General Summary of Position:
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (“UMass Lowell”) seeks a visionary, collaborative, and inspirational leader for the position of Dean of the Francis College of Engineering (“FCOE” or “the College”). As one of the top 100 public universities in the country with deep and mutually reinforcing ties to the technological and cultural nexus of Greater Boston, UMass Lowell has enjoyed dramatic growth in student applications, research funding, and private giving over the past eight years.
It is a propitious time to join the UMass Lowell community. For nearly two decades, the University has steadily increased its research collaborations with industry, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. With a research enterprise now approaching $120 million annually, the University is poised to achieve Research 1 (R1) status by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, further cementing UMass Lowell’s reputation as one of the nation’s top research universities. Additionally, the University is working with the City of Lowell to dramatically scale up its base of corporate partnerships. The Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC) is at the heart of an economic transformation underway in Lowell and will support the needs of companies seeking to relocate to the city to work alongside university faculty, researchers, and students. The project is already supported by companies in robotics, engineering, biotech, technology, and cybersecurity.
The Dean will be a collaborative leader with experience working in complex, multidisciplinary environments. They will be a visionary, institutional thinker who understands the importance of delivering a high quality engineering education to the students UMass Lowell serves. They will use their professional and administrative expertise to identify and pursue innovations in teaching, research, and application, and ensure that FCOE’s priorities align with the goals of the broader campus.
Francis College of Engineering
The Francis College of Engineering is named after James B. Francis, a hydraulic engineer who began his career in Lowell during the Industrial Revolution. The College is home to nearly 150 full-time faculty members and 14 research centers and is fully accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The College is ranked No. 102 by U.S. News & World Report.
The FCOE has a particularly strong reputation regionally, and proudly continues its century-long tradition of providing students with a hands-on education through its close ties to industry. The College currently enrolls over 3,500 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in six academic departments. Industry partnerships are maintained through interdisciplinary research centers, an industrial advisory board, and growing co-op internship programs.
The University of Massachusetts Lowell
Clustered along the Merrimack River in the heart of Lowell, the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, UMass Lowell anchors a remarkably diverse city. The Lowell Campus, which in 2020 celebrated the 125th anniversary of the founding of its predecessor institutions, Lowell State College (1894) and Lowell Technological Institute (1895), continues to receive new honors and accolades.
Ranked No. 84 among national public universities by US News & World Report, UMass Lowell has nearly 18,000 students and over 600 full-time faculty in five colleges that offer 135 undergraduate, 50 master’s, 28 doctoral degree programs, and 31 certificates in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Programs are accredited at the highest levels and incorporate vigorous hands-on learning and personalized attention. UMass Lowell is a leader in experiential learning, offering opportunities for students to work closely with businesses through various co-op programs involving more than 200 employers and industry partners, in addition to service learning and research. The University’s growing popularity and distinctive focus on learning through experience continue to make it a university on the rise.
The University also offers highly successful, nationally recognized online education programs. US News ranked UMass Lowell’s online graduate programs among the best in the nation in criminal justice (No. 2), education (No. 10), and business (No. 31), and among the most affordable. UMass Lowell’s online bachelor’s degrees were also highly rated in New England and ranked 30th nationally among the 200-plus public and private programs ranked. As total enrollment has increased—16 percent in the past decade—so have the academic qualifications of UMass Lowell students, with a combined SAT of 1236 and a 3.66 average GPA for incoming freshmen and more than 2,000 students in the Honors College.
Faculty and Research
UMass Lowell’s 600 full-time faculty teach in five colleges and schools that offer 127 undergraduate, 47 master’s, and 30 doctoral degree programs. UMass Lowell faculty members are internationally respected researchers and scholars. They address challenges ranging from the need for clean and sustainable energy to developing the next generation of medical technologies. They investigate a wide range of topics, from diversity in the workplace to the environmental implications of the increase in childhood asthma. UMass Lowell researchers collaborate between departments and schools and enjoy a history of substantive partnerships with corporations and research institutes. They have projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, and many other granting agencies. UMass Lowell is one of only 25 universities in the country with a nuclear reactor on its campus (1-Mega-Watt), affording faculty the rare opportunity to investigate advanced reactor technologies and materials that will make nuclear energy cleaner and safer. The University is making strides to become a thought leader across and between disciplines and is focused on building Centers of Excellence at the confluence of multiple fields of study in engineering, science, health professions, and business. UMass Lowell has total annual research expenditures exceeding $111 million.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
The Dean will exemplify the qualities and characteristics expected of a highly visible leader and respected educator. The ideal candidate should have a record that includes experience in senior administrative roles. The candidate will ideally have familiarity working with accrediting bodies, including ABET. The candidate must have experience managing complex operations, teams, and budgets. In addition, the incoming Dean will also display the following qualities and characteristics:
Strong listening and communication skills: The candidate must demonstrate an ability to understand and engage various stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, prospective students, alumni, and upper administration.
Ability to work well with others: The candidate should be highly collaborative and should excel at engaging in teamwork, working with diverse groups, and fostering a sense of community. This includes nurturing faculty, staff, and student relationships to create cohesive, effective groups. The candidate should be empathetic, personable, and affable.
Leadership: The candidate must have the ability to exercise strong leadership and data-informed decisions in different situations. The candidate must be able to articulate and work toward a strategic vision on behalf of FCOE.
Honesty and integrity: The candidate must have an honest character, which is vital for establishing trust and transparency and fostering a positive working and learning environment.
Adaptability and flexibility: The candidate must demonstrate an ability to adjust to changing circumstances and new ideas in both engineering and higher education more broadly. They will be excited to navigate and capitalize on the transition to a Research 1 institution.
An earned doctorate or equivalent terminal degree and a record of scholarship, research, and teaching suitable for appointment as a full professor is strongly preferred.
Special Instructions to Applicants:
The University of Massachusetts Lowell has engaged Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist with this search.
Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed in confidence to the firm using the following link: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/university-massachusetts-lowell-francis-college-engineering/dean
