Faculty Positions

Position Title / Rank: Associate Dean

Office:Office of the Provost

Unit: Faculty of Graduate Studies

Date Posted: April 8, 2021
Deadline: May 3, 2021
Please reference AD #21-17

Position Description:

The Faculty of Graduate Studies invites applications from within the University for the position of Associate Dean, Graduate Studies. This is a term-limited position of three years in the first instance, and renewable for one further three-year term. The allocation of time to the position will be 60% or 80%, depending upon the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate, as well as their responsibilities to their home department and College. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2021.

Reporting to the Assistant Vice-President (AVP), Graduate Studies, the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies is primarily a champion of academic policy, ensuring that departments and students understand and observe policies to maintain the academic integrity of the University’s graduate programs. There is a strategic element to the role in so much as the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies assumes leadership around revising academic policies to maximize student and institutional success; in the coming years, this will include revisions to promote equity, diversity and inclusion.

More fully, the Associate Dean has the responsibility to:

  • serve on the Senate Board of Graduate Studies;
  • chair the Admissions and Progress subcommittee of the Board of Graduate Studies;
  • together with the Associate Deans of the colleges, investigate and manage all allegations of academic misconduct involving graduate students;
  • in collaboration with the AVP, Graduate Studies, mediate graduate student conflicts with advisors or departments;
  • represent the interests of graduate studies and postdoctoral fellows on University committees and working groups such as the Academic Procedures and Policies Working Group and the Experiential Learning Advisory Committee;
  • together with Faculty and Academic Staff Relations (FASR) and Human Resources (HR), oversee the appointment of postdoctoral fellows, including approving appointments that are outside the normal terms and conditions of appointment, and lead institutional management of relations with postdoctoral fellows;
  • oversee the Grad Pathways (GP) skills development hub, including maintaining the GP website, the GP calendar and GP skills development course, serving as chair of the Graduate Skills Advisory Committee, and promoting awareness of academic and professional skills support services and programming to colleges, programs, faculty and graduate students;
  • serve as the (nominal) instructor of the mandatory course, UNIV*7100, Academic Integrity;
  • organize and host the new graduate student orientation session each semester, and maintain the grad student orientation website;
  • promote excellence in graduate student advising through the establishment and maintenance of a resources webpage for advisors and an annual adjudication of University-level awards in recognition of supervisory excellence;
  • conduct periodic reviews of graduate studies policies and procedures, develop and revise these as necessary, and steward changes through University Governance;
  • develop and execute strategies to increase awareness of Senate policies and OGPS procedures for grad students, Graduate Program Coordinators, Graduate Program Assistants, Department Chairs and Associate Deans, and respond to inquiries involving interpretation of these policies and procedures; and
  • update the Graduate Program Coordinator Handbook;

In addition, the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies shares certain internal and external responsibilities with the AVP, Graduate Studies and acts for the AVP, Graduate Studies in their absence.

The successful candidate will be a member of the Regular Graduate Faculty at Guelph, a strategic thinker with outstanding interpersonal skills and extensive experience in graduate teaching and advising, preferably in the role of Graduate Program Coordinator. Prior administrative experience is not required; those who have not previously held administrative positions will be considered for the position. Candidates should possess the academic credibility to function successfully at all levels of the University.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies currently has over 3000 students in over 100 programs. The University is committed to further growth and improved quality of its graduate programs. The Associate Dean will play a leading role in achieving these commitments.

The University of Guelph is the third largest employer in Guelph, a city of approximately 130,000 people, located about an hour drive west of Toronto, Ontario. University of Guelph is a top-ranked comprehensive university in Canada with an enrolment of about 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across over 40 academic units. The University is known for its commitment to student learning, innovative research, and collaboration with world-class partners. It is a unique place, with transformative research and teaching and a distinctive campus culture. People who learn and work here are shaped and inspired by a shared purpose: To Improve Life. Reflecting that shared purpose in every experience connected to our university positions us to create positive change, here and around the world. Our University community shares a profound sense of social responsibility, a drive for international development, and an obligation to address global issues.

Application Process

Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae and the names of two referees in a single PDF to the AVP, Graduate Studies c/o ogsadmin@uoguelph.ca. The deadline for receipt of applications is May 3, 2021.

Ben Bradshaw, Assistant Vice-President
Graduate Studies
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON N1G 2W1

Email: ogsadmin@uoguelph.ca

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

The University recognizes that applicants may have had obligations outside of work that have negatively impacted their record of achievements (e.g., parental, elder care, and/or medical). You are not required to disclose these obligations in the hiring process. If you choose to do so, the University will ensure that these obligations do not negatively impact the assessment of your qualifications for the position.

The University of Guelph resides on the ancestral lands of the Attawandaron people and the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and we offer our respect to our Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Métis neighbours as we strive to strengthen our relationships with them.

At the University of Guelph, fostering a culture of inclusion (https://uoguel.ph/ox2p9) is an institutional imperative. The University invites and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in employment, who may contribute to further diversification of our Institution.

If you require a medical accommodation during the recruitment or selection process, please contact Occupational Health and Wellness at 519-824-4120 x52674.