Boise State University Looking for Dean of the College of Engineering Full Time

Boise State UniversityDean of the College of Engineering

Academic Career & Executive Search is pleased to assist Boise State University in its search for Dean, College of Engineering.

For full consideration, please apply by November 27th. 

The College of Engineering is a leading intermountain west college known for its exceptional academic programs, innovative research opportunities, and commitment to student success. The College of Engineering is the largest and top-ranked engineering college in Idaho with more than 2700 students. The College of Engineering is the home of seven departments – civil engineering, computer science, construction management, electrical and computer engineering, Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, mechanical and biomedical engineering, and organizational performance and workplace learning; and two programs – cyber operations and resilience and engineering plus.

The College of Engineering offers a dynamic learning environment with state-of-the-art facilities and a supportive community of diverse world class faculty, staff, and students. Whether it’s designing sustainable infrastructure, developing cutting-edge technologies, or solving complex world challenges, students are engaged in real-world projects, internships, and research endeavors at every level. Many opportunities exist to expand and deepen the fundraising efforts to sustain and grow these programs. Working with University Advancement, the Dean is responsible for generating resources that support students and faculty, and advance the mission of the college. Boise State joins a premier group of universities helping to define the future of the semiconductor industry and prepare the leaders and workforce necessary to advance the state, nation, and world. With a massive investment appropriated to advance U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and workforce development through the CHIPS and Science Act, an array of new semiconductor initiatives are being implemented in conjunction with the Idaho Workforce Development Council at Boise State.

As the College of Engineering celebrates its 25th year, the research activity of the faculty has nearly tripled over the last five years ($6M in FY17 and $16.5M in FY22). The trajectory is part of the college’s growing commitment and energy around research excellence, in addition to continuing a strong tradition in undergraduate education.

This is an exciting opportunity and an exceptional time to join a thriving R2 institution, with aspirations to become R1, in a vibrant community. Boise State University’s commitment to innovation and its leadership in technology and engineering have been internationally recognized. Boise State operates on a modified Responsibility Center Management budget model. The next Dean must have a growth mentality and future-oriented outlook for the acquisition and allocation of resources to address strategic goals that position the college within specific niche areas for continued success. Additionally, the University continues to increase its research expenditures and research done in the College of Engineering is critical to continued growth in research expenditures. The Dean plays a key role in providing leadership and support to faculty with the aim of continuing to improve the extramural funding within the College of Engineering while continuing the robust growth within graduate education through multiple delivery platforms.

Reporting directly to the Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, the Dean serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the college.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Doctorate or terminal degree in one of the disciplines in the college or a closely related field 
• A distinguished record of achievement in the areas of research, teaching, and service with evidence of professional distinction that merits appointment at the rank of tenured, full professor within the College.  
• 3-5 years of administrative/leadership experience in higher education overseeing operations of sufficient complexity to prepare the candidate to be successful as Dean of the College of Engineering.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Proven ability to be collaborative and engaged in faculty governance, academic leadership, administrative leadership (e.g., conducting evaluations and supervising faculty and staff) and developing faculty/staff leadership.
• Experience in overseeing and managing large and complex budgets while navigating university fiscal structures and processes. 
• Proven ability to effectively make and execute decisions, lead strategic planning and implementation and to use data to evaluate strategic progress.
• Strong listening skills, keen intellectual curiosity, bold vision for the future of education, robust interpersonal skills, strong analytical abilities, and transparent communication.
• Demonstrated effectiveness as an innovation leader.
• Experience as an organizational leader guiding and facilitating diversity, equity, access, community wellbeing, and inclusion efforts at an institution of higher learning. 
• Experience in effectively advocating for students, faculty, and staff.  
• An ability for developing a diverse array of community and professional partnerships.
• A deep understanding and application of effective pedagogy, technology integration into the educational experience including online learning across a variety of educational landscapes. 
• Demonstrated success in alumni relations, external fundraising, and philanthropy. 
• Demonstrated success in fostering productive relationships and collaborating with industry partners.
• Deep understanding and ability to grow and support extramurally funded research within the college and university. 
• An ability to lead efforts in strategic enrollment management across diverse academic disciplines. 
• Commitment to serving a diverse population in the State of Idaho and closing equity gaps in educational attainment and student success. 
• An ability to create collaborative relationships across diverse academic disciplines and among the Deans of the other academic colleges. 

