Dean of Students jobs in Aberdeen, MD

About McDaniel College:

McDaniel College, recognized nationally among "Colleges that Change Lives" and U.S. News and World Report top-tier liberal arts colleges, is a four-year private college of the liberal arts and sciences offering more than 70 undergraduate programs of study, including dual and student-designed majors, plus 20 highly regarded graduate programs. At McDaniel College we value our employees by offering our full-time employees tuition remission, 403B retirement accounts, paid time off, medical insurance, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and paid maternity and parental leave. For more information about the college's benefits, please click here to review the 2024 benefits guidebook.

Click here to see how McDaniel College employees impact the lives of students.

Job Description:

Reporting to the Provost, the Dean of Students (henceforth, the Dean) is responsible for student life and for developing, leading, and integrating the College's student well-being initiative into the fabric of McDaniel College's culture.

The Dean leads the student life staff and collaborates with others to identify needs and opportunities to create and enhance programs, services, environments, and policies with the goal of fostering a productive, inclusive, and supportive culture where students can thrive and develop as individuals. The Dean analyzes campus culture and emerging issues influencing student experiences, successes, and challenges. The Dean uses these insights to spearhead initiatives, interventions, and partnerships for continual improvement. Through dedicated involvement with various stakeholders, the Dean stays closely attuned to student perspectives and priorities to advocate for them. The Dean is also involved in crisis prevention and response.

The Dean provides vision and leadership in developing, implementing, assessing, and evolving a broad range of programs that support student wellbeing and success. Key initiatives include leading staff on strategies to foster student belonging, growth mindsets and resilience; evaluating and enriching out-of-class engagement opportunities to boost social connectedness; advocating for services that equip students with life skills and emotional intelligence; analyzing student data to improve services. The Dean also consults on approaches for addressing student issues, oversees student crisis response protocols, and ensures disciplinary policies are effective, ethical, and developmental. Through both big-picture initiatives and hands-on case management, the Dean helps realize McDaniel College's commitment to nurture students' personal, social and intellectual growth.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Oversight and Leadership

• Oversee the departments of Wellness (including student counseling and student health) and Residence Life.
• Directly supervise the Associate Dean of Students (responsible for Residence Life and Student Conduct), the Director of the Wellness Center, and Executive Secretary.
• Develops and maintains job descriptions, plans, directs, and assigs work of staff, makes hiring and disciplinary decisions, provides feedback on performance and approves timesheets.
• Provide oversight to Home on the Hill, the food/supply pantry, and advocates for the use of emergency funds for students experiencing personal challenges.
• Manages and recommends annual budget for the offices in the Dean's purview.
• Attends and presents at relevant Board of Trustee meetings.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of trends in student life, particularly concerning retention of students and standards of excellence in the division.

Student Well-Being Initiatives

• Spearhead student well-being initiatives by implementing its strategic vision and goals in harmony with the College's mission, ensuring and supporting the campus community in collective efforts to build a culture of student well-being
• Collaborate closely with the Provost and other college leaders to weave the principles of well-being into the strategic objectives for student life, guiding the creation, execution, and evaluation of successful policies and programs that result in improved student well-being, higher rates of self-reported positive mental health, improved social belonging, and greater likelihood to report connection with purpose and meaning in their lives.
• Represent the College's well-being initiatives in leadership discussion and external forums, establishing and nurturing partnerships to broaden the scope and impact of well-being programs.
• Work with Institutional Advancement to routinely and collaboratively seek external resources (donations and grants) to support the enhancement of the College's well-being initiatives.

Student Engagement

• Works collaboratively to develop and implement student programming related to the enhancement of student well-being.
• Partner with the Associate Provost of Equity and Belonging to cultivate a campus environment that encourages involvement, inclusivity, diversity, and social responsibility reflecting the McDaniel Commitment's goal of preparing students for global citizenship. This duty involves overseeing student life programs and services that not only enrich the student experience but also connect the college with the broader community.
• Partners effectively with Associate Vice President of Student Success who oversees the Office of Student Engagement to ensure regular involvement with student leaders, including the Student Government Association, regarding both group and individual concerns. Represents the College administration in meetings with student groups and informs College administrative leaders of student issues.
• Oversees the Student Outreach Network, ensuring appropriate follow-up, resolution, and documentation. Serve as a resource to college faculty and staff in supporting student needs.

