JOB OPPORTUNITY
Job title: Associate Dean of Research and Innovation – College of Architecture and Planning (The University of Utah)
Hiring institution: The University of Utah
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah | United States
Application deadline: 01/24/2025
The University of Utah seeks an Associate Dean of Research and Innovation – College of Architecture and Planning
Click here to view position profile: https://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/UU_AssocDean_Research_Innovation_Profile.pdf
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
The Position:
The University of Utah invites nominations and applications for the newly created position of Associate Dean of Research and Innovation (ADRI) in the College of Architecture and Planning. Reporting to the Dean of the College, the ADRI will be appointed at the rank of tenured professor within one of the College’s academic units and will embrace the range of disciplines across the College while supporting faculty in all the College’s academic units. The ADRI will promote a research environment that fosters innovation, inclusive dialogue, trust, and respect among faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders.
The successful candidate will have a demonstrated record of leadership in academia, a strong research and scholarly profile, and a track record of securing and managing large external grants. The ADRI will be responsible for advancing the College’s significant and diverse research portfolio as well as for developing supportive programs and infrastructure that foster new, innovative, and societally impactful work. This will include but is not limited to leading strategic investments in facilities and personnel, building relationships with a broad range of funding agencies, and facilitating faculty engagement with stakeholders and research teams within and beyond the University.
A major priority for this position will be to raise the College’s indirect cost recovery manifold. The ADRI will also work with the College’s research centers and academic programs, promote undergraduate and graduate student involvement in research, and ensure that faculty, staff, and students comply with research and licensing regulations of campus and funding agencies. The ADRI will also coordinate the College’s retention, promotion, and tenure process, administer internal funding programs, and, ultimately, be responsible for ensuring that the College’s research programs and assessment structures are consistent and supportive of the College’s overall strategy and aspirations.
Responsibilities:
- Provide strategic leadership to develop and foster programs of research and innovation that leverage the collective expertise of the College.
- Oversee the College’s research budget and its programs.
- Work with the Dean to manage college-level indirect cost recovery.
- Engage with the College’s research centers and center directors.
- Build infrastructure in the College to support the research mission across all four academic units.
- Supervise and/or support staff who manage aspects of research administration including compliance and financial issues (this includes, but is not limited to, interacting with the Vice President for Research, Office of Sponsored Programs, and the Institutional Review Board on behalf of the College).
- Work collaboratively with the Dean, Chairs, faculty, staff, and students throughout campus to facilitate research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in all four of the College academic units.
- Grow and support the grant-writing process pipeline in the College for faculty and graduate students (including working with the shared services provided by the Office of Research Administration – ORA).
- Serve as the Dean’s delegate in the research review and oversight process from the principal investigator to the campus office for sponsored programs.
- Work with the Technology Licensing Office in support of patents, IP licensing, and potential progression of research to start-up.
- Increase the number of faculty and graduate students submitting to both federal agencies as well as foundations (national and local) through identifying and promoting funding opportunities.
- Administer the research seed grant program partnering with the VPR and nominate our faculty for national awards and other opportunities.
- Liaise with University offices such as the Office of the Vice President for Research to develop quality collaborative, multidisciplinary research initiatives, and enhance the College’s presence as a partner committed to University and external research initiatives.
- Support the Dean with coordinating the College’s retention, promotion, and tenure process.
- Recommend policies, procedures, and practices that will complement and strengthen the College’s strategic direction and advance research.
- Identify new partnerships with government, industry, non-profit organizations, philanthropy, and other communities to provide new resources for research and to establish new collaborations.
- Work with communications and advancement specialists to communicate relevant information to both internal and external communities.
- Mentor faculty on research and grantsmanship. Develop professional development opportunities to enable faculty to meet research goals, achieve research excellence, and expand the CA+P’s impact and influence on research, locally, nationally, and internationally.
- Promote research responsibility and ensure faculty and research students are aware of critical issues regarding scholarly integrity in, and ethics of, conducting research.
- Represent the College on the One U Research Council, and other committees focused on research.
- Serve as a member of the CA+P Leadership Team and participate in projects as assigned by the Dean.
- Participate in activities expected of a full professor in proportion to their appointment in the academic unit, including continuing an active research agenda.
Qualifications:
The successful candidate for this position will possess:
- A terminal degree in one or more disciplines related to one of the College’s units, or an allied field (an earned doctorate is preferred).
- A strong research, teaching, and service record to qualify for tenure as a full professor in one of the College’s academic units.
- A strong track record of obtaining and administering extramural funding and demonstrated understanding of a range of sponsors such that the ADRI can support diverse funding processes (some experience with federal funding is preferred).
- Demonstrated abilities in administrative and fiscal management.
- Experience facilitating partnerships and collaborations outside of an institution, which may include government, industry, and non-profit organizations.
- A record of research mentoring.
- A record of fostering and supporting innovative and societally impactful scholarship.
About the College of Architecture and Planning:
The University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning (CA+P) is a community of award-winning faculty, entrepreneurial students, and support staff that together form a creative community unlike any other. The College is home to four academic units: the School of Architecture, the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, the Division of Games, and the Division of Multi-Disciplinary Design, as well as multiple research centers and collaboratives. Across these units are top-ranked academic programs, outstanding researchers with a strong commitment to addressing defining issues of our time, and a record of unsurpassed societal impact. As part of a campus that values innovation and interdisciplinarity, the College is transforming its disciplines and training graduates to become leaders and change-makers in the built and virtual environments globally.
