Dean, College of Natural and Health Sciences
Job no:
Work type: Faculty (Salaried)
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia
Categories: Administrative Services, Faculty
Title: Dean, College of Natural and Health Sciences
State Role Title: Professor
Hiring Range: $180,000 - $200,000 ,Commensurate with Education and Experience
Pay Band: UG
Agency: Virginia State University
Location: Virginia State University
Agency Website: www.VSU.edu
Recruitment Type: General Public - G
Job Duties
The Dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College of Natural and Health Sciences and provides executive leadership for all instructional, operational, strategic, external engagement, and facilities-related functions of the College. The Dean is responsible for advancing the College's mission; ensuring academic quality and student success; strengthening faculty excellence; overseeing financial, administrative, facilities, laboratory, and classroom operations; and advancing fundraising and external partnerships aligned with institutional priorities.
As the senior leader of the College, the Dean ensures that academic programs, research activity, facilities, laboratories, classrooms, and instructional support services are effectively structured, maintained, and resourced to promote continuous improvement, safety, growth, and student achievement. The Dean provides leadership for STEM education, nursing, psychology, health sciences, laboratory operations, and research activity.
The College includes programs subject to nursing, psychology, allied health, laboratory, safety, and research accreditation and regulatory requirements, for which the Dean holds senior accountability.
Key Responsibilities
Academic Leadership & Student Success
• Provide strategic and operational leadership for undergraduate and graduate academic programs.
• Advance student success priorities, including retention, degree completion, licensure readiness, and academic progression.
• Promote a learning environment that supports academic excellence, innovation, and high-impact educational practices.
Faculty Leadership & Workforce Effectiveness
• Lead faculty recruitment, development, evaluation, and retention efforts.
• Provide oversight of instructional planning, workload management, and course coverage.
• Strengthen faculty engagement in curriculum improvement, assessment, research, and academic governance.
Accreditation, Assessment, and Compliance
• Provide leadership to sustain and advance all accreditation, licensure, and regulatory standards relevant to the College.
• Ensure effective use of assessment, program review, laboratory oversight, and outcomes data to guide improvement.
• Serve as the senior academic authority responsible for accreditation reporting, monitoring, and continuous compliance.
Fiscal, Facilities, and Administrative Stewardship
• Direct College-level fiscal and facilities operations, including budget planning, resource allocation, fund stewardship, and space utilization.
• Ensure effective management of human, financial, physical, laboratory, classroom, and instructional resources.
• Oversee maintenance, safety, and compliance of laboratories, classrooms, and specialized instructional spaces in coordination with University offices.
Fundraising, External Partnerships, and Advancement
• Provide leadership for fundraising initiatives in collaboration with University Advancement.
• Cultivate and sustain relationships with alumni, donors, corporations, agencies, and community partners.
• Advance partnerships that enhance experiential learning, workforce development, research, clinical practice, and philanthropy.
Institutional Leadership and Collaboration
• Collaborate with Academic Affairs leadership and University partners to advance institutional goals.
• Represent the College in University-level leadership discussions and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure alignment of College initiatives with University mission, priorities, and external expectations.
Minimum Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS TO ENTER:
• Demonstrated experience providing senior-level academic and administrative leadership within a college, school, or comparable academic enterprise.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to strategic planning efforts that align unit or institutional priorities with established goals and objectives.
• Demonstrated experience supporting faculty development initiatives and leading faculty recruitment, development, evaluation, and retention.
• Demonstrated experience directing college- or unit-level fiscal and administrative operations, including budget planning, resource allocation, and stewardship of funds.
• Demonstrated experience managing human, financial, physical, facilities, laboratory, and instructional resources in support of institutional sustainability.
• Working knowledge of internal controls, administrative processes, compliance practices, and facilities oversight.
• Demonstrated experience leading curriculum planning, academic assessment, continuous improvement, and academic program development.
• Demonstrated experience implementing academic policies and supporting institutional procedures and accountability measures.
• Demonstrated experience advancing fundraising efforts, donor engagement, and external partnerships in collaboration with institutional advancement.
• Demonstrated experience supporting programmatic accreditation, licensure, regulatory compliance, and facilities or laboratory standards relevant to the College.
• Must hold a terminal degree in a discipline appropriate to the College.
• Must hold the academic rank of Professor and have achieved tenure, or be eligible for appointment at the rank of Professor with tenure, consistent with University requirements.
*Virginia State University requires that faculty be appropriately credentialed to teach assigned courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. VSU demonstrates compliance with its Faculty Credentialing Policy #2301 for all applicable education, experience, licensure and certification requirements in the selection and hiring of its faculty.
Additional Considerations
N/A
Special Instructions
You will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to "Your Application" in your account to check the status of your application for this position.
You must include a current resume/c.v. and a letter of interest in your application. Three (3) letters of recommendation and official transcripts will be required before hire.
"This position will remain open until filled. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis as they are received. Candidates whose qualifications most closely align with the needs of the position will be identified through the review process and may be invited to participate in interviews at the request of the search committee."
Contact Information
Name: Dominique M. Fisher
Phone: 804-524-5075
Email: dfisher@vsu.edu
Advertised: 28 Jul 2026 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close:
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