Leadership Roles & Responsibilities

The Dean is the chief academic officer of the college. He/she serves at the pleasure of the President and reports directly to the Provost of the university. The Dean is responsible for the academic and managerial leadership of the college and its programs. He/she should have a record of research and teaching, and a level of scholarly achievement that supports appointment as full professor in one or more units in the college.

The specific duties of the position include:

• Maintaining effective communication with college constituents;
• Establishing college priorities;
• Meeting educational and research goals;
• Creating and administering the budget;
• Leading external development and fundraising activities; and
• Participating as a leading academic citizen of the university and the region.

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (ADAA) oversees the academic operations of the College and provides leadership to facilitate the development of new degrees and courses.  The ADAA is responsible for ensuring the highest quality in teaching-learning excellence. Moreover, the ADAA provides oversight for internal and external accreditation processes and manages academic program procedures and policies for the College. The ADAA advises and supports the Dean, performing additional duties as need.

Specific duties include:

• Oversees the academic enterprise ensuring teaching-learning excellence;
• Works with departments to develop innovative academic programs;
• Leads and promotes a culture of educational excellence and innovation;
• Provides leadership in the development academic policies and priorities;
• Monitors academic performance metrics;
• Oversees academic enrollment and enrollment planning;
• Ensures academic enterprise is aligned with the College and University strategic plan and goals;
• Coordinates faculty grievances and appeals processes in conjunction with the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs;
• Chairs committees and discharges other duties assigned by the Dean;
• Provides administrative and managerial oversight for staff; and
• Represents the College with its many internal external constituents.

The Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs is a resource to and advocate for faculty and staff and is responsible for administration and support of the Faculty Development Committee, developing and implementing programs to aid faculty recruitment and retention, supporting departmental plans to further individual instructional excellence, and leading initiatives that contribute to faculty mentoring and professional development. The Associate Dean will also oversee related matters for staff. Working with the Dean and College leadership, the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs serves as primary liaison to the Office of Compliance, Diversity and Ethics, and Human Resources for hiring initiatives to build a diverse and inclusive faculty. In addition, the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs is expected to have substantive expertise in an academic area offered by the College or in public health, and to teach two courses, annually. This is a half-time (12-month) administrative faculty position with full benefits, with the remainder of the time will be spent as a tenured faculty member in one of the academic units comprising the College. Candidates are expected to qualify for the rank of full professor with tenure. This position reports to the Dean of the College.

Specific duties include:

• Building a strong, diverse, and productive faculty and staff in support of the College strategic vision for excellence in teaching, research scholarship, and service;
• Providing leadership for diversity and inclusion efforts across the College;
• Developing retention strategies for faculty and staff to implement across the College, including equity issues;
• Implementing programs to support the development and mentorship of faculty and staff;
• Serving as a resource to and advocate for faculty in preparing for promotion and, when applicable, tenure review;
• Collaborating with the PT&R committees to develop clear and comprehensive guidelines;
• Career development initiatives for post-tenure;
• Facilitating a culture of instructional excellence and serving as a liaison to the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research;
• Assisting departments in developing discipline-specific measures of faculty scholarship and impact that allow for valid comparisons across College and University;
• Assisting departments in implementing and supporting individual faculty and staff development plans, especially for individuals who must retain licensure or other regulatory credentials;
• Providing leadership and support for the Faculty Development Committee and the Faculty Council, including faculty development workshops and speakers series;
• Promoting faculty and staff nominations for awards and special recognition within and outside College;
• Collaborating with communications and public relations to promote faculty and staff within and outside College;
• Representing the College with its many internal and external constituents and
• Developing a faculty expertise registry.

The Office for Practice and Strategic Initiatives (OPSI) coordinates the development of targeted, future-oriented interprofessional health education and practice opportunities for students, healthcare providers, and for community members to improve the public’s health and well-being.

The specific duties of the position include:

• Developing and coordinating executive, professional, and continuing education programs for practicing healthcare providers;
• Developing and coordinating community-based educational programs that benefit community members’ well-being and improve the public’s health;
• Collaborating with academic departments in the College and university on interprofessional health education, events, and practice related opportunities;
• Increasing practice opportunities for students and faculty in alignment with the public health mission of the College;
• Providing support and collaboration to the College’s Area Health Education Center (AHEC);
• Serving as the coordinating office for the use of specialty spaces and classrooms in the College’s Peterson Hall building; and
• Collaborating with the Office of Development to increase alumni and donor participation within the educational offerings of the College.

