Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The College of Arts & Sciences

In the College of Arts and Sciences, passion drives discovery and creative activity. Research and teaching engage multiple disciplines and foster multiple paths for exploring the world. Faculty and students are encouraged to think deeply and broadly, integrating ideas from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences in ways that lead to future innovation. These ideals are reflected in the core commitments of the college's identity statement.

The College of Arts and Sciences exemplifies excellence in the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, and in emerging interdisciplinary areas. We provide a foundation for intellectual and creative experiences at the leading edge of the human experience. We advance the frontiers of knowledge through research, scholarship, and creative activity. We integrate and celebrate diverse perspectives in transforming the world, enriching lives, and meeting societal needs. We are globally recognized scholars and educators who prepare students to become leaders in the world in which they will live. We create lifelong relationships with our students and alumni that guide our development and planning. We foster collaboration, promote quality, recognize excellence, and thoughtfully steward financial and natural resources.

This statement is supported by the college's strategic plan, which focuses on six core areas — research, education, inclusive excellence, global engagement, partnerships, and donor support — and provides the framework for new initiatives to support growth in each area.

Faculty-, staff-, and student-powered committees are key elements of governance and communication. The Dean's Advisory Council, composed of alumni and college stakeholders, supports the advancement of the college's priorities, initiatives, strategies, and goals. Members serve as liaisons and advocates to enhance and broaden the reputation of the college within the public and private sectors in Nebraska, the nation, and the world.

Academic Excellence and Student Success

The college's 14 departments and schools, and 35 centers, programs, and institutes are united in their commitment to deliver excellence in liberal arts education and scholarship. The 330 faculty, which includes 222 tenure-line faculty, 44 professors of practice, 23 research faculty, as well as multi-year lecturers, are internationally recognized scholars, innovative researchers, and award-winning teachers who are dedicated to sharing their knowledge and ideas with approximately 3,100 undergraduate and 700 graduate students. In addition to delivering course content for 26 majors and 46 minors, the college provides foundational undergraduate instruction for the university. In 2025-26, college faculty delivered over 254,000 student credit hours, which was 41% of the university's total.

The college is committed to providing undergraduate students with excellent support for their personal, academic, and professional success, including high-quality advising and career coaching, as well as an emphasis on doing well academically while gaining real-world experiences through research, internships, education abroad, service, and leadership. Student success is supported through a range of initiatives:

• Challenge for Achieving Success in Undergraduate Programs, known as CAS UP! — the Dean's Office partnering with departments to review key student success data, identify opportunities, and determine strategies for improving recruitment, retention, graduation, and career readiness.
• Student Experience Project — piloting UNL's involvement in a national collaborative of universities promoting evidence-based practices focusing on belonging and growth mindset to improve college persistence, retention, and degree attainment.
• CAS Instructional Improvement Fund — providing incentives for planning and implementing significant undergraduate instructional improvement projects.
• CAS Cares — helping support undergraduate and graduate students needing short-term financial assistance to stay enrolled.

National and Interdisciplinary Research

The college's faculty are engaged in a broad base of research activity, including a strong and growing foundation of funded research. In fiscal year 2026, the college had total research expenditures of over $80 million, a third of which was federal grant research expenditures. CAS researchers receive funding from federal sources such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Education.

In addition, research expenditures from industry sources have been steadily increasing over the past five years. The college's faculty have received numerous awards for their research and creative activity, recently including one Carnegie Fellow, three American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows, one faculty Fulbright award, and multiple Guggenheim and National Science Foundation CAREER Awards.

The college participates in and supports a variety of interdisciplinary research collaborations, many of which are located within university centers. The Center for Digital Research in the Humanities and the Center for Great Plains Studies are two examples of interdisciplinary centers with a primary emphasis on humanities scholarship. Social Sciences faculty play lead roles in the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior; the Center on Children, Families, and the Law; the Minority Health Disparities Initiative; and the NIH-funded Rural Drug Addiction Research Center.

The natural and mathematical sciences faculty are also highly engaged in several interdisciplinary research centers. Faculty members in physics and chemistry partner with colleagues in engineering and beyond to create nationally visible scholarship involving the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience and the NSF-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. The NIH-funded Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication, a partnership led by the Department of Chemistry and involving multiple UNL and University of Nebraska Medical Center departments, explores new biomedical sensing strategies with a focus on metabolic pathways. Also, the newly created interdisciplinary, interdepartmental and multi-campus research and education cluster, EQUATE: Emergent Quantum Materials and Technologies, consolidates the quantum science and technology expertise of 20 faculty researchers across four Nebraska institutions.

Faculty from the School of Biological Sciences play a major role in the Nebraska Center for Virology, a world-renowned center supporting virology research and education based upon a partnership between UNL, UNMC, and Creighton University. Faculty in the Department of Mathematics are leaders in the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education, which brings together educators, researchers, partners, and students to imagine, build, and sustain meaningful improvements in PK-16 STEM teaching and learning.

