Senior Associate Dean, College of Engineering

The Opportunity

The College of Engineering (COE) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, invites applications and nominations for Senior Associate Dean.  Embry-Riddle is seeking a Senior Associate Dean who is collaborative, student-focused, creative, and a research leader.  The ideal candidate will have strong organizational skills, a positive outlook, and will be a team player who builds consensus within a large and complex organization, with a diverse and growing faculty.

The Senior Associate Dean will be responsible for taking the lead on internal matters for the College and will partner closely with the Dean to implement the strategic vision and mission for the College of Engineering through the development of key initiatives.  The Senior Associate Dean will have a significant level of autonomy and front-point leadership on internal matters, as delegated by the Dean.

Job Duties

Academic Affairs

• Provide oversight and coordination with Department Chairs and the College Curriculum Committee on all matters related to curriculum proposal development, review, and approval process, liaising with Provost’s Office for University-level approval and implementation.

Faculty Affairs

• Work with Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies to plan and approve summer course offerings, provide oversight, check enrollment, allocate and approve full-time faculty payment forms and adjunct pay.
• Provide oversight of faculty workload metrics, promoting parity across departments.
• Lead the development, implementation, and oversight of faculty mentoring programs, in collaboration with the Associate Dean for Research.
• Provide oversight for the promotion and tenure process for the College.  Convenes the COE P&T committee as an ex officio member, leads the development and revision of criteria and procedures for the College P&T process.  Provides oversight for development of departmental P&T documents, ensuring synergy and compliance of departmental criteria and procedures with College and University policies.  Provides draft input to the Dean for College-level executive review of P&T cases.
• Provides oversight for faculty hiring including working with the Department Chairs, HR, the Dean and the Provost’s Office on approving on-site interview of candidates, salary negotiations, and startups.

Budget Management

• Work with the Dean to develop annual operational budget requests and distribution.
• Work with the Dean and the Associate Dean for Research (ADR) to prioritize the College’s research incentive expenditures.
• Work with the ADR to review and approve research proposal cost share requests.
• Review and approve funding requests from student organizations and ad hoc faculty and department chairs requests.
• Allocate and monitor expenditures of the graduate teaching assistants (GTA) annual budget; approve GTA contracts.
• Work with the Dean and the ADR to review and approve new faculty startup requests.
• Work with the Dean to review and prioritize capital requests.

Facilities and Safety

• Manage academic space allocations for the College, ensuring continued and efficient use of space in alignment with College and University strategic priorities.
• Provide oversight for building usage, including security policies and infrastructure maintenance.
• Serve as first point of contact and resource for safety matters, working closely with University health and safety professionals to develop and ensure compliance with safety standards.
• Supervise the COE Lab and Safety Coordinator to oversee and supervise the COE technical staff and the COE Machine Shop operation.
• Coordinate with the Facilities department on building, renovation, commissioning, decommissioning projects on the COE facilities.

University and College Events

• Coordinate, participate, and supervise the COE administrative assistants in all University and College events such as Open House, Homecoming, Preview Day, Family Weekend, and E-Week.

Other Tasks

• Lead ad hoc tasks assigned by the Dean.
• Assist the Dean in distributing the faculty/staff annual merit raises and equity adjustments.
• Conduct staff annual evaluations (admin assistants and technical staff) for direct reports.

The College of Engineering has an enrollment of over 3500 students and has been experiencing a period of tremendous growth.  The College is home to seven undergraduate programs, eight masters degree programs, and three doctoral programs. The College of Engineering is home to the largest Aerospace Engineering Department in the nation, with an undergraduate program that is currently ranked #4 by U.S. News and World Report, while the graduate program is ranked #25. The College has launched an ambitious agenda focused on expanding graduate programs, recruiting talented faculty, and investing in research infrastructure and capabilities. In support of this agenda, the University has invested in a new 50,000 square foot engineering building, the John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex (MicaPlex), housing research laboratories, a state-of-the-art subsonic wind tunnel, the Eagle Flight Research Center facility, and tech startup incubator space. Building on this existing capability, the new $50M Cici and Hyatt Brown Center for Aerospace Technology is currently being constructed, creating a growing academic / industry ecosystem to support innovation and entrepreneurship.  

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is an independent, culturally diverse institution providing quality education and research in aviation, aerospace, engineering, and other related fields with residential campuses located in Daytona Beach, Florida; Prescott, Arizona; and Singapore – as well as a Worldwide campus that provides educational opportunities online and at approximately 130 locations throughout the United States, Asia, Europe, and Central/South America.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, with more than 70 Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. programs in Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. The Daytona Beach Campus serves a diverse student body of approximately 8,300 students. The research focus areas at Embry-Riddle are strategic and continue to incrementally evolve as technology and the world around us changes. Some of our engineering focus areas include: Modeling and Simulation of Complex Multiphysics Systems, Aircraft Design, Flight Test Engineering, Advanced Flight Control Systems, Autonomous Systems, Robotic Systems, Sense & Avoid Technology, Hybrid Propulsion Systems, Cybersecurity, High-Assurance Software and Systems, and others. To further support aviation and aerospace convergent research, the University has established Centers of Excellence such as the Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety (https://erau.edu/research/industry-collaboration/center-for-aviation-and-aerospace-safety ) and the Center for Aerospace Resilience (https://erau.edu/research/industry-collaboration/center-for-aerospace-resilience ).

As a tenured faculty member in the College of Engineering, the successful candidate will have demonstrated an exemplary level of research and scholarly record, leadership skills, project management, development of personnel, strategic planning, and budget management. The position also requires an ability to work collaboratively with internal and external constituents as a team member of the department, college, and university. Additionally, candidates should have experience with a broad range of innovative methods of instruction and assessment. The ideal candidate will have a clear vision for supporting the growth of the College of Engineering.

Qualifications

Required

Candidates must hold a doctoral degree in any engineering discipline and have demonstrated leadership and academic administrative experience. The successful candidate must have the necessary qualifications at the time of employment to be appointed as a tenured full professor in an academic unit within the College of Engineering.

Desired

• Exceptional maturity and emotional intelligence for handling difficult situations
• Collaborative, committed to shared governance
• Trustworthy and acts with discretion
• Responsive and dedicated
• Excellent communicator
• Service-oriented mindset, prioritizing the needs and mission of the College over self-interest
• Commitment to teaching excellence
• Outstanding record of securing external funding from a diverse set of government and industry sources
• Demonstrated experience in managing budgets

Diversity

Embry-Riddle values diversity: we respect the rights and property of all individuals, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, physical disability, economic background, sexual orientation, or religious belief. We believe in a community where all members are welcome, and individuals or groups are free from harassment.  We strongly encourage individuals from populations traditionally underrepresented and underserved in STEM – female, Black, Latinx, Indigenous American, all gender identities and/or sexual orientation – to apply.

Equal Opportunity

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis on race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual identity, or sexual orientation.

Application Process and Additional Information

Consideration of applications will begin May 1, 2024 and will continue until the position is filled; the anticipated start date is as early as August 2024. Applications should include a current CV and a detailed letter discussing experience, academic qualifications, and background that demonstrate strong alignment with the College of Engineering and the position. Selected candidates will be required to secure three professional references as part of the review process. Application materials should be submitted electronically through the Embry-Riddle Careers Website. Questions can be directed via email to Lisa Davids, Search Committee Chair, at [email protected] .