Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : Florence, Alabama
Job Type: Administrator
Division: Academic Affairs
Department: Division of Academic Affairs
Opening Date: 08/11/2026
FLSA: Exempt
The University of North Alabama seeks a strategic, collaborative, and forward-looking leader to serve as Dean of the Sanders College of Business and Technology (AACSB-accredited). This is an exciting opportunity to lead a college positioned at the intersection of business, technology, workforce development, innovation, and regional economic growth. The dean is the principal administrator and primary advocate for the college and reports directly to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.
The successful candidate will preserve and strengthen the college's positive culture while advancing academic quality, technology integration, workforce relevance, and student success. The successful candidate will listen carefully, build trust, communicate clearly, support faculty and staff, and help the Sanders College develop a distinctive academic identity rooted in academic excellence and strong career outcomes.
Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Appointment is expected to begin in January of 2027 or a mutually agreed upon date. Sponsorship is not available for this position.
Essential Job Duties The dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the college, providing strategic direction, managing resources effectively, strengthening academic programs, and advancing the college's role in student success, workforce development, and regional engagement.
The dean will be expected to:
- Provide strategic leadership for the college while strengthening its culture, academic quality, AACSB accreditation, and commitment to faculty, staff, and student success.
- Advance enrollment, retention, career readiness, technology integration, responsible program growth, and workforce alignment.
- Build and strengthen strategic partnerships with alumni, donors, employers, advisory boards, and regional industry leaders while responsibly stewarding college resources.
- Expand fundraising and regional engagement by cultivating relationships throughout North Alabama, including the Shoals and surrounding communities, with leaders and organizations in the defense, technology, analytics, and advanced manufacturing sectors to create new opportunities for students, faculty, the college, and the University.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities The successful candidate should demonstrate strong communication and trust-building leadership skills; knowledge of and successful experience with strategic planning, budgeting, personnel management, accreditation, and continuous improvement; and the ability to demonstrate commitments to academic excellence, faculty and staff support, student success, workforce alignment, and shared governance; as well as knowledge of and successful experience with building external partnerships.
Minimum Qualifications An earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree in a discipline represented within the college or a closely related field is required. Candidates must also have teaching, scholarly, professional, or applied achievements commensurate with appointment at the rank of full professor with tenure, as well as successful administrative leadership experience in higher education. Preferred qualifications include experience in an AACSB-accredited college or school of business; leadership of business or technology-related academic programs; fundraising, alumni, donor, or industry partnership experience; and success with enrollment growth, retention, internships, career placement, regional economic development, or related workforce initiatives.
Special Instructions to Applicants Applicants must upload a cover letter and resume/CV at the time of application and provide contact information - including email addresses - for at least three professional/academic references. Transcripts are also required.
The cover letter should address the applicant's qualifications for the position, including leadership experience, academic and administrative accomplishments, vision for the college of business and technology, experience with accreditation or continuous improvement activities, and ability to build external partnerships.
Official transcripts for the highest degree attained will be required of the successful candidate, but unofficial copies will be accepted for the application process. If any of your graduate hours in the relevant teaching discipline are taken from a degree(s) that is not your highest attained, an official transcript of that degree(s) must also be submitted. Electronic copies, if available, of unofficial transcripts may be attached under the attachment headings of Unofficial Transcript 1, Unofficial Transcript 2, etc. Electronic copies of unofficial/official transcripts may also be sent to
[email protected]. Official transcripts must be sent directly to HR from the issuing school via email or postal mail to be considered official. Transcripts with a designation of "Issued to Student", or with the student name listed as the recipient will not be considered official. For questions, please email
[email protected] or call 256-765-4291 and select option #2. Selecting an option other than #2 will result in a delayed response.
Administrator Benefit Summary - For more details regarding each benefit listed below, please visit the HR website at or click on the links below. The benefits premiums listed below are effective March 1, 2026.
