Dean, College of Communication

Dean, Boston University College of Communication

For the past 71 years, the Boston University College of Communication (COM) has produced an extraordinary set of industry leaders, award-winning professionals, scholars and researchers in journalism, film, television, public relations, advertising and mass communication. We now seek a visionary Dean whose leadership and commitment to education will move the college forward across all these disciplines, to reflect, embrace, and excel in the ever-changing, new world of media and communication. Further, the new Dean of the College of Communication will be driven by a sophisticated understanding of and appreciation for the ways in which diversity of experience and thought are necessary components of excellence in communications fields in the 21st Century.

The Dean, who reports to the University Provost and Chief Academic Officer, works collaboratively with the other academic deans and the University’s senior leadership and represents COM to students, alumni, donors, and the wider world.  The Dean has the privilege and responsibility of inspiring, representing and supporting more than 80 professors of national and international reputation in a variety of fields.

The successful candidate will have a distinguished record of achievement and a strong commitment to excellence in research, teaching, and/or professional practice in the creative fields of communication. Boston University is committed to fostering a diverse university community within a supportive and respectful environment. We believe that the diversity of our faculty, students, and staff is essential to our success as a leading research university and is an integral component of institutional excellence. The successful candidate must have administrative experience in a complex organization, strong experience in and an abiding commitment to promoting an inclusive and diverse educational environment, and an appreciation of the unique challenges of managing in an academic institution, as well as the opportunities it offers. Ideally, the successful candidate will also be an intellectual leader of significant stature in one or more fields that make up COM.

COM was founded in 1947 as the School of Public Relations, making Boston University the first university to offer a college degree in public relations. As related programs were added, the school has changed names several times, becoming the College of Communication in 1984. COM includes three departments: Film & Television; Journalism; and Mass Communication, Advertising & Public Relations.

COM is dedicated to the proposition that the free flow of ideas and accurate information is vital to the development and improvement of democratic societies. The college mission is to provide an educational center of excellence focused on teaching, research, and service in the study and professional practice of communication.

Additional responsibilities, required qualifications, and more information about this position is available at: www.bu.edu/provost/files/2018/11/COM-Dean-Position-Description-FINAL-.pdf

Nominations and expressions of interest should be sent to: Professor Paul Schneider (Chair), comdeansearch@bu.edu, or COM Dean Search Advisory Committee, c/o Office of the University Provost, Boston University, One Silber Way, 8th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02215.

Prospective candidates should include a letter expressing interest and a current curriculum vitae. Candidates will be asked to provide references after preliminary review and screening. Confidentiality will be maintained in the search process; references will be contacted only with the explicit consent of the applicant. While nominations and applications will be accepted until a new Dean is selected, interested parties are encouraged to submit their materials before January 7, 2019, to ensure full consideration.

Boston University is committed to fostering a diverse University community within a supportive and respectful environment. We believe that the diversity of our faculty, students, and staff is essential to our success as a leading research university with a global reach, and that diversity is an integral component of institutional excellence. Boston University is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.