The University of Iowa invites applications for the position of dean of the College of Pharmacy.

DEAN, COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

The University of Iowa seeks a visionary and engaging leader and scholar to serve as its next dean of the College of Pharmacy.

The person who fills this important position is expected to be a leader who will be creative, collaborative, and a strong advocate for both professional and academic education and research and provide leadership and direction as the chief executive officer of UI Pharmaceuticals.

Opportunities and Expectations for Leadership

As the chief academic and administrative officer of the College of Pharmacy, the dean reports directly to the Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Iowa. The dean has autonomy and authority for the management and coordination of the college and for implementing its plans, programs, services and scholarly and research endeavors. The dean also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of UI Pharmaceuticals. The dean collaborates with fellow deans across the university, as well as leadership within University of Iowa Health Care, to leverage opportunities afforded by the college to support the growth and quality of research and education within the health sciences. The dean supervises associate and assistant deans, department chairs in the college, and the managing director for UI Pharmaceuticals.

The dean is expected to provide strong leadership to advance the college's educational, research, and service missions. The dean promotes excellence among faculty, staff and students and shares an institutional commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; oversees the college's operations and financial and human resources; and plays a critical role in fundraising, advocacy and alumni relations.

Several key objectives have been identified for the dean to achieve in the first few years of leadership, including:

Vision for the Future

While the college currently has educational programs of distinction, a statewide and national presence and a significant research portfolio, the next dean will continue to secure its place amongst the top pharmacy schools in the country and have influence nationally. The incoming dean will face the continued changing landscape for the profession requiring new strategies and innovation. One challenge for the college is student recruitment and enrollment due to national trends and ensuring the college remains a competitive option for top students. The dean will be a leader in defining the future of the college. They will convene faculty, staff, alumni, students, and colleagues in the other health sciences and the health system to create a strategic path forward that ensures the college is adapting to the changing profile of PharmD and PhD students and the evolving profession within the health care continuum. This includes future strategy development to better bridge UI Pharmaceuticals, a unique and exciting entity within the college bringing elevated educational and research opportunities for faculty and students.

Collaborative leadership for the College

Active engagement with alumni, state and national pharmacy associations is a major strength of the college. The next dean will maintain and build these important external relationships while providing leadership within the college, university and UIHC community. The next dean, working with leadership, faculty, and staff will assess the current processes and programs in relation to the academic environment and build a culture of transparency, and consistency with established priorities and resource support. The next dean will be tasked with key leadership and faculty recruitments who will be empowered to implement decisions to move the college forward in innovative and creative ways. 

Research and Scholarship

Building on the college's strong record of research accomplishments, the dean will grow the research portfolio and support and enhance the well-established culture of collaboration that exists. The dean will be an enabler to integrate research and discovery into the College of Pharmacy academic programs; and will promote research success by supporting a system that reduces roadblocks and bureaucracy and seeks to create clear paths for research growth and development. The dean will look creatively to new models of partnerships across the university and with outside entities. In particular, the dean will bring a new vision for research and educational collaborations with UI Pharmaceuticals.

Education and Curriculum

In collaboration with the faculty, the dean will define the future of pharmacy and pharmaceutical education, articulating emerging needs in the pharmacy profession and research and addressing those intractable challenges that require sustained new thinking. The dean will be responsive to student needs and provide thoughtful and creative leadership that advocates for community building, while leveraging technology and innovative curriculum in appropriate ways that considers the future of the pharmacy. The dean will promote and enhance interprofessional education and practice in partnership with the health system and the university.

Resources

The dean will assess and evaluate the financial status of the college and understand the budget model and funds flow with the university and UI Pharmaceuticals. The dean will continue to cultivate and sustain relationships with current and potential donors and collaborate with the Foundation team to advance the financial opportunities. In considering the future needs, the dean will prioritize and consider the impact from programmatic changes in the overall budget processes, resulting in a visionary roadmap to success.

Relationships and Visibility

The next dean will be an enthusiastic and vocal advocate who will work to enhance the visibility of the college, both internally and externally. Through effective messaging, the dean will articulate the college's many accomplishments and distinctions, and will seek avenues to promote the quality and impact of the college’s programs, faculty, students, staff and UI Pharmaceuticals. These endeavors will continue to foster great pride across the college, UIHC and university as well as attract the attention of prospective students, faculty, partners, employers, alumni and donors.

Qualifications

The ideal qualifications and qualities for the next dean of the College of Pharmacy are as follows:

Required Qualifications:

• A PharmD, PhD, PharmD/PhD, or equivalent experience in a discipline related to the overall mission of the college, eligible for the academic rank of professor with tenure.
• Track record of excellent academic accomplishments and credentials, and national recognition within their field.
• A record of administrative leadership within the context of a highly decentralized budget model.
• Proven commitment and demonstrated experience promoting an inclusive culture in the workforce and academic environment.
• Extensive executive and operational experience, including financial/budgeting and strategic planning, successfully applied in a complex academic organization; experience gained in a senior level administrative role, such as dean, associate dean, department chair or center director.
• Non-traditional academic leaders are welcome to apply; applicants from the private or public service sectors will need to demonstrate commitment to research and scholarly accomplishment.

Desirable Qualifications:

Knowledge and Work Experience

• A passion for excellence in all aspects of the college's mission, including research, education, clinical practice, community engagement and public service.
• An outstanding track record of academic accomplishment in administrative, scholarly, educational and clinical endeavors including navigating a complex clinical enterprise.
• Strong evidence of supporting the growth of an ambitious research program.
• Ability to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and staff.
• A record of building productive and collaborative relationships with a broad variety of key stakeholders.
• A vision to develop innovative programs that build and integrate multiple strengths within the college and throughout the university.
• A track record of careful stewardship of institutional resources.
• Experience implementing interprofessional education and practice activities.
• A national and international perspective of issues in pharmacy education, training, research and public service; a strong vision for the role of the College of Pharmacy in an academic health center.
• A strategic thinker with enthusiasm and willingness to build partnerships and experience with fundraising; ability to raise funds from interested donors.
• Ability to be a spokesperson for the college and the university, and to be diplomatic, persuasive and credible to a wide variety of audience.
• Regional and national presence in pharmacy professional societies and accrediting boards.
• Proven commitment to public service and community engagement.
• Commitment to the ideals of leadership including integrity, accountability, transparency, collaboration, inclusion, respect, service, compassion and grace under pressure.

Personal Characteristics

• Results-oriented mindset with strong business acumen and the ability to manage large, complex organizations.
• Deep resonance with the mission of the university.
• Decisiveness and ability to make difficult decisions.
• Sound judgment backed by self-confidence and a sense of perspective.
• Ability to drive a vision through engagement, transparency, hard work and a sense of urgency.
• Commitment to leading through example and maintaining the highest standards of personal and professional integrity.
• Ability to work in a campus culture that is both data-reliant and relationship-oriented.
• Capacity to navigate a highly complex institution with a high level of emotional intelligence.