Posting Details
Position Information
Proposed Faculty Rank
Tenured, Open
Department
00070 - College of Fine Arts-Dean
City
Salt Lake City, UT
Track
Tenure Track
New Position to Begin
July 1, 2027
Details
The College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah invites nominations and applications for a visionary leader to serve as the next Director of its School of Dance. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2027. Reporting to the Dean of the College of Fine Arts, the Director is the administrative head of the School, overseeing its personnel, operations, curriculum, strategic direction, and acting as the School's representative and advocate within the College, University, and wider community.
The School of Dance is known worldwide for its faculty and alumni, and a commitment to excellence in dance education. Versatile teaching, performance, and research are the hallmarks of our community. This is an exciting, transformational moment in the history of the School, as we continue defining and refining what dance education looks like in the twenty-first century.
We seek a Director with a comprehensive understanding of the breadth and depth of dance as an enduring, varied, and evolving form of artistic, cultural, and personal practice. The new Director will have a successful record of transparent, collaborative leadership, with a proven ability to work with different groups to sustain the School's reputation for excellence. Our ideal candidate will have a deep knowledge of the traditions of ballet and contemporary dance, a history of effective advocacy for both, a clear perspective on current discipline-wide trends, and the ability to offer a compelling vision for how the School will meet challenges and continue to thrive as dance educators, creators, performers, researchers, and leaders in the field.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Terminal degree in dance, dance studies, or a related field.
• A distinguished record of creative or scholarly achievement in dance commensurate with a faculty appointment at the rank of a tenured Associate Professor or Professor, including a body of work that represents a significant contribution to the field; demonstrated excellence in post-secondary teaching; and evidence of an active, ongoing program of creative or scholarly research.
• Significant leadership, administrative, and supervisory experience, including strategic and financial planning, curricular innovation, & recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students.
• Evidence of an open-minded and multifaceted commitment to the art and the people involved in it, with demonstrated ability to lead effectively and foster belonging and community in the School of Dance while supporting students and faculty of various backgrounds, artistic practices and perspectives.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Director will (1) guide the efforts of faculty to establish a strategic vision for dance education and research within the context of a Research 1 University; (2) provide collaborative, transparent, and empathetic leadership for the School; (3) sustain and enhance the reputation of the School both nationally and internationally; (4) serve the School in official business with university authorities, students, and the public; (5) create and support professional development initiatives for faculty and staff, and foster, encourage and evaluate faculty research and productivity at the level of R1 expectations; (6) promote student success through recruitment and retention efforts; (7) oversee curricular activities, including ongoing efforts to diversify and modernize the curricula; (8) administer school finances, resources, and facilities; (9) engage in donor relationships and funds development; (10) engage with the National Association of Schools of Dance and maintain accreditation, and (11) be an active participant as a member of the Executive Committee of the College of Fine Arts in furthering the College and University's goals and mission. The Director of the School of Dance maintains a full administrative workload with no required teaching obligations.
About the School of Dance
The long heritage of dance at the University of Utah began in 1892 with a program developed by Maude May Babcock. Elizabeth R. Hayes was appointed Director of Modern Dance in 1940. The University of Utah's Department of Modern Dance became a recognized department across the nation, and eventually was the home, incubator, and launching pad for the founders of both Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and Repertory Dance Theatre. Willam F. Christensen, a noted dancer, teacher and choreographer who founded San Francisco Ballet, returned to Utah in 1951 and founded one of the first ballet programs at an American university as well as Ballet West in 1963. In 2016, our internationally-acclaimed and NASD-accredited programs in Ballet and Modern Dance united to form the School of Dance-retaining the distinctiveness of each discipline, while creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary exploration and collaboration.
The BFA degrees focus largely on performance, creative process, and teaching. The MFA degrees focus on artistic and scholarly development of leaders to create, educate and inspire. The School is comprised of 18 full-time faculty and 13 full-time staff serving over 200 undergraduate majors, 35 undergraduate minors, and 12 graduate students. Studio classes are accompanied by a full complement of live musicians.