Stewardship of Student Policies, Crisis Management, and Code of Conduct

• Spearheads the annual review and revision process for the Student Handbook in collaboration with other administrative areas of the College. The Dean oversees content updates across all policy areas and ensures timely publishing of the updated handbook, along with appropriate notifications and resources to support student understanding of policies and expectations. The Dean has ultimate oversight responsibility for the accuracy of the Student Handbook.
• Directs regular reviews of the Student Code of Conduct and all related disciplinary procedures, ensuring they uphold institutional principles, values and restorative justice goals. In partnership with the Associate Dean responsible for Student Conduct, the Dean analyzes conduct trends, assesses policy effectiveness, and identifies areas needing revision. They ensure compliance with legal and ethical guidelines to maintain a fair, developmental and equitable student conduct process.
• Supports campus crises response management in close consultation with the Provost, the Director of Campus Safety, the Director of Public Relations, and other relevant college employees.
• Designated as a "mandatory reporter", otherwise known as a Campus Security Authority, to report any information about potential, active or previously occurring crime(s) on campus as defined through federal regulation to the Department of Campus Safety immediately upon learning about them.
• Works independently with students and families to successfully resolve concerns about the residential or well-being experience.
• Adjudicates meal plan related appeals for students seeking exemptions or alterations to the College's meal plan requirements.

Student Life Communications and Messaging

• Serves as an important communication link with undergraduate students and parents, including monthly updates for the Parent Newsletter, and in-person, virtual, and phone meetings when needed.
• Leads communication and marketing efforts related to student events, services, policy updates and leadership opportunities. Meets regularly with Communications team to align student life messaging and engagement strategies with the College's branding and enrollment goals. Ensures timely promotion of event programming, student activities, awards and leadership position hiring through email newsletters, website postings, social media campaigns and signage. Analyzes engagement data and feedback on existing student life communications to identify areas for growth or new approaches to resonate more with student's interests and preferred media consumption.
• Serves as a college spokesperson and content expert for media when requested by the Director of Public Relations.

Requirements:

QUALIFICATIONS

• Required Master's degree in higher education administration or related field.
• Required minimum five years of experience working in a leadership role in student affairs.
• Experience with residential life programs, including hiring, training and supervising professional live-in staff responsible for residence halls with demonstrated success setting goals, coaching, and evaluating full-time resident directors as well as undergraduate resident assistants.
• Experience managing crisis situations requiring sensitive support for distressed or struggling students.
• Knowledge of emerging issues, trends and best practices in student housing administration, policy enforcement, programming, and services
• Success partnering with campus health and counseling services to promote awareness and effective protocols addressing mental health considerations and identifying students-in-crisis.
• Demonstrated success integrating well-being into the student experience, with deep understanding of its significance for academic success and retention.
• Demonstrated and clear commitment to the values of a liberal arts institution.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and organizational skills, capable of fostering cross-departmental collaboration and partnership with external organizations.
• Ability to respond in-person to campus if needed during on-call rotation within 60 minutes.
• Ability to work evening and weekend hours in addition to a standard 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM schedule, including attending late-night and weekend events.
• Discretion and reliability in sensitive and confidential matters are vital.

WORKING CONDITIONS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is routinely working in a normal office environment with minimal exposure to adverse conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually minimal.

PHYSICAL ABILITIES

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job:

• Sitting for long periods of time.
• Some bending and stooping when working with files.
• Limited lifting involved but not more than 10 pounds at a time.
• Finger dexterity for typing and use of other office equipment.
• May have to enter areas of the campus that are not handicap accessible.

Additional Information:

McDaniel College is committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the student body. McDaniel College, in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, and employment of students, faculty, and staff in the operation of any of its educational programs and activities. McDaniel College will not tolerate any discrimination or harassment on basis of any protected status including protective hairstyle, race, religion, color, ancestry or national origin, disability, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military status, genetic information, marital status, veteran's status, or any other actual or perceived legally protected characteristics. For more information on the College's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, please visit this link.

Application Instructions:

Completed applications must include the following: cover letter addressing position qualifications and related experience; resume, names and contact information of three professional references, and a completed job application. Review of applications begins immediately and continues until position is filled.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)