual Conference Green Power Challenge Champion.
Find Your Place—Southern Oregon University’s main campus in Ashland is largely residential, where students live on campus or in Ashland’s student-friendly neighborhoods. On-campus housing includes three complexes with residence halls and superb dining, as well as apartments for upper-class students, family housing in Old Mill Village with childcare service, and a facility for groups participating in SOU’s educational enrichment offerings. SOU serves a growing number of students who commute from as far away as Grants Pass, Oregon, and Redding, California, as well as providing many educational programs and services at the Medford Campus. SOU has fruitful and growing partnerships with community colleges such as Rogue Community College (RCC) and the College of the Siskiyous, and with universities such as Oregon Health & Science University.
SOU and the community are focal points for rich cultural activities and organizations. Created in 1935 by SOU’s Theatre Professor Angus Bowmer, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is now one of the top five regional theatres in the nation and one of the top three rotating repertory theaters with Shakespeare at their core worldwide. The festival draws more than 380,000 patrons annually.
Distinguished Alumni include:
Michael Geisen (Master’s of Arts in Teaching, 2001) was named 2007 National Teacher of the Year.
Tyler Burrell (Bachelor’s of Arts in Theater Arts, 1993) stars in the CBS comedy, “Back to You,” as well as appearing in The Incredible Hulk (2008), National Treasure II: Book of Secrets (2007) Friends with Money (2006), In Good Company (2004), Black Hawk Down (2001).
José Luis Romero Hicks (Master’s in Social Science, 1979) serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Guanajuato, the managing partner of the law firm RomeroHicks & Galindo, and a member of the Mexican Council on Foreign Affairs
Ashland Campus
Southern Oregon University occupies a 175-acre campus with fourteen academic buildings, thirteen residence halls, family housing, a student union, and multi-use facilities. All classrooms on campus are accessible to disabled students. Beautifully landscaped grounds and architecturally pleasing buildings provide a pleasant environment for academic endeavors, student club activities, and opportunities to think and study together with peers and faculty. Among the newer facilities are the Computing Services Center, the ACCESS Center for Student Services, the Schneider Museum of Art addition, and the Center for the Visual Arts.
SOU recently dedicated the Lenn and Dixie Hannon Library following a major renovation and expansion. The project nearly doubled the size of the existing library and yielded a new learning center with contemporary services and technologies, ample study spaces, seminar rooms, reading areas with fireplaces, and a coffee shop. The academic and student services are exceptional. Hannon Library won the 2004 Federal Depository Library of the Year award from the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Ashland and SOU are home to many unique facilities and services, such as the nation’s only Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory and the nationally recognized Jefferson Public Radio (JPR). Southern Oregon University hosts one of the largest Native American powwows and a popular Hawaiian luau, both of which are coordinated by student multicultural groups. SOU offers the only Native American studies certificate and minor programs in Oregon, in addition to providing a popular education camp for Native American youth in the summer. Among its extensive array of youth programs is the award-winning Academia Latina for middle school Hispanic and Latino children. SOU also has an established reputation for the size and scope of its extended programs for senior citizens.
Medford Campus
Established in 1984, the Medford Campus provides many of the courses and services available on the main campus in Ashland. The Medford Campus includes degree completion and graduate programs, classrooms, computer labs, registration, academic advising, a bookstore, and distance-learning capabilities.
The Medford Campus is part of the Higher Education Center (HEC), which represents a one-of-a-kind partnership in Oregon. The HEC strengthens the shared commitment SOU and Rogue Community College (RCC) have had for years. Their collective efforts better serve students at both institutions through more efficient class scheduling, increased communication, and centralized services.
The HEC also serves as the hub for professional development in the Rogue Valley. The business community benefits from seminars, customized training, a business communication institute, mentorship and internship programs, and networking opportunities.
Accreditation
Southern Oregon University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). The Department of Chemistry programs have earned the approval of the American Chemical Society. The programs of the School of Education are accredited by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. The Department of Music is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music.
The Region
In 2003, Outside Magazine ranked Southern Oregon University twentieth in the nation on their list of coolest places to study, live, and work. The region is a uniquely diverse geographic, geological, and ecological area. It is distinguished by the Rogue, Umpqua, and Klamath Rivers; Crater Lake National Park; many lakes; and the convergence of three mountain ranges: the Cascades, the Siskiyous, and the Coast Range. Such qualities give rise to the University’s distinctions in environmental studies, as well as its tremendous recreational opportunities, ranging from golf, rafting, fishing, and sailing to hiking, skiing, biking, horseback riding, and camping.
Arts and culture, recreation, tourism, retail sales, natural resources, and burgeoning health care services are the driving forces of the region’s economy. Technology industries are diversifying the economy as new companies move into the area, start-up firms emerge, and technology advances locally. There are three medical centers that offer world-class health care services.
The region hosts five fairs and thirteen festivals, in addition to nearly thirty art galleries and more than two dozen cultural and art museums. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland and Britt Music Festivals in Jacksonville are the most notable festivals. Theatre venues include Oregon Cabaret Theatre and Medford’s Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. Recreational facilities include 151 public and 110 commercial campgrounds, seventeen golf courses, three racetracks, two ski areas, two ice-skating rinks, and four horse stables. There are sixty-four registered guided tours in southern Oregon.
Ashland and SOU
Southern is located in Ashland at the base of the Siskiyou Mountains in the Rogue Valley. It is a five-hour drive or a one-hour flight from Portland to the north or from San Francisco to the south. With a population of 20,000, this charming town boasts eighty-five restaurants and ninety-three lodging facilities, sixty-six of which are bed and breakfasts. Its restaurants, delis, bakeries, banks, bookstores, ice-cream parlors, vintage movie theatre, specialty shops, and clothing stores are within easy walking distance of campus. The annual Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF) is a popular attraction. A bicycle path leads from SOU to downtown Ashland and beyond. The city offers an ideal setting for picnics and strolls in its beautiful Lithia Park with its duck ponds, paths, arboretum, and creek.
Ashland is surrounded by forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers that provide spectacular areas for outdoor sports and ecological studies. Benefiting from a mild four-season climate, Ashland’s average rainfall is twenty inches, less than half that of Portland or Eugene. Although the valley floor is generally free of snow, winter recreational facilities are just a thirty-minute drive away at Mt. Ashland Ski and Snowboard Resort. Cross-country ski opportunities are available in the Siskiyou and Cascade Mountains. Just minutes away, Emigrant Lake offers waterslides, sailing, and a park. Lake of the Woods, located at the base of Mount McLaughlin, is less than an hour’s drive from campus.
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