Search for the Dean

University of Vermont, College of Education and Social Services

Burlington, Vermont

The University of Vermont seeks an experienced, forward-looking leader to serve as Dean of the College of Education and Social Services (CESS) as the institution embraces its first chapter as an R1 institution. CESS is central to the university’s Land-Grant mission, preparing educators, counselors, social workers, and human service professionals whose work directly shapes communities across Vermont and beyond. This is a distinctive opportunity to lead a College singularly and deeply connected to the public good.

Reporting to the Provost, the Dean will serve as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College, leading nearly 150 faculty and staff. The Dean will serve as a compelling advocate for the College’s disciplines, demonstrating their critical role in higher education and society. This leader will be a coalition builder, skilled at fostering trust and relationships across campus, with students, alumni, donors, and external partners. The Dean will play a central role in advancing the College’s fundraising and development priorities, articulating a compelling vision for investment in CESS’s mission, programs, and people.

The next Dean will be called upon to strengthen the College’s scholarly enterprise in ways that complement its longstanding teaching and service mission, while leading with a deep commitment to UVM’s “Common Ground” values. These values of respect, integrity, innovation, openness, justice, and responsibility shape how the University approaches education, research, and community partnership, and are central to how colleagues at UVM engage with faculty, staff, students, and external collaborators. For CESS, whose work is inherently entwined with equity, human development, and social change, these values are active commitments the next dean will be called upon to model, champion, and practice every day.

Experience navigating complex institutions, along with a thoughtful approach to strategic planning and resource management, will be essential. Candidates must possess an earned doctorate in a relevant academic discipline in education or social services (e.g., social work, human development and family science, counseling), and an outstanding record of teaching, service, and scholarship that meets requirements for Full Professor with tenure.

The University of Vermont has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to support the search. Please submit all inquiries, nominations, and applications (including CVs and letters of interest) through the Isaacson, Miller website.