Friends University is inviting applicants for a key senior leadership opportunity as dean of its College of Adult and Professional Studies (known on campus as CAPS). The position will become vacant due to the current dean’s intention to retire in the summer of 2010.

THE UNIVERSITY and THE CITY
One of the largest independent institutions of higher learning in the state, Friends University is a successful university located just west of downtown Wichita, in the heart of Kansas. The University’s 54-acre main campus is in a park-like setting in a quiet residential area of Wichita.  In addition to the main campus in Wichita, the University operates permanent Centers in the state’s capital city, Topeka, and in Lenexa, a suburb of the greater Kansas City area, as well as in numerous outreach sites across the state and selected programs that are online. The University currently enrolls approximately 3,000 students. Enrollments have nearly doubled over the last 10 years. Classes are small, ranging in size from as few as 10 to a maximum of 50. The student population is diverse, representing a variety of cultures, backgrounds, ages and states.

The City of Wichita combines the benefits of an urban center with a “small-city feel.” The metro area of some 500,000 persons offers rich opportunities to experience the arts, music, theater, education, sports, world-class restaurants and excellent shopping. The cost of living is well below the national average. In 2006, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Wichita ninth of 10 in U.S. big cities in which to live and in 2008, MSN Real Estate ranked Wichita first on its list of affordable, “best, livable, cities.” In June 2009, Wichita was recognized for the fourth time as an “All American City.”

Founded in 1898, by the Society of Friends (Quakers), Friends University provides a welcoming and supportive environment for both traditional and adult students. In the 1930s, governance of the University was vested in an independent Board of Trustees, and the University now operates in an amicable but independent relationship with the founding denomination. The University’s Quaker/Christian heritage continues to shape its ethos, values and mission. Long known for the excellence of its academics and its programs in the fine and performing arts, the University has also gained an excellent reputation for the quality of its professionally oriented programs such as business, education and family therapy.

Friends University is organized into three colleges: the College of Adult and Professional Studies; the College of Business, Arts, Sciences, and Education; and the Graduate School, each under the leadership of an academic dean who reports to the vice president of Academic Affairs.

• The College of Adult and Professional Studies enrolls some 1,200 adult students in its Program for Adult College Education and in degree completion programs that are specially geared toward working adults who are seeking their first degree. Bachelor’s degrees are presently offered in Business Management, Computer Information Systems, Accounting, Human Resource Management and Organizational Management and Leadership along with associate degrees in General Studies and General Business. General education and elective courses are also offered to help students fulfill graduation requirements.
• The College of Business, Arts, Sciences and Education enrolls about 1,000 students in the academic divisions of Business and Information Technology, Education, Fine Arts, Natural Science and Mathematics, Religion and Humanities, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.
• The Graduate School enrolls approximately 650 students in professional, master’s degree programs in Business Administration, Family Therapy, Teaching, Health Care Leadership, Management Information Systems, Christian Ministry, Organization Development, Operations Management, Business Law, Environmental Studies, and Leadership and Management.

The University has maintained a commitment to the liberal arts simultaneous with its support for working students throughout its more than 110 year history. The University developed its first program especially for adult undergraduates in the late 1980s. In 2003, the University organized its undergraduate programs for non-traditional, working, students into a separate college that is dedicated to understanding, supporting and meeting the needs of working adult students; providing high quality programs that will prepare them to excel in the world of work.

Dr. Biff Green has been serving since 1991 as the University’s 12th president. Dr. Green oversees the operation of the University with the help of five vice presidents who are responsible, respectively, for academic affairs, finance and administration, university relations, student affairs, and marketing and strategic growth. The President’s Cabinet is comprised of the five vice presidents, the academic deans of the University’s three colleges, three associate vice presidents, the directors of Lenexa and Topeka Education Centers, and the athletic director.

Dr. John Yoder has served as vice president of Academic Affairs since 2002. During his tenure the University has reorganized into the present three-college structure utilizing three distinct educational models that are based on the University’s three broad student populations. Under his leadership the University has adopted a learning-oriented, quality path to continuing institutional improvement and accreditation including acceptance as an AQIP school by North Central Association’s Higher Learning Commission. He has assembled a strong academic leadership team composed of the college deans, two associate vice presidents and several directors of special offices and centers. Together with the University faculty, this group sparks a visionary, entrepreneurial and relational approach to leadership that is moving each of the colleges forward in serving the students in their respective colleges.

