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Dean, College of Nursing

University of Kentucky
locationFayette County, Lexington, KY, USA
PublishedPublished: 10/8/2025
Nursing
Full Time

Job Title
Dean, College of Nursing


Requisition Number
FE04601


Working Title

Department Name
89000:Provost


Work Location
Lexington, KY


Type of Position
Faculty


Position Time Status
Full-Time


Tenure Track Status
Tenure Track


Required Education

The academic credentials and record of scholarly achievement that merit the rank of a Professor with tenure in a discipline represented within the College of Nursing. An earned doctorate (DNP or Ph.D.) in nursing.



Required Related Experience

A track record of progressive and successful leadership in education, research, service, and administrative management.



Required License/Registration/Certification

N/A



Job Summary

The University of Kentucky is seeking a visionary leader to serve as Dean of the College of Nursing. As the chief academic officer of the College, the Dean of Nursing reports directly to the Provost of the University and is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the College of Nursing. Working with faculty, staff, students, donors, alumni, and college leaders, the Dean will actively oversee and lead the College’s academic, research, human resources, and clinical activities. The Dean will work to advance clinical, research, and educational programs of the College while promoting academic, research, and clinical initiatives with University and community stakeholders and serving as a senior leader within the University of Kentucky.

The new Dean must come to the role ready to lead and inspire the University of Kentucky’s College of Nursing’s exceptional community of scholars and learners. The successful candidate will bring outstanding qualifications of scholarly contributions, success in foundational administrative roles, a visionary approach, and enthusiasm for broad collaboration to develop and deliver educational, research, and clinical programs and initiatives of the highest quality congruent with the College of Nursing goals.



The Dean, in collaboration with others, will further advance the College of Nursing’s vision, visibility, and reputation, by building upon existing successes while identifying new opportunities for accomplishment.
▪ Identifies and enlists key influencers to act as change agents, involving them in designing and delivering change;
▪ Communicates and creates action around new norms as they evolve within the College; and
▪ Adapts change plans/influence strategies to the organization’s political realities and constraints



The Dean will create, inspire, and sustain a cohesive and high-performance team culture, demonstrating an open, accessible, and transparent leadership and communication style, building upon previous successes, and positioning the College for continued achievement.
▪ Delegates authority and accountability to the team to achieve strategic objectives while ensuring faculty, staff, and students are held to consistent College standards;
▪ Passes leadership responsibilities down through the organization, ensuring alignment with the overall strategy and direction;
▪ Sets up forums or practices to reinforce independent and open communication among faculty, staff, and students; actively seeks and accepts feedback, both positive and negative, and seeks to understand its basis;
▪ Gives the team broader visibility inside the organization, including publicly recognizing its accomplishments; and
▪ Offers team members to other parts of the organization (e.g. UK HealthCare) where they can be most useful

The Dean will establish credibility as a well-respected, high-impact leader able to foster collaboration and build relationships across programs, centers, and constituencies within a complex environment of higher education, research, and service.
▪ Builds partnerships across the University of Kentucky to address organization-wide challenges or opportunities;
▪ Creates an environment that encourages collaboration and mutual respect across all levels; and
▪ Systematically builds support at multiple levels and across groups to achieve alignment, acknowledging differences in interests

The executive search firm of Greenwood Asher & Associates (GAA) has been selected to recruit for this position. To be considered, you must complete the UK application and contact GA&A through:

Julie Schrodt, Senior Executive Search Consultant: julieschrodt@greenwoodsearch.com

Jeremy Duff, Vice President of Executive Search: jeremyduff@greenwoodsearch.com

Review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.



Skills / Knowledge / Abilities

▪ A high degree of personal and professional integrity and credibility.
▪ A consummate leader with drive, vision, and personal touch.
▪ A consensus builder who can resolve conflict while advancing institutional strategies.
▪ Flexible and creative yet results-oriented; able to prioritize and willing to hold others and self- accountable regarding commitments and goals.
▪ A believer in transparency and the importance of the individual voice to help form collective decisions.
▪ An articulate, engaging, and personable interaction style, with interpersonal and communication skills to engage effectively across academic, clinical, and community settings.
▪ A leader with an appreciation for the unique health care challenges in Kentucky.
▪ Highly energetic and able to thrive in a fast-paced and highly engaged environment.
▪ Passionate about the mission and service ethic, with a desire to treat others with respect and professionalism, aligned with the College’s commitment to excellence in nursing education and service.
▪ Sound judgment in assessing people and opportunities.



Does this position have supervisory responsibilities?
Yes


Preferred Education/Experience

An earned doctorate in nursing.

A record of outstanding personal scholarship and achievement.
▪ Consistent with the rank of tenured full professor.

Ten years of progressive academic leadership experience, preferably in a large, complex, and high-performing academic health care and research environment.
▪ Ideally, in the role of dean, associate or vice-dean, department chair, or equivalent leadership position.

Evidence of implementing and achieving growth.
▪Experience in modeling, forecasting, and implementing growth plans for new students, faculty, and staff positions, and increasing program size.

Clear evidence of creating academic practice partnerships.
▪Able to build an academic portfolio through collaborative academic and clinical partnerships across disciplines.

Clear evidence of experience sustaining and growing institutional research portfolios commensurate with a leadership role in an R1 university.

Strong negotiation skills.
▪ Experience with capital projects and space allocation viewed favorably.


Demonstrated experience and success in developing external sources of support.
▪ Experience cultivating external relationships to support institutional advancement, including philanthropy and donor relations. A history of developing inter-institutional and national partnerships.



Deadline to Apply

Open Until Filled
Yes


Our University Community

We value the well-being of each of our employees and are dedicated to creating a healthy place for everyone to work, learn and live. In the interest of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our students, employees, patients and visitors, the University of Kentucky is a Tobacco & Drug Free campus.

The University follows both the federal and state Constitutions as well as all applicable federal and state laws on nondiscrimination. The University provides equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status or whether the person is a smoker or nonsmoker, as long as the person complies with University regulation concerning smoking.

Any candidate offered a position may be required to pass pre-employment screenings as mandated by University of Kentucky Human Resources. These screenings may include a national background check and/or drug screen.