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Job Description

Ithaca College
Dean, Roy H. Park School of Communications
Ithaca, NY

Ithaca College seeks nominations for and expressions of interest in the position of Dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications.

One of the top undergraduate communications schools in the country, the Park School is a dynamic and evolving center where students and faculty explore the myriad ways people and organizations communicate, not only through words, but also through image, sound, and design. The Park School's curriculum reflects today's convergent media landscape, with programs that blend instruction in business, news, entertainment, and media arts.

One of five schools that make up Ithaca College, the Park School enrolls a student body of over 1400 and engages more than 70 faculty and 35 staff. The Park School is home to the James B. Pendleton Center in Los Angeles, the Park Center for Independent Media, the Jessica Savitch Distinguished Lecturer Series, as well as award-winning student media. Park students major in television-radio; journalism; integrated marketing communications; communication management and design; film, photography, and visual arts; cinema and photography; and documentary studies. A growing number of on-line programs are also being developed. Alumni can be found at the highest levels of many of today's most significant media companies. The school's operating and capital budgets are supported in part by an endowment and annual gifts from the Park Foundation, alumni, and friends. In addition, the Park Foundation funds the Park Scholar program, designed to attract and further develop future communications leaders who engage critically, act globally, and perform ethically.

Ithaca College, with a total student body of approximately 6,800 and a faculty of approximately 460 full-time faculty and 210 part-time faculty, is organized around five schools (Business, Communications, Health Sciences & Human Performance, Humanities & Sciences, and Music), a Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies, and 27 graduate programs. Located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York, the city of Ithaca is about 60 miles southwest of Syracuse and 90 miles southeast of Rochester.

The search committee seeks a new dean with the passion, creativity, and leadership ability to help the Park School develop and implement a cohesive strategic vision that embraces and anticipates the dynamic nature of the communications field, builds on the college's strategic priorities, and moves the school into the future. Well honed communication skills and the ability to build effective working relationships with faculty and students are essential. Evidence of the ability to manage a budget and staff within a complex environment is strongly preferred, and candidates must demonstrate the aptitude and appetite for significant involvement in fund raising. A commitment to excellence in teaching and the ability to support and nurture both theoretical and applied scholarly achievement are expected. The dean must successfully engage with both the academic enterprise (including the ability to recruit, retain, and promote a highly capable faculty) and the production and creative enterprises of the Park School. Candidates may exemplify their potential for the position through academic qualifications (earned terminal degree and an extensive record of scholarship broadly defined) or through a record of outstanding professional activity in the field of communications, coupled with evidence of significant experience in, deep understanding of, and the ability to work effectively in higher education.

Nominations for, applications, and inquiries about the Dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications position should be directed to Lucy A. Leske or Jean Dowdall at IthacaParkDean@wittkieffer.com. Review of applications will begin November 20, 2009, and will continue until the position is filled.

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