Job Title: Dean, UMKC Conservatory, 28685
Location: UMKC Volker Campus
Full/Part Time: Full-Time
Job ID: 39935
Hiring Department

UMKC Conservatory

Job Description

The Dean of the Conservatory (Music, Dance, and Theatre) will set a strategic vision for cutting edge performing arts education in the context of a diverse and vibrant urban-serving public research university. The Conservatory, founded in 1906, has a rich tradition of exceptional educational quality and dedicated, award-winning faculty. The dean will ensure that the departments and programs housed within the unit continue to offer high quality and relevant curriculum, internationally recognized faculty performance and scholarship, and are active collaborators in university-wide goals for student success, advancement of diversity and inclusion, and active community engagement. The dean will engage in fiscal stewardship, resource allocation, and work with the provost, chancellor, and development and alumni relations teams to achieve success in building philanthropic support and alumni engagement. The dean will be highly collaborative and work effectively with other academic and community leaders, including the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the professional theatre in residence at UMKC.

Supervision Received:
Supervision is received directly from the provost.

Supervision Exercised:
Administrative and general supervision may be exercised over faculty and staff. Direct reports include: associate deans, division chairs, faculty, student support specialists, administrative support staff.

Opportunities and Expectations for Leadership

The Dean of the Conservatory will address the following priorities, among others:
Cultivate, evaluate and implement new ideas and strategies for enrollment growth, student retention, and student success in the performing arts. As the landscape of higher education continues to change, UMKC seeks a Dean of the Conservatory with the ability to think strategically and creatively about how our institution emerges as a leader in student success, both in degree attainment, career outcomes, and in producing graduates who are productive members of society well equipped to be problem solvers and critical thinkers. With the financial challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, UMKC launched a process in April 2020 – UMKC Forward – to examine the entire university and make changes that would effectively position the university to pursue lasting excellence. A number of initiatives emerged from these efforts, including the realignment of academic units, an assessment of academic programs and the identification of key areas of investment for the university in coming years. The Dean of the Conservatory will play a major role in leading the faculty and staff to work collaboratively and effectively to meet school-specific and university-wide initiatives for student success.

Support, develop, and grow faculty scholarship and creativity. The UMKC Strategic plan, supported by the UMKC Forward investments, calls for the campus to double its expenditures from external grants from 2018 to 2028, as well as improve other metrics for scholarly productivity and faculty recognition. The Dean of Conservatory must be familiar with methods of assessment of scholarship and performance methods across the performing arts, as well as national and international funding mechanisms to the extent these are available. The Dean must be prepared to work with the Provost, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development/Dean of Graduate Studies, and the campus-wide Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence to leverage university and external resources to remove barriers to faculty success, promote collaboration, support interdisciplinary scholarship, and actively contribute to the research and scholarship enterprise of the University.

Work collaboratively with key partners. The Dean of the Conservatory will work closely with the Provost, other senior leaders, faculty, staff and students to ensure the effective utilization of resources in the advancement of the university's Strategic Plan. Additionally, this individual will engage with partners in the community, the UMKC Foundation, University of Missouri System, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, among others. The dean should be someone who is highly collaborative and demonstrates the ability to bring people together to work toward a common goal and communicate the work of the Conservatory to internal and external audiences.

Maximize efficiencies and generate new philanthropic opportunities. The dean will be responsible for ensuring that educational programming is maximally efficient and cost effective, and that student enrollment growth and philanthropy support the Conservatory functions in the coming years. The dean must be highly effective in fund raising and in communicating the value of performing arts education to potential donors and partners who can support student scholarships, faculty endowments, and capital projects.

Minimum Qualifications

A terminal degree in relevant area and rank of professor or eligibility for rank of professor with tenure at UMKC.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in academic administration at the level of Department Chair/Head or Associate Dean or higher.

Experience with successful fundraising for arts education, faculty support, and capital improvements.

Experience in budgeting and resource allocation.

Behavioral commitment to enhancing diversity, inclusion, and equity for students, faculty, and staff.

Understanding of and commitment to the mission, vision and values of a public-serving urban research university and a willingness to play an active role in the life of the university and community.

Experience in student success initiatives and commitment to exceptional quality teaching.

Experience with an active scholarship program, including publishing and/or performance, and grant funding.

The ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in academia and the community.

Experience in shared faculty governance and faculty affairs policy and processes.

Personal attributes should include strategic vision, excellent leadership skills, a strong work ethic, high energy, excellent written and oral communication skills, tact and confidentiality, ability to balance compassion and morale building with accountability, and a strong ability to bring people from different disciplines or organizations together to work toward a common goal.

Application Instructions

Nominations and inquiries of interest may be sent in confidence to the University’s executive recruitment consultants:

Martin M. Baker, Managing Partner

Chelsie Whitelock, Principal

Buffkin / Baker

UMKCConservatorydean@buffkinbaker.com

Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal Opportunity is and shall be provided for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without unlawful discrimination on the basis of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable state or federal law. This policy shall not be interpreted in such a manner as to violate the legal rights of religious organizations or the recruiting rights of military organizations associated with the Armed Forces or the Department of Homeland Security of the United States of America. For more information, call the Vice Chancellor - Human Resources at 816-235-1621.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the duties and functions of this job. If you believe you may have difficulty performing any of the duties or functions of this job, please contact the Office of Affirmative Action at (816) 235-1323.

EEO IS THE LAW

To read more about Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) please use the following links:

• EEO is the Law English Version
• EEO is the Law Spanish Version
• EEO is the Law Chinese Version

UMKC Statement on Diversity Diversity, equity and inclusion are central to the UMKC mission as an urban-serving institution. Kansas City is a particularly diverse city, including African, African American, Asian, German, Irish, Italian, Latino, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Native American and Slavic communities. Such ethnic diversity, in addition to our thriving neighborhoods of the Westside, Northeast Kansas City and the Eastside, fosters creativity, connection and innovation, which is showcased across the region. Major attractions such as the Annual Ethnic Enrichment Festival, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Filipino Cultural Center, the American Jazz Museum, Guadalupe Centers and Mattie Rhodes and Kansas City Irish Fest are a small sample of the many ways our diverse city enriches us.

For the reasons enumerated above, UMKC’s strategic plan prioritizes our commitment to multiculturalism, globalism, diversity and inclusion. The university’s values call upon its faculty, staff, students and community to position themselves as global citizens who seek out, embrace and celebrate the many benefits of diversity. UMKC received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in 2019 in recognition of our continued commitment to equity and inclusion. Such commitment is demonstrated across teaching, service and research. We welcome applicants to share in our commitment to these core values and know that you will quickly understand the beauty of calling Kansas City your home.

Please visit these pages to learn more about UMKC’s engagement in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Roos Advocate for Community Change

The Division of Diversity and Inclusion

Annual Report

Multicultural Student Affairs

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