Dean, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Pratt Institute (Pratt) seeks an innovative, strategic, and galvanizing leader to serve as the next Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences (SLAS or the School). This is an exciting opportunity to join a forward-looking community passionate about student success, creative making, research, scholarship, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Reporting to the provost, the Dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of the School and will join a cohort of Deans and leaders across Pratt who are shaping the future of the Institute. A strong advocate for the significant learning and habits of mind fostered by study of the liberal arts, the next Dean will advance the work of the School through collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders. The Dean will elevate and support the disciplines taught in the School and will identify and act on the distinctive opportunities that Pratt presents for collaboration across the liberal arts disciplines, and across the liberal arts and the fields of art, design, architecture, and information.  

Founded in 1887, Pratt is a long-time leader in education for the creative sector, enrolling over 5,000 students across its schools of Architecture, Art, Design, Information, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Continuing & Professional Studies. The School of Liberal Arts and Sciences comprises five departments (History of Art and Design, Humanities and Media Studies, Math and Science, Social Science and Cultural Studies, and Writing), offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the history of art and design, writing, critical and visual studies, and media studies. The School also offers a number of disciplinary and cross-disciplinary minors, and every undergraduate student at Pratt takes a required General Education curriculum offered through SLAS. The School has also nurtured the development of centers for faculty research (including the Center for Material Science, STEAMplant Initiative, Center for Critical Discard Research) and provides essential academic support through the Writing and Tutorial Center, and through programming for English Language learners, which has largely been integrated into the formal curriculum. SLAS has 63 full-time and approximately 230 part-time faculty. They are distinguished researchers, scholars, and writers in their fields, and over the last two semesters they taught nearly 28% of all credits offered at Pratt. The School’s total budget is approximately $16.4M.  

The Dean will build upon the School’s longstanding strengths to shape its future in ways that are both strategic and sustainable. The Dean will be committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, and to strengthening student success. Understanding the rigorous blend of studio and academic cultures that makes Pratt so distinctive, the next Dean will work with department chairs, faculty, and others to develop a data-informed understanding of how to develop teaching, learning, curriculum, and research / creative practice in ways that respond to the richness of Pratt’s environment. The Dean will know how to allocate existing resources to support this work and will partner with Institutional Advancement to generate support for continued growth of the School. The Dean will work closely with the Institute’s senior academic leadership to further both the mission and vision of SLAS and to establish and implement Institute-wide priorities. 

The SLAS Dean will bring an inclusive and collaborative leadership style that inspires faculty, students, and staff to develop a shared, forward-thinking vision for the future. Candidates for this position will hold a terminal degree in a relevant field, and will demonstrate a track record of research, creative practice, or significant equivalent professional activity appropriate for appointment as a tenured faculty member. The expected salary range for this position ranges from $225,000 - $265,000 depending on circumstances including an applicant’s skills and qualifications, certain degrees and certifications, prior job experience, training, and other relevant factors. 

A search committee of Pratt faculty, staff, and academic leaders has been formed to conduct the search. Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. Inquiries, nominations, referrals, and CVs with cover letters should be submitted below. Electronic submission of materials is strongly encouraged.

Ben Tobin is leading this search with Steph Simon and Alaine Small. 

Pratt Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and recognizes and values the benefits of a diverse workforce. At Pratt Institute, diversity is represented by a mosaic of individuals from a variety of races, ethnicities, religions, gender expressions, sexualities, geographic backgrounds, cultures, ages, abilities, and socioeconomic groups. As a leading college of art and design devoted to a creative learning community, Pratt recognizes the strength that stems from a diversity of perspectives, values, ideas, backgrounds, styles, approaches, experiences, and beliefs. Pratt is situated on Lenapehoking, the traditional and unceded homeland of the Lenape people. Learn more about Pratt’s Living Land Acknowledgment.