The University of Utah School of Dance is housed in the 64,000 square foot Alice Sheets Marriott Center for Dance, a beautiful facility designed and constructed specifically for dance. The building features a 333-seat dance theater, six large dance studios, two small dance studios, two academic classrooms, a student lounge, two large dressing/locker rooms, an audiovisual lab for video and sound production, an in-house dance clinic with athletic trainer onsite, a recently renovated cross-training room, a faculty conference room and kitchen, suites of administrative and faculty offices, and in-house costume and scenery shops. The dance studios are full of natural light, with high ceilings and sprung Harlequin flooring, equipped with mirrors, ballet barres, pianos, and updated audio/visual equipment. Additional information about School of Dance facilities can be found here.
The School of Dance is one of five academic units in the College of Fine Arts, which also includes the Departments of Art & Art History, Film & Media Arts, and Theatre; and the School of Music. The school shares collaborative working relationships with the University's four professional arts affiliates which include Pioneer Theatre Company, Tanner Dance, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and UtahPresents.
Additional information about the School of Dance can be found at https://www.dance.utah.edu.
About the University
The University of Utah is the state's public flagship institution of higher education with an enrollment of approximately 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. A member of the American Association of Universities, the University of Utah is classified by the Carnegie Foundation among the research universities with the "highest research activity" in the nation. The university has been named by Forbes as one of the top ten employers in the state and recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best national universities. The University of Utah has several campus-wide initiatives that contribute to a rich campus climate that fosters student success, attracts academic and professional talent, improves access to higher education, provides unmatched societal impact, and strengthens the U's ability to educate the next generation of leaders.
About Salt Lake City
The University is located in Salt Lake City, the center of a metropolitan area with a population of approximately 1.3 million residents. The city is known for extensive arts and cultural activities, boasts a new major international airport, and has received international recognition for its light rail system, foodie culture, and downtown renewal.
Salt Lake City's dance community is a major contributor to the wide-ranging and thriving artistic and cultural landscape of the valley. It encompasses a broad range of dance traditions, communities, and practitioners, including those rooted in Latin American, Native American, Caribbean, and Pacific Islander cultural traditions. The city is also home to a significant concert dance community, represented by long-standing, nationally recognized companies Ballet West, Repertory Dance Theatre, and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, whose roots are in the University's dance programs. The dance community also hosts local companies such as Ballet Las Américas de Utah, and includes several founded by alumni of the School, such as SALT Contemporary Dance, Chrysalis Ballet, Odyssey Dance Theatre, and Utah Metropolitan Ballet.
Located at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake City offers unparalleled opportunities for outdoor recreation, with ten world-class ski resorts and five national parks within hours of the city. Salt Lake City is home to a robust array of diverse communities facilitating numerous opportunities for interaction with a range of civic and political organizations, given the city's role as the governmental and social nerve center of the state. In 2023, U.S News and World Report ranked Utah as the best state in the U.S.A. and Salt Lake City as one of the top 100 best places to live in the nation. Salt Lake City currently holds a 100/100 rating on the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index for its inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community.
Utah is home to eight federally recognized Native American Tribes and the largest Pacific Islander population outside of Hawaii and Alaska. The city and surrounding area will play host to the 2034 Winter Olympics (a second time for the state).
APPLICATION
Please submit (1) letter of application, not to exceed three pages, addressing the position's qualifications and responsibilities, including a statement of philosophy that addresses leadership of a school of dance; (2) curriculum vitae; and (3) names and contact information for five references. The candidate will be notified before references are contacted.
Screening of applications will begin November 1, 2026 and continue until the position is filled. For additional information, please contact Dr. Kimberly H. Councill, School of Dance Director Search Committee Chair, kim.councill@utah.edu
Special Instructions for Candidates
For additional information, please contact Dr. Kimberly H. Councill, School of Dance Director Search Committee Chair, kim.councill@utah.edu
Open Date
10/01/2026
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