Vice President for Academic Affairs

and

Dean of The College

MISSION - Florida Southern College is committed to educational excellence and is a selective, comprehensive, private, United Methodist college with a strong liberal arts core and signature programs. The College enrolls a talented student body and includes an accomplished faculty who are dedicated to teaching excellence. Outstanding opportunities for engaged learning, student-faculty collaborative research and performance, service learning, study abroad, and honors study are distinctive features of the academic program at Florida Southern. The College offers exceptional student life programs, including a championship athletic program.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Florida Southern College seeks a dynamic leader to serve as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. The VPAA/Dean will have responsibility for the leadership and strategic direction of all academic programs and report directly to the President.

The Vice President will lead the progress toward achieving the academic goals contained in the Florida Southern College Strategic Plan, which are designed to reinvigorate the curriculum and promote educational excellence throughout the curriculum. The VPAA/Dean will lead initiatives to create an outcomes-based curriculum, promote teaching excellence at all levels for the College’s academic programs, recruit an exceptional faculty and provide able management for the faculty promotion system, develop outstanding faculty development programs, pursue integration of and additional innovative pedagogies that establish Florida Southern as a leader in engaged learning, implement the College’s Quality Enhancement Plan, and manage effective academic program budgeting in alignment with strategic planning. All academic departments report to the VPAA/Dean.

The College offers 48 majors and 40 minors, and degrees including the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, and Bachelor of Music Education degrees. Evening programs include undergraduate degrees in education, psychology, business administration, accounting, and nursing (RN to BSN) as well as the MBA, MAT, MEd, and MSN. Four degree programs are offered at centers in Orlando and Ocala.

Florida Southern prides itself on being a collegial community of teacher-scholars who embrace and cherish the opportunity for intellectual interaction with students and with each other. Innovative approaches to research and learning encourage students to become active participants in their education, and include the option of a self-designed major. There are over 100 full-time faculty, with 88% holding terminal degrees. The student-faculty ratio is 13:1. The campus is beautiful and distinctive.

THE INSTITUTION

Florida Southern is the oldest private college in the state. In the last few years, the College has made significant academic program advances and improvements to the campus, including starting a full-time Bachelor of Science degree program in nursing, introducing a self-designed major, initiating six new campus building projects, as well as making important improvements to campus technology. The VPAA/Dean will be integrally involved in continuing this impressive rate of progress to provide an exceptional learning experience for FSC students.

The Florida Southern campus contains the world’s largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright structures. A campus master plan has been created through a grant from the Getty Foundation to restore these magnificent structures. The 100-acre campus faces Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland, one of the most beautiful cities in the state, and is located in the heart of Florida between Tampa and Orlando.

Florida Southern College is characterized by an unparalleled commitment to students and exceptional learning experiences. The success of each student is of paramount importance to the faculty, trustees, administration, and staff in their unswerving commitment to the development of the students’ academic, social, spiritual, and physical development. The student population of 1700 full-time students and 600 part-time students comes from 40 states and 46 foreign countries. Students participate in a wide range of social and academic activities, including giving thousands of volunteer hours a month to local agencies.

A wide variety of engaged learning opportunities offer students active learning experiences such as student-faculty collaborative research; student-faculty collaborative performance; service learning; internships, study abroad; independent study; and participation in practical projects. The faculty members are dedicated teacher/scholars and have outstanding records of accomplishment that support dynamic, personalized instruction.

Student life flourishes through an extensive array of activities, programs, intercollegiate sports, intramurals and Greek life. Student Development is committed to a full array of co-curricular and extra-curricular programs and is known for leadership development, a focus on wellness, and volunteer service. Florida Southern’s Division II athletic program is nationally acclaimed and boasts 26 national championships and over 300 All-American athletes. The athletic program is ranked in the Top 10 Division II programs in the nation. Campus ministries programs are vibrant and support student spiritual expression through a variety of student-led services, mission trips, concerts, and events.

The results of our student-centered culture are engaged students who thrive on the life of the mind, grow through leadership opportunities, understand the world better through study abroad and diverse relationships, develop spiritually and socially, and establish life-long friendships. Consequently, Florida Southern has notable alumni who have excelled in their chosen professions as corporate leaders, physicians and dentists, ministers, scientists, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, teachers, and professional athletes.

Florida Southern College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelors and masters degrees and is seeking reaffirmation of accreditation that will be voted on by the Commission in December, 2008. FSC is also accredited by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church and has a State of Florida approved program at the undergraduate level for the certification of teachers. The baccalaureate and masters degrees in nursing at Florida Southern College are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and the B.S. degree in athletic training is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.

THE CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will have an earned doctorate, successful experience as an academic administrator, significant teaching experience, appropriate scholarly accomplishments, and a comprehensive knowledge of and appreciation for the liberal arts and pre-professional and professional programs in an institution of the size of Florida Southern. A collaborative style in working with all campus constituencies and adherence to the highest ethical standards are expected.

The successful candidate should possess these qualities:

• A commitment to the mission of Florida Southern College and its academic program, designed to enable graduates to make a positive and consequential impact on society
• A commitment to engaged learning
• An understanding and commitment to outcomes-based education
• Experience in curriculum development and enhancement
• Experience with academic budgeting
• Experience with faculty evaluation and promotion
• Experience in developing and leading successful faculty development programs
• Community orientation and a passion for participation in campus life
• Understanding 21st -Century students and how they use technology as a tool for education
• Demonstrated skills in consensus development and collaboration
• Decisive leadership skills with a focus on continuing improvement of academic offerings and student success

Nominations or applications should be sent to jma@jonmcrae.com. Confidential phone inquiries are welcomed and more detailed information is available at www.jonmcrae.com. Review of prospective candidates will begin immediately and continue until the successful candidate is chosen. Dr. Kirby Godsey will also serve as a consultant on this important search.

Letters of interest should be submitted with resume and names of three references to jma@jonmcrae.com.

Florida Southern College has a strong commitment to the principles of equal employment opportunity. The college recruits, hires, trains, transfers, promotes and compensates individuals and makes all personnel decisions without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, marital status, veteran status, or physical or mental disability unrelated to an individual’s ability to perform the job, in accordance with applicable law.