Dean Searches: Academic Dean; Dean for Institutional Effectiveness

About the Positions:

Academic Dean

When Calvin College was founded in 1876 to train a class of seven students as ministers, it had an ambitious curriculum that included not only the subjects necessary for ministry, but also history, geography, logic, metaphysics and mythology. Even 130 years ago as a tiny seminary, Calvin College embraced the life of the mind.

Today Calvin offers 100 majors and programs, everything from archaeology and Asian studies to youth ministry and zoology. The Dean for the Social Sciences is a critical part of Calvin's continued commitment to academic excellence, responsible, with the Provost, for the educational articulation of the College's ideals and the implementation of its program in these departments.

Among the key responsibilities are promoting faculty development by managing the hiring process, promoting teaching competence and effectiveness, reviewing appointments and leaves, encouraging scholarship and the exploration of faith-and-learning issues, and recognizing the importance of faculty service to its various communities.

The successful candidate must have a personal commitment to the Christian faith in its Reformed expression, have sensitive Christian concern for others and the ability to listen, be able to work in a team environment, be committed to the development of a diverse, multicultural community, have the self-confidence and courage to encourage greater effort and achievement, possess a sense of humor and good judgment in working respectfully with faculty, and have the ability to balance the need for faculty unity and good morale with the need for vigorous exchange of views to promote the mission and goals of Calvin College.

Dean for Institutional Effectiveness

Recent work at the college on both assessment and institutional analysis has been valuable and has demonstrated how important this work is for the continued strengthening of the college. The new position at Calvin of Dean for Institutional Effectiveness will be responsible, under the direction of the provost and in collaboration with the academic deans, for oversight of programs and policies that are directed toward effective teaching and learning.

In fact, at Calvin about 86 percent of the teaching is done by full faculty members. One of the primary roles for the new dean will be to promote excellence in teaching through leadership of the Teaching Fellows Program and integration of teaching development efforts across campus such as teaching workshops and new faculty orientation and mentoring.

Calvin's revised core curriculum, introduced in the fall of 2000, is divided into three components: knowledge, skills and virtues. Each of these three components is shaped by the aim of preparing students for lives of Christian service in contemporary society. One of the important roles for the new Dean for Institutional Effectiveness will be to provide leadership in assessing the effectiveness of the curriculum, through guiding departments in developing and implementing assessment plans.

Both of these dean positions require subscription to the forms of unity of the Reformed churches; membership in good standing and active participation in the life, worship, and activities of a Christian Reformed Church or any church in ecclesiastical fellowship with the Christian Reformed Church, as defined by Synod; promotion of Christian education at all levels, including providing any children of school age with Christian schooling; and support for the mission of Calvin College.

Search Timeline:

The closing date for each position is January 31, 2008.

Application Information:

Application instructions and additional information are available at: https://jobs.calvin.edu

Last updated Wednesday, April 9, 2008