Job Description / Duties

THE OPPORTUNITY
Applications are invited for the position of Dean of the Arnold School of Public Health. This position reports to the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. The position is expected to begin on July 1, 2024. Applicants are expected to be tenured, full-time faculty members at the rank of professor and have previous administrative experience.
The Dean will provide strategic vision and operational leadership to all aspects of the academic and scholarly programs, setting priorities for the Arnold School of Public Health and guiding it toward strategic goals of enhancing scholarship, promoting research and community engaged scholarship, and providing excellence in undergraduate and graduate education with a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff.
The Dean is the college’s chief advocate and steward, promoting its goals and achievements, leading its development and fundraising activities, and speaking for its mission of excellence in scholarship, teaching, and service.

Qualifications / Required Skills

The next Dean of the Arnold School of Public Health
will be expected to demonstrate:
• Commitment to excellence, demonstrable
commitment to and experience in research, teaching,
and public health or health-related practice.
• Demonstrable, authentic commitment to student, staff
and faculty diversity and maintaining a climate of
inclusion and well-being in the college.
• Extensive experience working in or leading an
institution in which diversity is an integral part of its
mission and composition.
• Ability to assemble, inspire, and manage highly
effective teams.
• Capacity to understand and support campus
and University of South Carolina policies and
procedures. Sophisticated financial acumen and a
record of successful budget, personnel, and project
management experience.
• Successful leadership experience as an academic
administrator.
• Demonstrated experience with strategic enrollment
management. A record of recruiting and supporting
the success of diverse faculty, staff and students,
ideally in a school of public health, health professions
college, or other health-related academic program.
• A record of collaboration and relationship
management.
• Ability to build consensus and community among
constituents and a commitment to shared governance.
Successful experience establishing and stewarding
collaborative relationships across diverse academic
disciplines and administrative units as well as other
internal, external and non-academic partners,
including community organizations, funding agencies
and other organizations.
• Entrepreneurial orientation and ability to generate
resources via diverse mechanisms, including through
private philanthropy, federal and state agencies, and
corporate or foundation partners.
Strong communication, listening, and interpersonal
skills
• The ability to listen to and learn from others. Capacity
to connect with diverse internal and external
constituencies and audiences to promote the mission
of the Arnold School of Public Health, the University
of South Carolina, the state of South Carolina and
beyond.

Additional Information

Established in 1975 as the 19th CEPH-accredited
school of public health in the nation, the Arnold School
of Public Health (ASPH) at the University of South
Carolina continues to experience record enrollments
with major sustained growth in student enrollments
(~3400 in 2024), state funding for service and outreach
projects, and nationally-competitive research funding
($50.3M in 2023).
The ASPH is now 5th in the US for NIH funding
among schools of public health at state-supported
universities. The School has a broad range of academic
programs, world-renowned areas of research expertise
and far-reaching centers and community programs.
The Arnold School of Public Health is improving
public health by preparing future scholars and the
public health work force through meaningful practice
experiences as well as conducting, translating and
disseminating groundbreaking research findings.
The School’s six departments published more than
760 peer-reviewed journal articles in 2022 and are
home to nationally-recognized faculty, award-winning
programs and students, and impactful research and
community engagement activities.
For the past 10 years, the exercise science program
has been ranked in the US top-5 sports science
programs by the Shanghai QS rankings, with a
robust PhD program ranked as top 3 by the National
Association of Kinesiology for the past 15 years.
In 2000, Columbia business leader Norman J.
Arnold and his wife, Gerry Sue, gifted $10 million to
create an endowment to support the teaching, research
and public education efforts of the School. The Arnold
School became the third named school of public health
in the U.S. and the first at a public institution to have
this honor.
The Arnolds’ dedication to improving health
for all populations is further evident through their
generous continuing gifts to the Arnold School. The
Norman J. Arnold Endowment, established with their
initial gift, supports the Arnold Doctoral Fellowship
program to recruit and support top doctoral students
in the School’s funded research activities. In 2015,
the Arnolds pledged an additional $7 million to
create the Gerry Sue and Norman J. Arnold Institute
on Aging. The new Institute supports a broad range
of center-level activities leveraged with funding,
such as that of the National Institutes of Health, to
address issues across the lifespan such as childhood
obesity prevention, nutrition and food safety, stroke
recovery, and dementia, that affect our most vulnerable
populations—children and the elderly.
The Arnold School of Public Health is the primary
public health research and education resource in South
Carolina with a nearly 50-year history of impact. It is
the only School of Public Health in South Carolina and
as such works closely with our state’s public and mental
health agencies. The School’s work is guided by the

Contact Information

APPLICATION & NOMINATION PROCESS
Confidential inquiries are welcomed, and nominations are invited.
Applications
1) All application packets must include the following:
• A letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and qualifications of the position
• Current curriculum vitae
• At least four references with full contact information including e-mail (References will not be contacted without consent from applicant.)

2) Submit application packet as PDFs to USC-DeanASPH@myersmcrae.com. For best consideration, submit application packet by March 1, 2024. Additional information will be requested upon receipt of application. This position is open until filled.

Nominations
Submit nominations to USC-DeanASPH-nominate@myersmcrae.com with complete contact and e-mail information for the individual being nominated.

Consultants
Jennifer Barfield, Executive Vice President of Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting, is conducting this search with Amira Bevill, Vice President, assisting. Request a conversation regarding this search at jenniferbarfield@myersmcrae.com.

The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities on the basis of race, sex, gender, gender identity, transgender status, age, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, genetics, protected veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

Employer Profile

The primary mission of the University of South
Carolina Columbia is the education of the state’s
citizens through teaching, research, creative activity,
and community engagement. Among America’s oldest
and most comprehensive public universities, the
University of South Carolina Columbia is the major
research institution of the university system and its
largest campus. At the heart of its mission lies the
university’s responsibility to the state and society to
promote the dissemination of knowledge, cultural
enrichment, and an enhanced quality of life.
The University of South Carolina Columbia serves
a diverse population of students with widely varying
backgrounds, career goals, and levels of aspiration.
The University offers more than 320 degrees at the
bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional program
levels, affording students the most comprehensive array
of educational programs in the state. Opportunities
for personal and career development are provided
to the citizens of South Carolina through outreach
and continuing education activities. The University
provides additional opportunities for associate degrees
through Fort Jackson and through the oversight
of regional Palmetto College campuses (Lancaster,
Salkehatchie, Sumter, and Union).

Through classroom and laboratory instruction
delivered in a variety of face-to-face and distance
learning formats and modalities, degree programs
are offered in the following areas: arts and sciences;
business; education; engineering and computing;
hospitality, retail, and sport management; information
and communications; law; medicine; music; nursing;
pharmacy; public health; and social work. The depth
and breadth of its graduate programs distinguishes the
University of South Carolina Columbia from all other
institutions of higher learning in South Carolina.
Recognized by the Carnegie Foundation as a
top research and community engaged institution,
nationally ranked in start-up businesses, and
conferring more than 30% of all bachelor’s and
graduate degrees awarded at public institutions
in South Carolina, the University has a profound
relevance, reach, and impact on the people of the state.
As the flagship institution of the university system,
the University of South Carolina Columbia leads the
way in providing all students with the highest-quality
education, including the knowledge, skills, and values
necessary for success and responsible citizenship in
a complex and changing world through engagement
in nationally and internationally ranked research,
scholarship, community outreach, and artistic creation.