About Boise State University – Facts and Figures

Boise State University is nationally recognized for its trailblazing innovation. Often described as “Blue Turf Thinking” after our iconic football field, this mindset shapes the scrappy, creative, and boundary-breaking style of our academic enterprise. The university fosters a culture of innovation by inviting and rewarding the engagement of the whole community in our evolution and by building structures that incentivize creativity and bold new ideas.

Boise State provides an innovative, transformative, and equitable educational environment that prepares students for success and advances Idaho and the world. The university has experienced sustained growth for decades and has a keen focus on student success. A top choice for students from Idaho and across the West, Boise State has more than doubled its graduate programming in the past 15 years and has set records for the number of graduates for 10 straight years.

Nationally recognized in the Top 50 for innovation by U.S. News & World Report and described by the Chronicle of Higher Education as a university that is “demonstrably on the move,” Boise State was also one of five universities in the nation recognized in 2017 by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities for innovative approaches to improving retention and graduation rates.

Boise State has a huge positive impact on the state. Home to Idaho’s largest graduate school, we also enroll more than one-third of all students in Idaho’s public higher education system and confer nearly half of all bachelor’s degrees awarded by the state’s public universities.

Boise State has risen on a stunning trajectory from a community college to a doctoral research university. It now embodies the best of both worlds—a strong focus on students and their wellbeing, alongside the transformative potential of research and its impacts on both student outcomes and on the world around us through discovery. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church as Boise Junior College, it transitioned to an independent junior college in 1934. Later, it evolved to Boise College, then Boise State College and, since 1974, as Boise State University. It began awarding baccalaureate degrees in 1965 and master’s degrees in 1972. Doctoral degrees have been awarded by the university since 1997. Only seven presidents have led Boise State University during its 88-year history; Dr. Marlene Tromp is the current president.

Boise State has earned a Carnegie Classification of a High Research Activity Doctoral Universities with over 58% growth in research awards over the last five years and many of Boise State’s academic programs have achieved accreditation or approval by specialized professional organizations and agencies.

Boise State’s Mission

Boise State provides an innovative, transformative, and equitable educational environment that prepares students for success and advances Idaho and the world.

Boise State’s Vision

To be a premier student-success driven research university innovating for statewide and global impact. The trailblazing, innovative character that has always defined Boise State will help us foster student success, advance Idaho and Idahoans, and strengthen our culture of innovation and impact.

Strategic Vision

Boise State’s Blueprint for Success strategic plan provides the vision and goals for the university’s next chapter. The College of Engineering also has a strategic plan.

Student Success

To support greater retention and graduation rates for students, the college hosts the Micron Student Success Center (MSSC). This center connects students with resources for academic success, leadership opportunities, internships, and career preparedness. As part of university-wide initiatives in student retention and enrollment management, the Dean leads efforts to support the MSSC in its mission.

Culture of Inclusion

A part of the university’s Blueprint for Success is the fostering of a Thriving Community. It calls upon the campus to further environments dedicated to flourishing, sense of belonging, and freedom of expression. The Dean leads faculty, staff, and students toward a thriving and varied community by supporting programming, hiring, and other structural changes attentive to the inclusion and success of all its people.

About the College of Engineering

The last two decades have included exciting, innovative, and trailblazing moments for Boise State University. From incredible growth in student enrollment to an upset victory in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, success spread from the famous Blue Turf to the many programs and colleges.

July 1 marks the 25th anniversary of the College of Engineering at Boise State. With the support of the Idaho State Board of Education and a push from industry leaders, engineering at Boise State began in 1997. The college is a prime example of how quickly success spreads.