The College of Architecture and Planning is one of the largest of its kind enrolling approximately 1,456 undergraduate and 253 graduate students and employing approximately 30 tenured track faculty, 22 career-line faculty, and 25 staff members. The College’s current annual budget is approximately $17M.
The following facts highlight the College of Architecture and Planning’s sustained record of successes:
- Faculty are leaders on campus and in their field. Recent acknowledgments include the NSF CAREER award, 2024 Clarivat’s Highly Cited Researcher, 2024 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, 2024 ACSA Collaborative Practice Award, Top-5 Most Cited Researcher in Urban Planning, and 2024 Editor’s Choice Selection from the Journal of Architectural Engineering.
- Between 2016 and 2023, the College’s recruitment and retention strategy resulted in over 100% enrollment growth and created one of the most diverse faculty, staff, and leadership teams on campus.
- The College more-than-doubled in size again in 2024, thanks to the addition of the Division of Games. Programs in the Division of Games are ranked #1 among US public universities by US News and World Report and the Princeton Review. The addition is supported by a $25 million investment from campus to grow Games into an internationally leading research program and to further advance the College’s research infrastructure.
- The School of Architecture’s DesignBuildUTAH@Bluff is an exemplary design-build program that has been working with the Diné (Navajo Nation) in the Four Corners frontier area of the state for over 20 years. School of Architecture’s faculty are recognized for design and scholarly excellence, and their alums lead major design firms throughout Utah and Intermountain West.
- The Department of City and Metropolitan Planning is a national leader in societally impactful research and education. Their 2024 faculty research productivity ranks at the very top nationally (100 percentile in Academic Analytics metrics) with their work among the most highly cited and most timely.
- The Division of Multi-Disciplinary Design is notable for its innovative partnerships with public agencies (e.g. National Park Service) and industry leaders (Adobe Inc.) across physical and digital domains. Researchers in the division are leaders in a variety of projects, from designing for mindfulness and materiality to engagement in refugee resettlement.
- Academic and research units in the College conduct extensive work with Intermountain West community partners on activities that cut across teaching, research, and service, including University Neighborhood Partners, The Nááts’íilid Initiative, Adult & Aging Services of Salt Lake County, Osher Institute of Lifelong Learning, Dark Matter University, Giv Communities, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Utah Seismic Safety Commission, Sorenson Unity Center, and Assist Community Design Center.
- CA+P is home to two research centers, the Center for Ecological Planning and Development and the Metropolitan Research Center, and two collaboratives: Healthy and Resilient Places (HaRP) and the Transforming Places, Practices, and Pedagogies (TP3C).
- The College’s state-of-the-art facilities include a modeling workshop, a CNC Fab-Lab, and a VR gaming space. In 2024, the College’s physical footprint grew from one to four buildings, including the historic Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse, with new spaces for faculty research labs, postdoctoral offices, and student lounges. The College also maintains a space in downtown Salt Lake City with AIA Utah and ASLA Utah and expects further growth in facilities in the coming year.
- The College has a strong and growing international presence. This includes research programs in Asia, Latin America, and Europe, and academic programs in Games and Urban Planning at the University of Utah Asia Campus. The School of Architecture also runs a semester abroad program in Volterra, Italy, and several study abroad programs.
About the University of Utah:
The University of Utah (the U) is the state’s flagship institution of higher education, with 18 schools and colleges, more than 100 undergraduate and 90 graduate degree programs, and an enrollment of more than 36,000 students. In Fall 2023, the U welcomed its largest class of incoming freshmen: 5,500 students representing 49 states and 38 countries. Twenty-five percent of undergraduates identify as first-generation students.
In 2019, the University joined the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only, prestigious group of 65 leading research institutions marked by excellence in academic expertise and research impact, student success, and securing resources in support of core missions focused on serving the increasingly diverse student population at the U.
President Taylor R. Randall has recently led the launch of a strategic planning process to bring the institution through 2030. This ambitious vision is centered on inspiring student success, innovating and generating discoveries through research, and serving the state to make an impact on its 3.5 million residents. The plan acknowledges the state’s evolving needs and challenges it to become a top 10 university.
The U is located in Salt Lake City, one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing—economically and culturally—metropolises in the U.S. The city is uniquely situated to offer both unmatched outdoor and exciting urban experiences, with mountain vistas only a few steps away and vast red-rock desert landscapes within reach of a scenic afternoon drive. Additionally, the Utah Asia Campus, located in Songdo International Business District (South Korea) was established in 2014. Students attending the Utah Asia Campus find the same world-class U.S. academic experience offered at the campus in Salt Lake City.
The U strives to be a model public university in delivering unmatched value in higher education and health care while making social, economic, and cultural contributions that improve the quality of life throughout the state, the nation, and the world. The U’s reputation for excellence draws top-tier faculty and attracts motivated students nationally and internationally. Students bring diverse experiences and outlooks – representing traditional and nontraditional students alike – thereby enhancing the U’s exceptional educational experience.
Learn more at utah.edu.
To Apply:
Confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled; parties who apply by January 24th will be given first consideration. Upon application, please submit a PDF version of your CV/resume and a cover letter that describes both your motivation for application and how your experience aligns with the key qualifications of the role.
All applications and nominations will be held in confidence. To apply online, go to: https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su438
For more information or to offer recommendations or nominations:
Stephanie Rivas-Fowler
Senior Consultant
Summit Search Solutions, Inc.
Direct: 480-213-7078
[email protected]
The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities. Please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 201 S. Presidents Circle, Room 135, (801) 581-8365 (V/TDD), for further information or to request an accommodation. The University of Utah is committed to diversity in its workforce. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.
