Reporting to the Vice President of Student Affairs and Athletics, the Dean of Students is responsible developing a culture of holistic student development at Westminster University. As a key member of the Vice President’s senior leadership, the DOS provides critical leadership Student Affairs that enhance dynamic student life and success within a vibrant and progressive campus culture. A successful Dean of Students will be an experienced higher education administrator with (1) demonstrated experience centralizing diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging in student serving programs and processes, (2) excitement for and demonstrated experience in change management and innovation, (3) a professional career plan in Student Affairs.

The Dean of Students is a senior-level administrator within Student Affairs responsible for providing leadership and vision, administration, and financial oversight for departments within the division. Student Affairs departments are Student Engagement and Belonging, First Scholars, Outdoor Programs, Residence Life, Campus Dining, Purple Basket, Student Health Center, Counseling Center, Student Care and Conduct, Title IX, Campus Security, and Fitness, Wellness, and Recreation (FWRD). Significant divisional work areas include new student orientation, residential summer camps, parent support, crisis response management, and wellness programming.

Directly supervising two Assistant Dean of Students as well as the Director of Student Care and Conduct, the Dean of Students is tasked with supporting the student experience beyond the classroom beginning with pre-orientation engagement and culminating in graduation. The Dean of Students provides oversight for the division’s contribution to institutional priorities as they intersect with student engagement, student wellness, DEIAB, student programming, and student support. Specifically, the Dean of Students is tasked with ensuring divisional achievement through coordinating strategies informed by current institutional priorities including the implementation of student value propositions of West X, centralizing DEIAB in the student experience, and furthering the work of student development within an integrated wellness model.

The Dean of Students portfolio includes leading divisional strategic planning, special projects, and oversight for student engagement and belonging, student wellness programming and services, student crisis support, and the residential student experience. This senior-level divisional leader is expected to engage student leaders and group, nurture strategic parent engagement, and create and implement institution-level policy.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Planning, Budgeting, and Facilities

• Provide institutional leadership for developing, delivering, evaluating a coordinated vision for student experience beyond the classroom
• Allocate and manage resources to maximize departmental function and improve the student experience
• Lead and coordinate Student Affairs implementation of West X priorities
• Design and implement divisional comprehensive assessment plan

Supervision and Management

• Provide supervision and oversight for the Assistant Dean of Students managing Fitness, Wellness and Recreation (FWRD), Outdoor Programs, Student Health Center, and Counseling Center
• Provide supervision and oversight for Assistant Dean of Students managing Student Engagement and Belonging, Residence Life, and Campus Dining
• Provide supervision and oversight for the Director of Student Care and Conduct
• Directly manage Behavioral Intervention Team, coordination of compliance with federal legislation in areas including Clery-related processes, Westminster’s drug and alcohol prevention program; the Dean of Students will work closely with the Title IX Coordinator on compliance related student education related to Title IX and Violence Against Women Act
• Guide, support and evaluate unit managers and staff
• Give leadership to division wide assessment efforts

Crisis Response and Campus Safety

• Respond to active crises, issues, and concerns of a critical nature when required
• Ensure conflict mediation, care, and conduct processes that promote outcomes of student learning, development, and well-being
• Serve as the primary point for student appeals related to Student Conduct
• Campus Security Authority, Mandatory Reporter, Title IX Deputy Coordinator
• Student Belonging and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Belonging (DEIAB)
• Inspire and champion a student-responsive institutional focus that foregrounds holistic student development that prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, access, belonging, and non-discrimination
• Work in close coordination with the Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Student Care and Conduct to implement the student grievance resolution process
• Inclusively communicate student needs and interests in institutional decision-making

Parent Relations

• Provide strategic leadership to planning processes to increase parent/family engagement. Responsible for the initial development and then ongoing oversight, leadership, and assessment of a comprehensive parent and family engagement that meets the needs of our current/future student body and University
• Develops and implements short-and long-range planning and visioning to engage and support parents and families. This includes but is not limited to orientation, virtual information sessions, and web resources specifically written for families and parents
• Responsible for serving as the institution’s primary parent and family advocate

Campus Involvement and Collaborations

• Serve on campus wide governance groups as assigned including: Athletics Advisory Council (monthly), Tuition Refunds and Changes to Academic Records Committee (monthly), Student Life Cycle Operations Group (monthly), Behavioral Intervention Team (weekly)
• Special projects for the Vice President of Student Affairs and Athletics
• Special responsibilities for planning Convocation and Commencement, presenting material at annual retreats for Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Faculty
• Develop and maintain positive working partnerships with Academic Deans, Facility and Plant Operations, and key partners across the institution

• Graduate degree in Student Affairs Administration or related field, Doctoral degree preferred
• Eight years or more of progressive leadership in higher education administration
• Advanced knowledge of crisis management in the context of Student Affairs
• Extensive experience work facilitating organizational change
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with DEIAB work in the context of higher education administration
• Experience writing and enacting student-related institutional policies
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with resolution of all types of student grievances
• Ability to attend occasional after hours work events and respond to unplanned student emergencies
• Demonstrated knowledge of federal legislation, guidelines and updates including:
  • Title IX (1972) and ongoing updates
  • Campus Sexual Assault Victim’s Bill of Rights (1992)
  • Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act/Campus SAVE Act (2013)
  • Clery Act (1990)
  • Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act (2007)
  • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act/FERPA (1974)
  • Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act/HIPPA (1996)
  • Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act/ DFSCA (2018)
  • Federal Anti-hazing legislation: REACH Act (forthcoming)

About Westminster University

Westminster is a private, independent, and comprehensive university in Salt Lake City, Utah. Students experience the liberal arts blended with professional programs in an atmosphere grounded in wellness. With the goal of enabling its graduates to live vibrant, just, and successful lives, Westminster provides transformational learning experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students in a student-centered environment. Faculty focus on teaching, learning, and developing distinctive, innovative programs, while students thrive on Westminster’s urban Sugar House campus within minutes of the Rocky Mountains. Student Affairs at Westminster is committed to creating an environment that encourages students’ exploration of self while pursuing community and working toward academic success. Westminster is a private comprehensive liberal arts institution with a deep commitment preparing students to lead lives of learning, accomplishment, and service and to help them develop skills and attributes vital for success in a diverse and interdependent world. Westminster centralizes engaged learning that emphasizes theory and practice academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular programs. A cultu...re of imagination and innovation with a committed practice of inclusiveness and respect for differences.

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Connections working at Westminster University