At the time, the College of Technology was divided into the Larry Selland College of Applied Technology and the College of Engineering, giving birth to the university’s first engineering program. The program housed baccalaureate programs in construction management, instructional and performance technology, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering.

In just two short years, the civil, electrical, and mechanical programs were accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the first two engineering buildings were established behind gifts from Micron Technology, the Harry W. Morrison Foundation, and many other generous donors.

Since 2005, the College of Engineering’s enrollment of engineering, construction management, and computer science majors has increased nearly 60%, making it the largest in the state of Idaho.

Success doesn’t just come from the famous Blue Turf; the innovative culture Boise State has built across the university is easily seen in the College of Engineering as well.

This year alone, the college’s faculty received the 24th National Science Foundation CAREER Award, with 12 in the last five years. Two NSF Graduate Research Program fellowships, one Truman Scholar, and many more individual and group scholarly accolades were bestowed on College of Engineering students.

Today, the College of Engineering is home to civil engineering, computer science, construction management, cyber operations and resilience, electrical and computer engineering, engineering plus, materials science and engineering, mechanical and biomedical engineering, and organizational performance and workplace learning.

The College of Engineering boasts over 450,000 square feet dedicated to classrooms, research labs, innovation studios, and collaboration spaces on and off campus. In 2019, the Carnegie Foundation re-classified Boise State as a high research activity institution. In the last five years, research expenditures in the College of Engineering have nearly tripled to $16.5 million.

Over 80% of the undergraduate students in the college hold internships or work in research in one of our 57 laboratories before graduating, preparing them for success day one in any graduate program or industry job. These graduates continue to help drive economic growth in Idaho as over 70% stay in Idaho after graduation.

With even more program expansions soon, the college continues to provide undergraduate and graduate students with state-of-the-art facilities for an inclusive, innovative, and integral education with an unshakeable focus on learning.

Living in the Area

Year after year, the city of Boise earns accolades from across the country as a wonderful place to work, play, raise a family, grow a business, and enjoy life. With a population of more than 225,000 within a surrounding metropolitan area of nearly 750,000, the capital city and its high-tech economy are driving the development of the fastest-growing state in the nation.

Boise is one of the most geographically isolated cities in the nation and prides itself on its homegrown culture, businesses, education and outdoor amenities. The entrepreneurial spirit that has launched and housed companies like Albertsons, the J.R. Simplot Co., Morrison-Knudsen and Micron Technology pervades today among the next generation of business pioneers.

The Boise Greenbelt runs more than 25 miles along the Boise River past downtown and the Boise State campus. From Bogus Basin Mountain Resort to a brand-new Whitewater Park, the city’s network of parks, trails and open space help ensure access to Idaho’s great outdoors will remain a key element of the Boise lifestyle.

The city is home to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, the Treefort Music Fest, the Boise Philharmonic, the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, and much more. It is one of the few cities in the nation to have a full municipal department dedicated to arts and history.

Boise State has been recognized as one of the top three universities in the country for Outdoor Adventure and fly fishing – you can hook a trout in the shadow of Bronco Stadium. A walk or ride down the Greenbelt takes you across the city and through a variety of beautiful terrains.

Boise hosts two farmers’ markets downtown, and a fabulous menu of local and national restaurant options from food trucks and steak houses to unique international cuisine. We’re supportive of local business and commerce while growing a healthy mix of economic development and industry.

Families enjoy Boise’s excellent public schools – and many find comfortable homes among our diverse religious communities. Our many cultures love to share with each other: from the Jewish Deli Days to the Greek and Russian food festivals to the huge gathering of Basques from around the world every five years in Boise, the city loves to come together for special events. 

To Apply For full consideration, please apply by November 27th. 

Please apply through the application link and do not email applications.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received and should include a cover letter and curriculum vitae. Ideally cover letters should not exceed two pages. All applications are treated confidentially.

Inquiries, referrals, and nominations are also treated confidentially

Inquiries and questions: Please send to [email protected] 

Nominations and referrals: Please send the nominees’ name, title, and contact information if available to [email protected]