Learn more about the college's wide range of research, outreach, and scholarship at cas.unl.edu.

THE POSITION

The Dean reports directly to the Executive Vice Chancellor and is the chief academic and administrative officer of the College of Arts and Sciences. The Dean has the responsibility for the strategic, programmatic, financial, fundraising, and management operations that support the mission and vision of the College of Arts and Sciences and its role within the university and across the state. The Dean will join a group of fellow deans and campus leaders who are collaborative, supportive, and committed. The Dean works alongside campus leaders to represent a liberal arts education in the national conversation and advance the values and mission of the university, ensuring the College's efforts are in alignment with the overall priorities and goals.

The incoming Dean will:

• Further the development of a relevant and distinctive identity for the college and the multiple disciplines represented throughout the college.
• Serve as a public voice to develop the reputation of the college on national and international stages.
• Along with the chairs and directors, assure the continued prominence of the faculty by prioritizing the recruiting and retention of distinguished faculty at all levels.
• Work to fully realize and enact the college and university commitment to community and belonging, ensuring that all individuals and interactions matter.
• Seek out and continue valuable collaborations with other academic units and partners.
• Promote and support a strong and diverse research agenda including attracting external funding.
• Be a vocal advocate for the value of the liberal arts in both research and teaching.
• Willingly take calculated risks to achieve excellence.
• Assure that the college continues to serve its students with academic programs of the highest quality and effectiveness, promoting practices for experiential learning, student success, persistence, retention, graduation, and placement.
• Lead and support graduate education, fostering excellence in research and student outcomes.
• Support the recruitment and retention of high-quality staff.
• Engage alumni and other external supporters to advance the mission of the college.
• Take a leading role in attracting interested donors to support the college's mission.
• Promote and support the college as an economic development engine and technology driver for the state of Nebraska, as well as an incubator for new theoretical approaches to enduring socio-cultural challenges for the world.
• Be an engaged academic leader at the university, working collaboratively and advancing the overall mission and priorities of the campus.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Candidates must hold an earned doctorate and a record of scholarly achievement sufficient to warrant appointment as a full professor in an academic department within the College. The next Dean must possess the experience, vision, and collaborative leadership skills necessary to strengthen the College's academic excellence, research enterprise, student success, and long-term sustainability. Specifically, candidates will demonstrate:

• Success advancing excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, including evidence of improving student outcomes, program quality, academic innovation, and enrollment growth.
• Experience leading complex academic organizations, budgets, and diverse teams in support of institutional priorities and measurable results.
• A record of supporting and advancing research excellence through faculty development, scholarly productivity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and resource acquisition.
• Effective communication and advocacy for the transformative value of a liberal arts education.
• The ability to effectively navigate a complex academic environment and organizational structure to achieve meaningful results.
• Evidence of successful fundraising, alumni engagement, donor cultivation, and building strategic external partnerships.
• The ability to develop and execute sustainable strategic initiatives that strengthen academic quality, research impact, student success, and institutional reputation.
• Success fostering an inclusive and collaborative environment that supports community, belonging, and shared achievement.
• The highest level of integrity.

The ideal candidate should also demonstrate:

• A proven record of advocating effectively for academic programs, faculty, students, and institutional resources.
• Success empowering faculty and staff to build upon existing strengths while fostering innovation, collaboration, and professional growth.
• The ability to address complex organizational challenges through creative, data-informed, and strategic decision-making.
• An established commitment to advancing Arts and Sciences research, including supporting faculty scholarship, interdisciplinary initiatives, and research growth.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to serve as an effective spokesperson, storyteller, and ambassador for the College.
• Success strengthening both undergraduate and graduate education, including support for program quality, student success, enrollment growth, and post-graduate outcomes.
• Experience aligning strategic priorities with fundraising initiatives and securing philanthropic investments that advance institutional goals.
• A record of building consensus among diverse stakeholders and fostering a culture of trust, transparency, shared governance, and collaboration.
• The ability to establish clear strategic priorities, define measurable outcomes, and align faculty, staff, and campus partners around their achievement.
• An energetic, optimistic, and future-oriented leadership style that inspires confidence, engagement, and momentum during periods of opportunity and change.
• A willingness to embrace the challenges and unknowns of higher education today, including the enrollment landscape and bring meaningful solutions for growing the reach and impact of the college.
• Experience navigating technological changes, adapting curricula and/or research and creative activity for emerging media technologies and evolving digital platforms, such as AI.

APPLICATION PROCESS

UNL has engaged ZRG Partners to assist them with this search. For full consideration, submit a cover letter and CV as two separate PDF files to ZRG Partners by January 4, 2027, at https://tinyurl.com/wx7kxwhb

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln seeks to attract and retain a high performing and collaborative workforce. UNL is committed to providing a work environment and culture that fosters personal and professional success where every person and every interaction matters. The University is proud to be one of Nebraska's preferred and largest employers where individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential.

The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment. See equity.unl.edu/notice-nondiscrimination.

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