The Associate Dean for Research oversees the Office of Research, supports a research culture in the college, and links the college programs of research to the greater university research enterprise. He/she provides support and guidance to academic unit administrators for developing strong interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programs of research and works closely with the college centers for synergistic, coordinated research foci in the college. He/she advises and supports the Dean, performing additional duties as needed.

The specific duties of the position include:

• Monitoring the research productivity of academic units in the college;
• Serving as the college liaison to meetings with the Vice President for Research;
• Overseeing the strategic planning process for research productivity and total extramural funding of all academic units and college centers;
• Creating a development plan for research and other extramural funding opportunities in the college in consultation with unit academic administrators; and
• Organizing the appropriate college infrastructure necessary to support funded programs of research across all academic units.

The Associate Dean for Student Affairs is responsible for recruitment, retention, and engagement of undergraduate and graduate students in the College. The Associate Dean for Student Affairs coordinates services and supports to help all College of Public Health students succeed.

The specific duties of the position include:

• Providing leadership within the Office of Student Affairs to ensure excellence in all aspects of the student experience with the college;
• Developing the organizational structure, goals, objectives, and long-range plans for the Student Affairs team;
• Supervising and evaluating programs and personnel in all areas of student engagement, including recruitment, admissions, retention, academic and career advising, study abroad opportunities, coordination with partner offices across the university, and commencement activities;
• Working with academic department administrators to strategically manage enrollment planning, recruitment, and retention;
• Monitoring academic performance metrics;
• Managing processes for academic actions including appeals, terminations, and exceptions to policy;
• Providing leadership and support for student organizations in the College;
• Preparing and monitoring the department budget;
• Representing the College with internal and external constituents on all aspects of student services; and
• Representing the College on university committees and initiatives, as appropriate.

These administrators serve in the dual capacity of senior administrator in the college structure and as the chief academic officer of a professional school.

The specific duties of the position include the following in addition to those of a department chair:

• Providing senior leadership in the college to achieve the successful implementation of the college strategic plan;
• Serving as the college representative to university committees, as needed;
• Supervising the school administrative team, as described in the school organizational chart;
• Representing the unit to the university community and serving as a channel of communication on program, personnel, and budget matters;
• Consulting fair employment practices with the University Equity Office;
• Encouraging and fostering excellence in teaching, scholarship, professional and university service and provide leadership in the pursuit of the university’s commitment to affirmative action and equal opportunity;
• Planning and administering the school’s budget in consultation with the Dean;
• Monitoring faculty performance and approving faculty workload assignments;
• Evaluating faculty for purposes of reappointment, promotion, tenure; and make annual reviews for the purpose of recommending salary increases; and
• Supervising staff and part-time faculty and providing an environment that, within the limitations of available resources, is supportive of faculty professional activities and goals.

The Executive Director of Finance and Administration is responsible for overall budget, financial analyses, and personnel matters in the College. The Executive Director of Finance and Administration reports to the Dean.

The specific duties of the position include:

• Establishing an integrated financial management operation for the college that employs recognized best financial practices in higher education;
• Preparing summaries of the operations and financial contributions of the individual units in the college including enrollment data, extramural funding, and faculty practice revenues;
• Developing annual budgets and financial performance goals for the college and each of its units, and providing long-range financial and operational forecasts for college strategic planning, with advise and oversight from the Dean;
• Collaborating with other senior administrators in the college to identify problems, risks, and opportunities affecting the fiscal health of the college;
• Collaborating with university administrators for coordinated budget practices and fiscal planning activities;
• Generates all full-time faculty contracts and works with the dean on new faculty hires regarding salary offers and special package;
• Monitors faculty appointments for contract renewal and departures, and promotion and tenure timelines for the dean and departmental chairs;
• Responsible for proactively managing the College’s space; and
• Serves on committees or fulfills other assignments as requested by the Dean.

