Dean, Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music University of Miami

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Reporting directly to the Provost of the University, the Dean serves as the chief administrative officer of the School. As such, the Dean provides strategic vision for and operational leadership of the School, which has an annual operating budget of approximately $30 million (exclusive of shared University functions such as Facilities and IT). The Dean leads efforts within the School to support creative and artistic accomplishment, scholarly activity, pedagogical innovations, and community engagement efforts. In particular, the Dean is responsible for leading faculty and staff recruitment and development; encouraging entrepreneurial program development; enabling cross-disciplinary and interdepartmental efforts both within the School and across the University; representing the School to external constituencies, including leading fundraising efforts and developing community partnerships; and raising the reputation and standing of the School globally. The Dean leads approximately 120 faculty and 50 staff in this work.

KEY OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE Dean

Craft an ambitious vision and shared identity to guide the School forward.

The Frost School is one of the nation’s most eminent schools of music. It boasts a world-class faculty, esteemed programs across the full spectrum of music, and an enviable location in South Florida. The School uniquely blends tradition with forward-looking, innovative approaches, as represented in its promotion of experiential musicianship and curricular throughlines embodied in the Frost Method and its future-ready design for an ever-changing world. Taken together, these elements create a School that is singularly positioned to define music performance, scholarship, research, education, and professions for the 21st century. The Dean will have the opportunity to realize this possibility, employing the University’s “Great Schools” framework and working closely with the faculty, staff, students, University leadership, and advisory board to craft a shared sense of identity and ambitious vision for the School. This identity and vision will bring together the 12 distinct departments and strengthen the School’s position as a leader in the broader music landscape.

Ensure the financial health and sustainability of the School.

Collegiate music education is an expensive endeavor, and schools across the country are growing increasingly competitive by expanding aid to students at all levels of instruction. As the city of Miami grows, the cost of living continues to rise, impacting faculty, staff, and students alike. An enterprising Dean will ensure the financial health and sustainability of the School on multiple fronts. Internally, they will guide efforts to ensure operational efficiency, allocating existing resources prudently and strategically. In addition, they will work closely with the faculty, staff, and University leadership to identify opportunities to develop new sources of revenue. Externally, they will lead ambitious fundraising efforts, cultivating new and existing donors and engaging broadly with alumni.

Recruit, develop, and champion world-class faculty and staff.

The faculty at the Frost School are distinguished in all departments and disciplines represented in the School. The Dean will be responsible for continuing to recruit world-class faculty to the School, strengthening the structures that enable their development, and championing their scholarly, artistic, and pedagogical achievements. Equally important, the Dean will oversee the recruitment, retention, and professional development of staff, who are similarly impressive and deeply dedicated to the School and its students.

Assess the operational infrastructure of the School and further develop structures and processes.

Frost has grown over time, and its disciplines and departments have become increasingly broad and diverse. The School recently reorganized from 8 departments into 12. As such, the Dean will lead efforts to assess the operational infrastructure of the School and will work closely with the faculty and staff to develop needed structures and processes. These efforts might include developing a framework for resource allocation and decision making; codifying promotion, tenure, and advancement pathways; clarifying service, teaching, and scholarship expectations; enhancing assessment efforts; and enabling interdisciplinary and collaborative work. In this work, the Dean will balance the need for robust structure with a desire for operational efficiency. As the Dean leads these efforts, they will have the opportunity to bring faculty and staff together across departmental boundaries and include them in relevant strategic discussions, thereby building trust and strengthening the School’s commitments to transparent and collaborative governance.

Cultivate meaningful partnerships in the surrounding communities and across South Florida.

The Dean will lead the Frost School in strengthening its engagement across Miami-Dade County and the broader South Florida region, including by developing mutually beneficial partnerships with nearby communities and organizations and serving as a public face for the School. This work has already begun, for instance through the award-winning Donna E. Shalala MusicReach program, the Frost Preparatory Program, and the Frost Summer Experience. With its prime location in a growing region that is home to many rich musical traditions, Frost has abundant opportunities to engage further, and the Dean will lead the faculty, staff, and students in identifying opportunities for collaborations that serve the needs of both the School and the surrounding communities.

Elevate the School’s standing nationally and globally.

Through its world-class faculty, successful alumni, and cultivation of excellence in all artistic and academic initiatives, the Frost School has earned an outstanding reputation that spans the globe. Leveraging this status, the Dean will serve as a public ambassador of the School on national and global stages. In championing the School’s distinct commitments to tradition and innovation, the Dean will broadcast the excellent work of the faculty, staff, and students, thereby strengthening the School’s brand and impact across the country and around the world.

Build and strengthen connections to the other Colleges and Schools across the University.

A key characteristic of the School is its position within the University of Miami, a top tier research university. This organizational context comes with resources and opportunities that span the full scope of scholarly inquiry and professional practice, including medicine, health studies, business, law, education, engineering, the arts and sciences, and beyond. An enterprising Dean will lead the School in maximizing opportunities for collaboration across the University, building and strengthening connections that enable faculty to do groundbreaking work, empower students to broaden their horizons, and enhance the quality of the School’s programs.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

The successful Dean will possess many, if not all, of the following qualifications and characteristics:

·         Demonstrated record of successful leadership; a collaborative and transparent approach to leadership; experience partnering across institutional boundaries; the ability to bring a broad range of constituents to actionable consensus;

·         The broad perspective and innovative vision needed to inspire the Frost School community;

·         The presence and skill to serve as the public face of the School to audiences across the city, region, nation, and world; experience with external relations and an established track record of productive fundraising efforts;

·         A commitment to advocating for and developing a world-class, distinguished, and preeminent faculty;

·         A meaningful commitment to and appreciation for the student campus and classroom experience; familiarity with the ever-changing landscape of music and its impact on career options for students;

·         Experience or familiarity with recruitment efforts and strategies for attracting music students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels;

·         Experience defining budget priorities and responsibly stewarding institutional resources;

·         Excellent communication skills; the disposition to listen and consult broadly before making strategic decisions; the ability to build alignment and unity among disparate groups;

·         A highly developed understanding of academic values and culture, including shared governance; a curiosity that extends across the full scope of disciplines comprising the School and University;

·         An understanding of the trends that will affect the future of higher education broadly and collegiate music education more specifically, including the impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and social media, along with the ability to adapt to a changing environment while sustaining high-level artistic, academic, and professional programs;

·         A nationally or internationally recognized record of musical, professional, or scholarly accomplishment; credentials that merit appointment at the rank of full professor at the University of Miami; an earned doctorate or equivalent terminal degree is preferred.

APPLICATIONS, INQUIRIES, AND NOMINATIONS

Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. Applications (including CV and cover letter), inquiries, and nominations should be submitted in confidence to Ben Tobin, Katie Rockman, Keith Mason, and Alaine Small via the Isaacson, Miller website: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/university-miami-frost-school-music/dean.

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The University of Miami is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants and employees are protected from discrimination based on certain categories protected by Federal law.

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