
Baylor University
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
A private Christian university and a nationally ranked Research 1 Institution, Baylor University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students (including nearly 6,000 graduate students) by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. The mission of the University is to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community.
Baylor University is on a course toward pre-eminence as a Christian research university. Baylor transformed into an elite R1 research university ahead of projections, surpassing its $1.1 billion fundraising goal in the Give Light campaign two years ahead of schedule and establishing 20 new endowed faculty chair positions. Baylor's new strategic plan, Baylor in Deeds, builds on the momentum with key commitments, including equipping students to flourish, broadening interdisciplinary research and impact, building a vibrant, caring, and global community, and demonstrating Christian stewardship.
The Graduate School is Baylor University’s central administrative office, serving over 5,000 students in more than a hundred academic programs across the humanities, arts, and sciences. The Graduate School oversees admissions and enrollment management for all graduate programs, provides professional development opportunities for students, recognizes outstanding graduate student research and teaching, and confers over a thousand graduate degrees each year.
The Graduate School has great momentum and has maintained a growth trajectory over the past several years. Overall, PhD enrollment has increased 30% from 2019 to 2023, driven primarily by increases in females, international students, and students from other underrepresented backgrounds. The largest doctoral programs are chemistry, biology, physics, environmental science, and religion. Baylor’s growth plan for professional education has come to fruition with the rapid expansion of its largest programs: nurse practitioner (DNP), communication sciences and disorders (MS), learning and organizational change (EDD), physical therapy (DPT), business administration (OMBA), occupational therapy (OTD), medical science (MS), and business administration (MBA).
Baylor University seeks applications and nominations for an experienced and visionary leader to serve as its next Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School. The ideal candidate will be an advocate for innovative graduate education with the ability to engage in deliberative change management and foster student success. The Dean will actively support Baylor’s vision to become the country’s preeminent Christian research university, contributing to national conversations around graduate education and research and collaborating with deans and the Office of Graduate and Professional Education to enhance Baylor’s traditional (on-campus), online, and hybrid professional programs.
The Vice Provost and Dean reports directly to Baylor’s Provost, Nancy Brickhouse, and serves as an essential member of the University’s leadership team. The primary focus of the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School is to coordinate and strengthen graduate education to provide a best-in-class experience for students and trainees and prepare them for life and career success.
The Vice Provost and Dean will set the strategic direction for the Graduate School, advancing its priorities and operations by overseeing administration, personnel, fundraising, budgeting and finance, academic programs, and marketing and communications. The Vice Provost and Dean will work with an administrative team to lead the School in pursuing its mission. Baylor’s Graduate School includes three associate deans and ten full-time professional staff who support over one hundred academic programs across eight colleges and schools. It provides strategic stewardship and management of Baylor’s internal graduate tuition and stipend support.
Baylor University invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School. Interested candidates should confidentially submit a curriculum vitae and letter of interest (Adobe PDF files preferred) to
Joi Hayes-Scott
Russell Reynolds Associates
Baylor.Graduate@russellreynolds.com
Please see the full position description here.
For fullest consideration, materials should be received as soon as possible and preferably by February 10, 2025.
Baylor University is a private not-for-profit university affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. As an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, Baylor is committed to compliance with all applicable anti-discrimination laws, including those regarding age, race, color, sex, national origin, marital status, pregnancy status, military service, genetic information, and disability. As a religious educational institution, Baylor is lawfully permitted to consider an applicant’s religion as a selection criterion. Baylor encourages women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply.