Position Profile:
Dean of Arts and Science

The University

Trent is one of the youngest universities in Canada, with an established reputation for academic excellence. Formally created as an independent university with full degree-granting powers by the Ontario Legislature in 1963, the University specializes in high-quality liberal undergraduate education where the emphasis is on the individual student. In addition, Trent has a strong research profile and several interdisciplinary graduate programs.

Now in its thirty-fifth teaching year, the University has achieved its desired size of 5000 undergraduates. In addition, there are 143 graduate students in the five fields in which graduate studies are currently offered.

The University has 223 full-time and 109 part-time faculty, and 284 full-time and 99 part-time staff. The 1996-97 operating budget is $37 million, with an additional $15 million of activity in ancillary and capital budgets and trusts. Funding of research at Trent amounts to $3.5 million.

A distinguishing feature of Trent University is its college system. Four of the colleges are located on the Symons campus, which is situated on the banks of the Otonabee River at the northern city limits of Peterborough, Ontario; two other colleges are located in historic buildings in residential areas of downtown Peterborough. The 580-hectare Symons campus is set in the forest and gently rolling hills of the Kawartha lakes region. The buildings have won international awards and acclaim, and the combination of architecture and surroundings creates a setting of startling beauty.


Trent's Mission

Trent University aspires to be Canada's outstanding small university known for its commitment to liberal undergraduate education in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and to the centrality of the individual student. Within a collegial setting, the University offers undergraduate and graduate programs, both traditional and interdisciplinary, which seek to advance learning through the creative interaction of teaching and research of the highest quality.


Trent's Goals

• To create a teaching, learning, research and living environment fundamentally committed to the promotion of free inquiry and expression.
  
  
• To offer a distinctive, excellent and continually evolving teaching program that responds to the needs of an increasingly diverse full- and part-time student body.
  
  
• To provide educational programs which encourage students to think critically, creatively, constructively and to communicate their ideas effectively, as well as instilling a curiosity that engenders lifelong learning.
  
  
• To sustain and enhance opportunities for research and scholarly activity of the highest standard.
  
  
• To recognize and take advantage of Trent's relatively small size, flexibility and experience to foster continually opportunities for creative interaction between academic departments and programs, teaching and research, colleges and academic activities and among our faculty, staff and students.
  
  
• To develop, in the pursuit of the advancement of learning, mutually beneficial partnerships and linkages with universities, colleges, schools and other public and private sector institutions and organizations, including our alumni.
  
  
• To encourage intellectual and cultural sensibility, adaptability, leadership, mutual respect, an ethical conscience, global (or international) perspectives and environmental sensitivity among all members of the Trent community.
  

Institutional Objectives

• Recruit and retain students from within and beyond Canada who will benefit from Trent's programs and who will contribute to University life.
  
  
• Provide an appropriate range and sequence of undergraduate courses and programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and interdisciplinary fields to ensure a truly liberal education rooted in a strong institutional commitment to undergraduate teaching.
  
  
• Develop new opportunities for small group teaching and individualized learning.
  
  
• Create and sustain a range of interdisciplinary graduate programs that will reinforce the goal of liberal education, have linkages with our undergraduate departments and programs and provide all faculty with graduate teaching and research opportunities.
  
  
• Employ and retain excellent faculty who contribute actively to the advancement of learning through teaching, research, service and professional development.
  
  
• Employ and retain excellent academic and administrative support staff and ensure adequate opportunities for their professional development.
  
  
• Create and sustain an environment (intellectual, physical, fiscal and social) that advances learning through quality teaching and research while encouraging respect, tolerance and sensitivity.
  

The Position

The Dean of Arts and Science has primary, hands-on responsibility for coordination and direction of the on-going undergraduate teaching programs of the University, including development and staffing of departments and interdisciplinary programs, recruitment of high-quality full- and part-time faculty members, budget management, provision of academic support services, and related matters. Within the context of academic and financial planning, the Dean is expected to act both as an advocate for the undergraduate academic programs of the University and as a member of the senior administrative team with shared responsibility for the overall well-being of the University.

