School of Nursing Divisional Dean/Director & Professor

Department: College of Public Health

Classification: 12-month Instructional Faculty

Job Category: Instructional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

For over 40 years, the School of Nursing has prepared students for interdisciplinary roles as clinicians, educators, researchers, and administrators. Students learn to address the challenges of a rapidly changing and diverse healthcare environment with hands-on experience in simulation, skill-building labs, and clinical settings. Within the school’s Mason and Partners Clinics (https://publichealth.gmu.edu/mapclinics), they gain experience working with culturally diverse patient populations in the northern Virginia area which provides them with the necessary skills to deliver health care where it is needed the most. Nursing faculty, staff, and students engage in work, study, and research that have major impacts on health equity, vulnerable populations, preventative care, population health, and the local workforce. Serving as experts in workforce development, School of Nursing faculty are committed to challenging the national nursing shortage and producing talented, equity-minded practitioners and scholars.

The School of Nursing’s position within the College of Public Health epitomizes the innovative, collaborative nature of the University’s culture. The School of Nursing plays a leadership role across the University in digital innovation for education, professional practice, and the delivery of health services. Students learn to address the challenges of a fast-paced, rapidly changing, and diverse healthcare environment with hands-on experience in the state-of-the-art Virtual Reality/Simulation labs and 9 different community-based Mason and Partners (MAP) clinics. The School of Nursing prepares students to address multicultural and socioeconomic diversity to ensure all populations receive effective interventions.

The MAP Clinics are an integral part of the School of Nursing’s work in community health and prevention. These nurse-managed clinics unite community and academic resources to provide an access point for underserved, high-risk populations to enter a complex healthcare system. The School of Nursing’s work in the MAP clinics allows faculty and students to address the priority health care needs of fellow community members in Fairfax and Prince William counties using interprofessional treatment team approaches focused on personalized care and empowered access to health information and care.

About the Position:

Faculty contribute to the mission of the School of Nursing through innovative and impactful education, research, and service. As an additional assignment this position will carry the title of Divisional Dean/Director and will report to the Dean of the College. The Divisional Dean/Director is the Chief Academic and Administrative Leader for the School of Nursing and serves as a key member of the leadership team of the College of Public Health. The Divisional Dean/Director serves as a high visibility leader and spokesperson on the importance of nurses (entry- through advanced-level) to ensure the health and well-being of the residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia and nationwide. With the opportunities presented by the school’s proximity to the nation’s capital, national funding agencies, and a well-established health industry position, the Divisional Dean/Director will serve as a national spokesperson on innovations in nursing and public health. The Divisional Dean/Director champions an expansive definition of public health that ensures nursing is an integral part of the public health system, inclusive of health promotion, disease prevention, and optimization of healthcare service delivery across the lifespan. The Divisional Dean/Director serves in an elevated leadership role at a leading public research University that has invested in building the first and only College of Public Health in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which is one of only a handful of Schools/Colleges of Public Health that feature nursing as a mission-critical asset.

Responsibilities:

• Provides visionary and innovative leadership including fiscal oversight.
• Develops the school’s research portfolio and faculty in support of its mission.
• Oversees accreditation processes for programs within the academic unit, including data collection and submission of required documents.
• Assumes leadership for and oversight of state board approval and national accreditation of all degree programs.
• Teaches one course each academic year.
• Serves as a member of the College’s leadership team in advancing academic excellence, research, and service.
• Develops community partnerships while advocating for nursing training and career opportunities.
• Teaches across the curriculum. 
• Mentors graduate and doctoral students in research projects. 
• Engages in academic and professional service that advances the school’s mission.
• Participates in faculty governance. 
• Develops and maintains an extramurally funded, independent research program. 
• Produces high impact, peer-reviewed publications. 
• Engages in multidisciplinary collaborations.

Required Qualifications:

• An earned PhD (or equivalent research doctorate) from an accredited institution in nursing or health-related field.
• Expertise in effectively teaching in both undergraduate and graduate courses.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent research skills as measured by a record of extramural research funding.
• A sustained record of high-impact, peer-reviewed publications.
• Demonstrated skills in mentorship of junior faculty related to grantsmanship and publications.
• An academic record that meets criteria for tenure in the CPH.
• Employment as a registered nurse in a health care service organization, government agency, professional organization, or academic setting.
• Experience mentoring and/or teaching nursing students and other nurses.
• Must have scholarly accomplishments and extramurally funded research and academic expertise to warrant appointment as a tenured full professor.
• Must be a graduate of an accredited college/school of nursing or closely related field and be academically and experientially qualified to accomplish the mission, goals, and expected program outcomes.
• Experience in an administrative or leadership position in an academic setting, and experience with accreditation of educational programs is required.
• Must have a commitment to promoting and supporting a diverse administration, faculty, staff, and student population.
• Must possess collaborative, innovative, and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with both graduate and undergraduate programs.
• Demonstrated capacity for leadership in developing a research supportive infrastructure and faculty.
• Knowledge of budget, resources, and services management.
• Demonstrated leadership and transparency in collaboration with faculty governance.

Instructions to Applicants: 

George Mason University has retained Russell Reynolds to support this recruitment. Joi Hayes and Katie Smith are leading the search. Inquiries, applications, and nominations should be sent to gmu.nursing@RussellReynolds.com. The search process will unfold with the greatest possible attention to candidate confidentiality.

In addition to emailing your packet to Russell Reynolds, applicants must apply for the Divisional Dean/Professor position (Req #10001367) at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a cover letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and a short teaching statement (two paragraphs).

For full consideration, materials should be received as soon as possible and preferably by July 29, 2024.

Please note: Those selected for final round interviews, will need to provide 3 reference letters prior to the final round of interviews taking place. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Posting Open Date: July 2, 2024

For Full Consideration, Apply by:  July 29, 2024

Open Until Filled:  Yes