Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
The University of Massachusetts Amherst invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean
of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, who reports directly to the Provost, is one of
10 deans at UMass Amherst and a critical leader on the campus. The College of Social and Behavioral
Sciences has approximately 3,500 undergraduate students, 550 graduate students, and 300 faculty
members across 12 academic departments and programs. These academic departments and programs
include: anthropology, communication, economics, journalism, labor studies, landscape architecture and
regional planning, legal studies, political science, public policy and administration, resource economics,
social thought and political economy, and sociology. The dean’s office has a professional staff of nearly
25 people. The budget for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences is $19.9 million. The Dean is
expected to serve as an advocate nationally and state-wide for the importance of public liberal arts
education, to work collaboratively across campus to further both the college’s and the university’s
strategic goals, and to garner the resources and support that will enable the college to succeed.
The dean must be a leading scholar in her or his field of social or behavioral science and thus personally
contribute to the visibility and internationally acclaimed reputation of the college, as well as supporting
faculty and student visibility in and engagement with the wider world. The dean will have a demonstrated
commitment to high quality undergraduate and graduate education, a record of innovation in research, and
the leadership, administrative, and relationship-building skills that will enable the college to fulfill its
strategic goals and aspirations. The successful candidate will be appointed to a tenured, full professor
appointment in one of the College’s academic departments.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst, the flagship campus of the university system, is home to over
22,000 undergraduate and 6,300 graduate students from all 50 states and nearly 100 countries. It boasts a
world-class faculty in a community fully committed to providing a world-class educational environment,
outstanding scholarship, and opportunity in a diverse and inclusive environment. It is a researchextensive, land-grant institution with growing research expenditures currently totaling more than $195
million annually. Further information about the university, its strategic plan, and the College of Social
and Behavioral Sciences is available online at http://www.umass.edu, http://www.umass.edu/sbs/,
http://www.umass.edu/provost/strategic-planning.
The appointment will be effective on or about July 1, 2015. Review of applications, which should include
a curriculum vitae and a cover letter including a statement about the candidate’s views on the role of the
social and behavioral sciences in higher education and society in general, will begin on November 17,
2014. Acceptance of nominations and applications will begin immediately and continue until the position
is filled. Please send nominations, inquiries, and applications to Mary Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Luke,
the Witt/Kieffer consultants assisting UMass Amherst with this search, at UMassSBS@wittkieffer.com.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer of
women, minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities and encourages applications from
these and other protected group members.