Position Summary

The new position of Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (ADFA) will serve as a key leader in promoting an inclusive, supportive, and productive academic environment for faculty within the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). This role involves overseeing faculty recruitment, retention, development, and evaluation processes while fostering a culture of excellence in teaching, research, and service. The ADFA will serve as a liaison for the COM and CVM with the MSU Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs Office (FASA) while serving on the executive committees within both colleges. The ADFA will uniquely report to both the Dean of the CVM and the Dean of the COM. This dual-reporting structure is intended to ensure that the ADFA can advocate effectively for faculty across both colleges while maintaining a unified approach to faculty affairs.

Performance Evaluation and Promotion and Tenure

• Establish and manage faculty evaluation processes that are fair, transparent, equitable, and aligned with institutional goals.
• Oversee the faculty appointment, promotion, and tenure (P&T) processes. This role includes assessing and refining the appointment, promotion, and tenure guidelines in tenure-stream, health program, and academic specialist streams.
• Ensure that promotion and evaluation processes within the colleges embody justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles.
• Advise departmental reappointment, promotion, and tenure (RPT) committees on the principles of inclusive excellence.  
• Lead efforts to create and sustain awards committees and honorific programs for the colleges.
• Develop inclusive mechanisms to identify faculty members who may be eligible for awards and work with their department chairs to ensure nominations occur.

Policy Development

• Collaborate with institutional leadership to develop and revise college policies related to faculty affairs, ensuring alignment with best practices and compliance with accreditation standards.
• Serve as a resource for faculty in each college regarding institutional policies and procedures.

Faculty Development, Mentoring and Retention

• Collaborate with the appropriate DEI offices to develop strategies to recruit and retain faculty while fostering inclusive hiring practices and diverse faculty recruitment efforts.
• Oversee Faculty Advancement, Mentoring and Engagement (FAME). This role includes developing and managing new faculty programs, workshops, faculty rewards and recognition, college-wide structured mentoring programs, and leadership and career development programs.
• Coordinate, facilitate, and disseminate faculty development initiatives within the colleges.
• Serve as an advocate for the faculty and a conduit to the leadership of both colleges.
• Develop a referral system to aid faculty in finding the correct support to enhance their scholarly activity.
• Work with department chairs to identify staffing needs, succession planning, faculty development, and recruitment plans.

Wellness

• Work directly with the Dean and senior leaders to impact the health and wellness of the faculty while enriching the academic culture and environment for all.
• Assess, advocate, and promote faculty wellness initiatives, work-life balance, and programs to support the holistic well-being of faculty members.

Faculty Support and Conflict Resolution

• Facilitates support and guidance to faculty and chairs for resolving conflicts while ensuring that the applicable college and university policies have been followed.
• Mediate faculty grievances and academic misconduct to facilitate resolution of conflicts.
• Engage in academic governance and faculty issues at the university level.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Doctorate

Minimum Requirements

• Experience in faculty development and a commitment to fostering an inclusive academic environment for faculty, staff, students, stakeholders, and other community members from diverse backgrounds.
• Terminal degree (DO, DVM, MD, PhD, or equivalent) with proven leadership in advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion within academic settings.
• Knowledge of best practices in faculty recruitment, retention, and development.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with diverse constituencies.
• Demonstrated success in conflict resolution, mediation, and advocacy on behalf of faculty members.
• Familiarity with relevant laws, regulations, and policies related to equity and diversity in higher education.

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated effectiveness in working collaboratively with relevant stakeholders (e.g., college leaders, faculty groups, academic governance bodies, unions) in support of academic excellence, faculty and academic staff diversity, professional development, and retention).
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coordinate, and supervise the work of a diverse group of colleagues, using collaborative leadership skills and an accessible approach.
• Demonstrated ability to convene and foster effective collaboration among individuals representing different viewpoints, interests, positions, and locations across the university context.
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing a climate of respect, caring, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the academic environment.
• Knowledge of current research and participation in professional and scholarly interactions at the national level concerning academic work and careers (examples of possible areas of knowledge and national participation may include faculty and academic staff recruitment and retention; faculty and academic staff professional development; collective bargaining; academic leadership development; fixed-term faculty and academic staff development).
• Successful experience working with situations and issues within educational environments governed by collective bargaining agreements and commitment to shared governance.

Required Application Materials

(1) CV

(2) Cover Letter

(3) DEI Statement

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.