UNA has a fully-insured group health insurance program with , which includes medical, prescription drug, vision, psychiatric, and substance abuse benefits for full-time university employees, and their eligible dependents. The University covers the full individual premium for eligible employees.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama Health/Vision/RX - Monthly Premiums
Tier Employee Cost UNA Cost Total Premium
Employee $0.00 $728.36 $728.36
+Child(ren) $423.42 $728.36 $1,201.78
+Spouse $678.36 $728.36 $1,456.72
+Spouse & Child(ren) $786.88 $728.36 $1,565.24
UNA also provides dental coverage through The University covers the full individual premium for eligible employees.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama Dental - Monthly Premiums
Tier Employee Cost UNA Cost Total Premium
Employee $0.00 $29.61 $29.61
Family $39.07 $29.61 $68.68
UNA provides all eligible employees with basic life insurance at no cost to the employee. The basic life coverage level is 1.5 times the covered employee's annual base salary with a maximum benefit of $400,000. The provider for this coverage is
As a member of the , eligible employees have life benefits available through the TRS. Also, for eligible active employees, a death benefit of the payment of accrued sick leave or 60 workdays, whichever is smaller, is paid to the employee's beneficiary by the University.
This coverage provides benefits after a 90-day period of disability. The monthly benefit is 60% of the covered employee's monthly base salary not to exceed $10,000 per month. The cost for this benefit is paid in full by the University for eligible employees and the provider for this coverage is
Retirement Plans
The is a defined benefit plan in which participation is mandatory for eligible employees. Eligible employees are categorized by the TRS as Tier I or Tier II members.
Rates below are effective as of October 1, 2025
- Tier I - Employee contribution rate is 7.5% for regular employees and 8.5% for law enforcement employees.
- Tier II - Employee contribution rate is 6.2% for regular employees and 7.0% for law enforcement employees.
- this retirement plan is a voluntary, supplemental, deferred compensation plan.
- this plan is a voluntary, supplemental, deferred compensation plan offered by the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
The University provide a $6.00 per month credit to eligible employees to offset the cost(s) for supplemental, voluntary benefits. All full-time regular employees are eligible for this benefit on the first day of the month following the completion of 90 days of employment.
- Flexible Spending Accounts - HealthEquity
- Accident Coverage - Symetra
- Group Voluntary Cancer Insurance - Allstate
- Hospital Coverage - Symetra
- Short-Term Disability Insurance - Fort Dearborn Life
- Supplemental Life Insurance - Symetra
- Critical Illness Insurance - Symetra
- Supplemental Vision Insurance - Vision Blue by VSP
- Air Evac Lifeteam
- Long-Term Care Insurance - LTCi Plans
UNA provides remission of tuition and fees benefit to eligible employees, which includes employee remission as well as both spouse and dependents.
Paid Time Off
- Eligible administrators are providing an initial leave balance of four weeks. Thereafter, four weeks of annual leave per calendar year is accrued at a monthly rate.
- Full-time, regular administrators are entitled to 96 work hours (12 workdays) of sick leave each year at the employee's regular rate of pay, regardless of length of service.
01
Do you have an earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree in a discipline represented within the college or a closely related field?
- No
- Yes, I have an earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree in a discipline represented within the college.
- Yes, I have an earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree in a closely related field.
- No. but I have ABD status in a doctoral program and extensive experience and will hold the doctoral degree by the date of the appointment.
02
Do you have a successful record of teaching, scholarship, professional achievement, or applied accomplishment commensurate with appointment at the rank of full professor with tenure as described in the faculty handbook?*
03
Do you have a record of successful administrative leadership experience in higher education?*
- No
- Yes, as a department chair or school director.
- Yes, as an associate dean, dean, or comparable senior academic administrator.
- Yes, as both a department chair/school director and higher-level academic administrator.
04
Do you have experience with AACSB accreditation or comparable accreditation, assessment, or continuous improvement processes?
05
Do you have successful experience in leadership of business or technology-related academic programs?
- No
- Yes, in leadership of business academic programs.
- Yes, in leadership of technology-related academic programs.
- Yes, in both business and technology-related academic programs.
06
Do you have successful fundraising, alumni, donor, and/or industry partnership experience?
- No
- Yes, successful fundraising, alumni, or donor partnership experience.
- Yes, successful industry partnership experience.
- Yes, successful experience with fundraising, alumni, donor, and industry partnership.
07
Do you have successful experience with enrollment growth, retention, internships, career placement, regional economic development, or related workforce initiatives?
08
This position is not eligible for sponsorship of any kind. Will you now or in the future require sponsorship (H1B, OPT, etc.) ?
Required Question
