Shafinaaz Kamrul
Applications are being accepted through April 27 at the human resources office at Pierce College to fill the position of a fourth dean of academic affairs.
The salary for this position ranges from $94,560 to $132,714.
This is also a position that affects the lives of more than 19,000 students who attend Pierce.
“The dean of academic affairs is responsible for a variety of tasks such as the scheduling of classes and meeting with the department chairs to assess student advancement,” said Donna-Mae Villanueva, one of the four deans of academic affairs at Pierce.
According to Villanueva, this position should be offered to a strongly committed person who cares deeply about students’ future. Villanueva herself has been one of the deans of academic affairs at Pierce for the past seven years.
Vice President of Academic Affairs, Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh is trying to reconstruct and reorganize the structure of the department of academic affairs.
The hiring of the new dean is going to have a crucial effect on his plan because the new dean and the qualifications that the person chosen brings with him would be a part of what reshapes the department.
Abu-Ghazaleh said that he is looking for not only a dean of academic affairs but for a person who would help him bring a fresh style for the department.
“The areas of strength of the new dean would be included in the reorganization of the department,” he said.
The person must be able to coordinate leadership projects because this is a complex position that requires working with the different departments and supporting not only the college but the entire faculty and student body said Abu- Ghazaleh.
“This is an important post because the department of academic affairs is responsible for all the educational and instructional activities of the college,” he said.
The dean of academic affairs is one of the faculty members who connects the institution itself to the students.
This is why experience in meeting student success needs is a desirable qualification for the applicant.
“I need someone who can build strong connections with the students and the academic departments,” said Abu-Ghalazeh.
According to the position announcement sent out by the academic affairs department, the person assigned to this position also supervises the recruitment, assignment and evaluation of both the part-time and full-time instructional staff at the college.
Thus, the appointment of this position very closely affects not only the students but also the faculty at Pierce.
Abu-Ghazaleh is looking for a well rounded person who possesses outstanding leadership and communications skills but not essentially looking for a very experienced teacher.
“It has been advertised publicly and I expect we will have applicants from all over the state and possibly from outside as well,” said Abu-Ghazaleh.
A screening committee will review applicants to select the most qualified to be interviewed by the committee.
This is a permanent position not a temporary appointment so it goes through a formal, structured human resources interview process.
The committee, composed of faculty and administrators, will conduct the first level interview then forward the top three candidates to the president, said Abu-Ghalazeh.
The president will then interview the finalists and make the final selection.