Dean of the Honors College

The University of New Mexico (UNM), the state’s flagship R1 university, seeks a visionary and collaborative leader to serve as its next Dean of the Honors College. This is a distinctive opportunity to lead an interdisciplinary unit known for its premier liberal arts education embedded within a leading research university. The Dean will join an institution committed to inclusive excellence, located in a state with a long and rich cultural heritage that prioritizes advancement, equity, and access. Building upon the College’s deep history, myriad strengths, and unique potential, the incoming Dean will have an opportunity to profoundly influence the future of honors education in New Mexico, across the Southwest, and beyond.

Among the first honors programs at a major public university in the country, the University of New Mexico Honors Program began in 1957 as part of a national movement in American higher education. The UNM Honors Program was then established as a separate Honors College in 2012, and its first cohort was admitted to the new college in 2013. The College aims to provide challenging opportunities for intensive, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural liberal arts education to highly motivated, talented, and creative undergraduates in all majors while building a community of scholars who support each other and encourage mutual intellectual growth. Notably, UNM was home to the first faculty member in the country to be promoted and awarded tenure within an honors program. Today, the Honors College distinctively continues to administer a promotion and tenure process to grant faculty tenure within the College. The incoming Dean will assume leadership of a unit with a groundbreaking history poised for a more significant impact on individual students and on the state.

It is a propitious time to join the UNM community as it embarks on UNM 2040, an innovative and aspirational vision that defines the long- and short-term objectives of the University. In alignment with these ambitious goals, the Dean will ensure UNM’s Honors College continues to be at the forefront of honors education through sustained excellence in teaching, research, and civic engagement on campus and more broadly. UNM, serving almost 27,000 students, is one of only 21 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the U.S. that has a Carnegie Classification of Highest Research Activity (R1). The incoming Dean of the Honors College has the unique opportunity to engage the larger institution and the more intimate Honors College community in exploring and expanding the possibilities of honors education at UNM and beyond. As the institution plays a critical role in educating New Mexico’s residents and driving its prosperity, the Honors College will continue to build a pipeline of talent to support the intellectual and economic development of the state.

To be successful, the Dean of the Honors College will be expected to address the following opportunities and challenges:

• Elevate the presence and impact of the Honors College within UNM and beyond
• Recruit, develop, retain, and inspire talented faculty and staff
• Steward and generate resources with strong financial acumen
• Expand access, offerings, and success for students from across UNM.

The successful candidate will be a creative and inspiring leader with a collaborative and inclusive spirit. They will possess outstanding management and relationship-building skills, a passionate commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a magnetic enthusiasm for honors education.

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 sent below. Electronic submission of materials is required. 

Joe Kralick and Julie Filizetti are leading this search with Silvia Cheng and Katie Pusecker.

UNM is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability, or protected veteran status.