Dean, Social Sciences
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) invites inquiries, nominations and applications for the position of Dean of Social Sciences.

The Division of Social Sciences is one of the four academic divisions of the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences, encompassing some of the university’s highest-ranked academic programs. These include nationally-ranked departments in the longstanding disciplinary fields of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science and sociology. A leader in interdisciplinary studies, the division also contains departments with strong interdisciplinary cultures, including Asian American studies, Chicana and Chicano studies, communication studies and women’s studies, and three interdepartmental degree programs in African American studies, American Indian studies and archaeology. The division is home to aerospace studies (ROTC), military science and naval science and four organized research units: the Center for the Study of Women, the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, and the Institute for Social Science Research. The division also partners with the J. Paul Getty Trust to offer a master’s program in archaeological and ethnographic conservation.

With nearly 300 ladder faculty, 8,143 undergraduate majors, 767 graduate students, and 22 percent of all students enrolled at UCLA, the division of social sciences is the largest and one of the most distinguished academic units in the university. The faculty boasts 27 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, three members of the National Academy of Science, 26 Guggenheim Fellows, six Fulbright Scholars, two MacArthur Fellows and two Pulitzer prize winners. Annual expenditures come to $100M, and the division attracts approximately $19M in external funding annually.

As the chief executive officer for the division, the dean will set the standard for its intellectual engagement and accomplishment, provide strategic vision and operational leadership to all aspects of the academic and scholarly program, and create an environment and community that supports the division’s faculty and students. In particular, the dean will assure that the division continues to serve its students with academic programs of the highest quality and effectiveness, promoting excellence through diversity in undergraduate and graduate programs and faculty recruitment. Supporting the university’s research mission, the dean will promote opportunities to establish newer disciplines and advance the scholarly activities of the faculty, including the opportunities that interdisciplinary approaches afford. In pursuing these responsibilities, the dean, who reports to the executive vice chancellor/provost, will work collaboratively with the chancellor and executive vice chancellor/provost and with vice chancellors, other deans and department chairs at UCLA and throughout the University of California system. In particular, the dean will work closely with the other deans in the College, which includes the divisions of humanities, life sciences, physical sciences and undergraduate education, as well as social sciences.

The successful candidate will be a nationally-recognized scholar with demonstrated leadership in teaching, research and public service. Minimum requirements include: an earned doctorate in a social sciences field; a record of distinguished teaching and research; substantial administrative leadership, preferably in a research university; proven success in external fund development; and credentials that merit appointment at the rank of full professor.

Situated on 419 acres, five miles from the Pacific Ocean, UCLA is enriched by the cultural diversity of the dynamic greater Los Angeles area, as well as the geographic variety and temperate climate of Southern California. It is among the most distinguished research institutions in the world, public or private, with 4,000 faculty members who teach 37,500 students in the College of Letters and Science and 11 professional schools, and who in 2006-07 generated more than $900 million in research contracts and grants. UCLA is an international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Four UCLA alumni and five faculty members have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Confidential review of applications, nominations and expressions of interest will begin immediately and continue until an appointment is made, with a preferred starting date no later than July 1, 2009. Compensation for the position is highly competitive. Electronic submission of materials is preferred. A cover letter, curriculum vita and list of five references should be forwarded to uclasocialscience@wittkieffer.com. Inquiries may be addressed to the Witt/Kieffer consultants supporting this search, Mary Elizabeth Taylor (212-686-2676) or Elizabeth Bohan (630-575-6161).

The University of California is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, and seeks candidates who are committed to the highest standards of scholarship and professional activities and to a campus climate that supports equality and diversity.