Associate Dean Strategic Initiatives, Academic, and External Affairs, College of Education

Position: Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Academic, and External Affairs, College of Education
Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Academic, and External Affairs

Department of the Dean

College of Education

Rowan University

The Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Academic, and External Affairs (AD-SIAEA) provides strategic oversight for high-impact academic priorities, faculty development and support, graduate-level infrastructure, external and global partnerships, and the sustainability of short- and long-term strategic initiatives. Serving as a senior leader within the Dean's Office, the Associate Dean advances the College's mission through innovative academic program development, engaged scholarship, evidence-based practice, and transformational partnerships that strengthen P-20 educational access, equity, and success.

The Associate Dean will help strengthen and scale the College's partnership ecosystems through proactive outreach, cross-sector program design, and sustained relationship stewardship. Reporting to the Dean of the College of Education and working collaboratively with department chairs, program coordinators, and university and external partners, the AD-SIAEA is a 12-month leadership position.

Responsibilities include:

Strategic Initiatives

* Designs, implements, and evaluates strategies that sustain and scale high-impact short-term initiatives through innovative, revenue-generating academic programming and strategic investment planning.

* Leads the development, implementation, and assessment of a comprehensive global engagement plan, including student and faculty exchanges, international partnerships, and cross-border professional learning and research collaborations.

* Strengthens graduate student success infrastructure by coordinating professional development supports such as orientations, workshops, fellowships, mentoring enhancements, and pathways to campus-wide resources.

* Manages direct reports to ensure cross-unit alignment, operational coherence, and continuity of strategic priorities across departments.

* Serves as the primary liaison between the Dean's Office and academic departments to ensure aligned execution of strategic and academic initiatives.

Academic Affairs

* Provides strategic leadership for faculty career-development infrastructure, including induction, mentorship, mid-career and senior faculty professional growth, faculty awards, and leave and recognition processes.

* Oversees the College's Adjusted Load process to ensure compliance, congruence with institutional expectations, and equitable faculty support.

* Represents the College as liaison to Rowan Online/Rowan Reach, Rowan University Research Council, and the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

* Supports faculty scholarly productivity by aligning institutional resources, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration, and guiding faculty toward sustainable scholarship and practice opportunities.

* Serves as the chief point of contact for all College of Education Search Committee policies, procedures, and inquiries, while providing strategic leadership and coordination for Advisory Board and alumni engagement initiatives in collaboration with College and university partners.

External Affairs

* Provides senior-level strategic leadership for regional, national, and global P-20 partnership ecosystems that advance academic innovation, scalability, sustainability, and long-term institutional impact.

* Serves as the College's principal interface with Rowan University Advancement, fostering aligned philanthropic engagement, donor relations, and collaborative partnership strategy.

* Leads cross-sector co-design of academic pipeline programs and professional learning initiatives with school districts, county systems, community organizations, and global and policy partners.

* Expands and sustains international program development by supporting faculty and student exchange, global research collaboration, and cross-border professional learning that enable reciprocal knowledge exchange and long-term institutional impact.

* Assists the Dean in advancing university-wide collaborations, public-private partnerships, and strategic engagements with policy and governmental agencies to strengthen the College's regional, national, and global impact.

Required Qualifications:

* Earned terminal degree in an education or related interdisciplinary field, with faculty experience commensurate with the rank of a tenured Associate or Full Professor.

* Demonstrated success leading P-20 school and/or global partnership initiatives that strengthen academic program innovation and educator pipelines.

* Record of scholarly productivity, including publications focused on education, leadership, equity, and/or partnership impact.

* Evidence of excellence in higher-education teaching, graduate mentoring, and faculty professional-growth support and proven interdisciplinary leadership and collaboration across academic units, doctoral communities, institutional stakeholders, and external partners.

* Experience guiding and sustaining mission-driven academic initiatives…