Job Description

For best consideration, complete applications should be received before April 6, 2026.

Complete information is available on the Search Profile

Spalding University invites applications for an innovative and results driven leader to serve as the next Dean of the College of Business, Education, and Professional Studies While the College encompasses diverse academic areas, the University is seeking a dynamic dean with strong business acumen and proven experience leading complex academic and professional units. The successful candidate will bring a strategic, data informed, and industry engaged leadership style to strengthen the College’s business programs and steward the integration of business-oriented thinking across all departments.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of the College and will be responsible for leading its strategic direction with a strong emphasis on business-focused leadership, financial stewardship, workforce alignment, and innovation.

Given the College’s significant portfolio in business education, Spalding seeks a dean who can:
• Drive growth and strategic positioning for the College
• Build and strengthen employer networks for internships, hiring pipelines, and corporate partnerships
• Enhance career readiness and job placement outcomes across all programs
• Lead entrepreneurial initiatives and support revenue-generating program development
• Integrate business sector expectations into curriculum, assessment, and academic planning

The Dean will also oversee accreditation processes, manage budgets, foster faculty development, and represent the College to internal and external constituencies. This role requires a leader who is externally engaged, industry-aware, and capable of advancing a college that blends education and business disciplines under one strategic vision.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide strategic leadership for academic programs in Business, Education, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• Enhance teaching quality, curriculum relevance, and student outcomes through a business informed lens
• Oversee accreditation and program review
• Promote faculty scholarship and professional development
• Manage budgets and lead fundraising and grant-seeking
• Cultivate strong partnerships with employers, industry leaders, school districts, and community organizations
• Support enrollment growth, student retention, and career readiness initiatives
• Represent the College across the University and the broader community

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Earned doctorate in a discipline represented in the College
• Distinguished academic record suitable for appointment at the rank of professor
• At least five years of progressive academic leadership experience
• Demonstrated ability to lead with transparency, collaboration, and ethical integrity
• Experience in curriculum development, accreditation, and program assessment

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Terminal degree in Business or a closely related field
• Experience leading or advancing business programs or multidisciplinary colleges
• Demonstrated success cultivating industry partnerships and employer networks
• Evidence of innovative program development in business or professional studies

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

Louisville, Kentucky, rich in history, was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark at the Falls of the Ohio River, initially as a portage point for river travel. Named for King Louis XVI of France in appreciation for his assistance during the Revolutionary War, Louisville’s initial growth was slow. The advent of the steamboat in the early 1800s sparked booming industrial development, and by 1830 Louisville had secured its place as the largest city in Kentucky.

During the Civil War, Louisville was an important Union base of operations and a major military supply center. In the postwar era, the city emerged even more prosperous than before, with merchant princes and manufacturers shaping the new economy. Owing to its strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio, Louisville was a major commercial center. River transportation was supplemented by the construction of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which was chartered in 1850 and operated more than 1,800 miles of line in the state by 1920. Joseph E. Seagram and Sons opened the world’s largest distillery in Louisville following the repeal of prohibition. Thanks to companies such as Dupont, the city became the world’s largest producer of synthetic rubber during World War II.

Louisville was also a city of firsts. In the reform-minded progressive era of the 1880’s the city was the first in the nation to introduce the secret ballot, significantly reducing vote fraud. It was the first city in Kentucky to adopt zoning and planning measures to control and shape urban growth. Home to the first bridge designed exclusively for motor vehicles to cross the Ohio River, Louisville was also the birthplace of Mary Millicent Miller, the first woman in the United States to receive a steamboat master’s license.

The city has been home to a number of men and women who changed the face of American history. President Zachary Taylor was reared in surrounding Jefferson County, and two U.S. Supreme Court Justices, including Louis D. Brandeis, the first Jewish Justice, were from the city proper. John James Audubon was a local shopkeeper in the early years of his career, drawing birds in his spare time. Second Lt. F. Scott Fitzgerald, stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor during World War I, was a frequent presence at the bar in the famous Seelbach Hotel, immortalized in the novel The Great Gatsby Muhammad Ali, perhaps the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, was born in Louisville and won six Golden Glove tournaments in Kentucky.