The Director of Development is the chief fundraising officer for the college and a member of the Dean’s leadership team.  As such this individual, works closely with the Dean and Associate Vice President of University Development for the successful identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of major gifts for the college. The director works closely with the Dean to identify philanthropic priorities that support the college’s strategic plan while also collaborating with the college’s department chairs and faculty on specific funding needs and projects.

Specific duties of the position include:

• Create and execute a multifaceted fundraising plan for the college in order to meet pressing needs and establish a foundation for long term funding for facilities, academic support and faculty/student scholarship;
• Engage with individuals, corporations, and foundation to secure funding and engagement in the college;
• Supervise a development team tasked with alumni engagement, donor stewardship, and donor/alumni relations activities;
• Oversee annual giving, major gifts, and scholarship program; and
• Coordinate and engage alumni and donors in college activities that enrich the academic life of students, faculty and the community.

The Director of Marketing and Communications creates, implements and evaluates the marketing and communication strategy for the College, including its six academic units: Global and Community Health, Health Administration and Policy, Nursing, Nutrition and Food Studies, Rehabilitation Science, and Social Work. The Director is responsible for building the College’s brand in addition to the brand of its academic disciplines. The Director will advise the Dean and work collaboratively with the College’s leadership and faculty in pursuit of its mission, while enhancing the College’s reputation and building relationships with various constituencies through traditional and other novel strategic initiatives.

Specific duties include:

• Creatively develops marketing and communication plans to support the College’s vision and mission, viz., strategic goals and objectives, identifying and delivering existing and new markets and constituencies, devising and meeting timelines and budgetary targets;
• Design and implement the brand in concert with the dean, leadership, faculty, and advisory board;
• Develop, implement and evaluate communication initiatives across platforms and targeted audiences;
• Strategic management and oversight of the College’s identity and brand, digital/online media relations, and internal and external communications;
• Work closely with the College’s Office of Development;
• Introduces and evaluates new methods and technologies for keeping College and constituents highly engaged;
• Oversees communication for the College and supervises the marketing-communication team;
• Building and promoting positive working relationships with internal and external partners;
• Oversees the content, messaging and updating of the College’s website;
• Provides the dean, senior leadership and faculty with talking points, briefing materials and related materials for events; and
• Advisor in the planning and execution of special events and activities.

Department chairs serve in a dual capacity: as representatives of their faculty colleagues to the administration and as spokespersons of the administration to their faculty colleagues. Normally, chairs serve in twelve-month instructional faculty appointments and are subject to all university policies pertaining to twelve-month appointees, including annual leave policies. Their specific responsibilities, including teaching assignments, are negotiated with the administration. The term of appointment for a department chair is four years; appointments are renewable. Chairs who serve two or more consecutive terms receive at the end of their last term a study leave equivalent to one-half year's pay for a full academic year's leave or full pay for a semester's leave. If they elect to take such a study leave, however, they may not succeed themselves in an additional term as chair. During an unforeseen vacancy or during illness or temporary absences of an incumbent chair, the Dean or Provost may appoint an acting chair to serve until such time as the regularly appointed chair assumes or reassumes the position. 

Specific duties according to the Mason Faculty Handbook Chapter 2 Section 12 include: 

• Represent the unit to the university community and serve as a channel of communication on program, personnel, and budget matters;
• Encourage and foster excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, professional and university service and provide leadership in the pursuit of the University's commitment to affirmative action and equal opportunity;
• Coordinate, in consultation with the unit's faculty, the unit's academic programs, and plan and administer the unit's budget;
• Make faculty work assignments;
• Evaluate faculty for purposes of reappointment, promotion, tenure; and make annual reviews for the purpose of recommending salary increases;
• Supervise staff and part-time faculty and provide an environment that, within the limitations of available resources, is supportive of faculty professional activities and goals; and
• Consult regarding fair employment practices with the Office of Compliance, Diversity and Ethics; 8. Consult with Human Resources and Payroll as appropriate on faculty and staff matters.

Policies on Appointment and Renewal are described in Chapter 2 Section12.2 of the Faculty Handbook

Procedures for Appointment and Renewal are described in Chapter 2 Section 12.3 of the Faculty Handbook