The Dean cooperates with other University officers in developing and implementing a strategy to attract and retain appropriate numbers of high-quality undergraduates by means of a recruitment strategy, a financial aid policy and, ultimately, by ensuring the highest possible quality of undergraduate education.

The Dean reports to and works closely with the Vice-President (Academic), participates in academic planning, serves as his/her deputy as requested, and acts on special assignment on behalf of the senior administration. The Dean also collaborates closely with the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies in order to ensure that an excellent relationship exists among the University's undergraduate, graduate and research activities. The Dean works closely with the Associate Deans, and with Chairs of undergraduate departments/programs on matters relating to academic development, staffing, operating activities and budget development and management. The Dean consults regularly with Faculty Board and Faculty Council and its Steering Committee.

The Dean chairs Faculty Board, the Academic Development Committee, the Committee on Academic Personnel and the Nominating Committee of Faculty Board, and is a member of Senate, the Senate Executive Committee, the President's Executive Group, the (Academic) Vice-President's Council and the Enrolment Planning Group. The Dean (or designate) also sits on the Committee on Admissions and Scholarships and the Library Services Committee. The Dean is a member of the Council of Deans of Arts and Science of Ontario.

While academic administrative leadership is the predominant responsibility of the position, the Dean is expected to remain active in teaching and scholarship.

The Candidate Qualifications

The Search Committee is seeking an individual who possesses the academic credentials - including teaching, research and scholarship - sufficient to command respect within the academic community and to discharge the responsibilities of the position. The following qualifications, experience and personal attributes are seen to be desirable:

• An understanding of universities, the contribution they make to the social, economic, intellectual and cultural well-being of society, and the particular ways in which Trent has defined its role within Canada's university system;

• Commitment to excellence in teaching and research as the hallmarks of Trent's image and reputation, and to Trent's focus on small-group teaching and individualized learning;

• Academic accomplishments and stature in one's own discipline sufficient to ensure respect and support from the academic community;

• Knowledge of, and respect for, a unionized environment;

• An appreciation of Trent's three academic divisions (humanities, social sciences, and physical/natural sciences), combined with a general ability to deal effectively with diverse academic units and their faculty and staff;

• Demonstrated management skills, including budget management;

• A commitment to faculty development;

• An understanding of academic decision-making processes and the need for transparency and accountability.

The City

Peterborough, a city of 67,000 with an economic base in manufacturing and tourism, is a ninety-minute drive from Toronto and a three-hour drive from Ottawa. Founded early in the Victorian era, it has retained much of its architectural heritage and small-city charm on quiet tree-shaded streets. Private and public art galleries, a public library, a museum, lively amateur and professional music and dance theatre groups, and a new downtown performing arts facility nourish the community's cultural interests. In sports, the Peterborough Petes are a strong major junior hockey team, while the city's junior and senior lacrosse teams are perennial contenders for the respective national championships. Two excellent 18-hole golf courses flank the city on the east and west and a half-dozen others are located in the area nearby. In and near the city are cross-country ski trails (including several on Trent's 500-acre wildlife sanctuary) and facilities for downhill skiing, swimming, sailing, and canoeing. The city and district also boast a number of restaurants with specialized cuisines, and shops that cater to virtually all interests.

The Opportunity This is an exciting opportunity to assume a leadership role in an outstanding Canadian university distinguished for its focus on the individual student. The terms of the appointment and the compensation of the Dean of Arts and Science are negotiable. The new Dean of Arts and Science is expected to take office July 1, 1998. Trent University is committed to employment equity, welcomes diversity in the workplace and encourages applications from all qualified applicants including women, members of racial minorities, aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities. In accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, this Position Profile is directed to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada. All inquiries regarding this position will be treated in strict confidence and should be directed to either Dr. Janet Wright or Dr. Dan Birch at Janet Wright & Associates Inc., 21 Bedford Road, Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2J9, Phone: (416) 923-3008, Fax: (416) 923-8311, E-mail: jwassoc@astral.magic.ca.




Janet Wright & Associates Inc.