Faculty oversight of academics is exercised, under the leadership of the respective college dean, through college-level committees and the Academic Councils of the respective college. Overall oversight and coordination of academic matters is provided by the Academic Cabinet and the VPAA. The Academic Cabinet is chaired by the VPAA and is composed of faculty and academic leadership from each of the colleges. University-level coordination of academic administration occurs in the Deans Council.

STRENGTHS
The CAPS dean will join a university and a college with notable strengths in a variety of areas. These include:

• A College that is completely dedicated to serving adult students;
• A University with a long history of serving working adults along with a strong commitment to excellence in academics, the performing arts, athletics and professional programs;
• Experienced faculty and staff in key leadership roles;
• An institutional outlook that encourages individual creativity and entrepreneurship while fostering scholarship;
• A university that is fiscally stable;
• A strong, stable and collegial faculty and staff dedicated to providing outstanding support, service and programming for adult students from diverse educational and social backgrounds;
• Class sizes and structures that promote strong relationships between students and between students and faculty;
• A welcoming culture where friendships are easy to make and maintain;
• An inclusive community that honors its Quaker heritage while embracing diversity in its students and employees;
• A region that values higher education with some 12 colleges and universities within a 60-mile radius of Friends University;
• An attractive and well-maintained campus.

OPPORTUNITIES
Major opportunities for the next Dean of the College of Adult and Professional Studies (CAPS) will be to:

• Lead the College to its next level of distinction by a continuing focus on improvement of student learning and engaging the faculty in systematic program review;
• Support expanding marketing and enrollment management initiatives in CAPS both internally and externally;
• Work with the faculty and external constituencies to research and develop new programming opportunities that will lead to growth;
• Support and promote emerging online programming initiatives by the College;
• Provide leadership that will continue to move CAPS forward in recognition and visibility within the State and the Region as a center of best practice and excellence in undergraduate education for non-traditional students.

EXPECTATIONS
Friends University seeks a Dean of the College of Adult and Professional Studies (CAPS) who will:

• Oversee development, strategic deployment, and management of curriculum, faculty appointments, and budget for CAPS in collaboration with the vice president of Academic Affairs;
• Work with the faculty and staff of CAPS and University administration to develop and communicate a vision of CAPS as a leading college for adult students and as a key expression of the University’s educational mission;
• Demonstrate an unwavering commitment to student success;
• Promote cohesiveness among the faculty and the programs of the College, recognizing the College’s role as a fulcrum of the University’s academic reputation and stature;
• Seek out and develop new opportunities for CAPS to grow and expand into new programming and service areas for adult students in the state and the region;
• Support marketing and student recruitment initiatives and promote CAPS to the external constituencies of the college;
• Represent the broader University vision and goals to the faculty and staff of CAPS;
• Represent and speak for the interests and needs of the CAPS faculty and programs to other internal and external constituencies;
• Develop collaborative relationships with internal and external partners including the deans and faculty of the University’s other colleges, other public and private institutions of higher education, the business community, local and state governments, and not for profit organizations and agencies;
• Cultivate active involvement in appropriate professional organizations at the local, regional and national levels;
• Articulate a commitment to the University’s Quaker heritage and values; engendering mutual respect through openness and collaboration utilizing effective communication and interpersonal skills.

In addition to holding an earned Ph.D. or other terminal degree in a relevant field, the successful candidate will be expected to show:

• A solid record of prior experience with senior level college teaching and academic administration, preferably in adult education;
• Effective organizational, financial management, communication and interpersonal skills;
• Experience with accreditation, outcomes assessment and program review; organizational and fiscal management; and academic administration and teaching at the collegiate level;
• A strong understanding and commitment to adult learners and to the principles and best practices of adult learning;
• Knowledge and experience with planning, accreditation, outcomes assessment, and systematic program review.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES
To be considered, candidates should e-mail academics@friends.edu. Include, as MS Word or PDF attachments, a cover letter that addresses the opportunities and qualifications listed above, a current résumé, and the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of three references. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. However, for best consideration, letters of inquiry or application should be received by March 8, 2010.

POLICY ON CONFIDENTIALITY
Friends University will respect the complete confidentiality of the application process. The identity, background and interests of the applicant will not be discussed with any third parties prior to the applicant becoming a finalist.

Friends University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.