Dean of Student and Global Advancement

Dean of Student and Global Advancement

Colby College (“Colby” or “the College”) seeks an accomplished, energetic, and entrepreneurial leader to serve as its first Dean of Student and Global Advancement. Responsible for the oversight of both DavisConnects–a uniquely imagined program focused on ensuring every student, regardless of their financial resources or personal background, has access to at least one internship, research and global opportunity while preparing them for success after Colby–and the Office of Off-Campus Study, this dean will be charged with pushing the boundaries of traditional career preparation, informed by a numerous opportunities and a global perspective, at one of the nation’s premier liberal arts colleges at a time of unprecedented growth and momentum. 

In 2017, funded by a $25-million gift provided by the Davis family and trustee of its charitable foundation, Andrew Davis ’85, LL.D. ’15, DavisConnects was created to explicitly link the College’s penchant for global engagement with its rich tradition of positioning Colby students for success after college. Beyond thoughtful and individualized career preparation skill-building, DavisConnects works with the Office of Off-Campus Study in partnership with other offices to guarantee full funding to any student who wishes to study abroad, it provides funding for global educational and research programs completed by students during the College’s distinctive winter term, and it awards the Davis Global Engagement Fellowships—prestigious awards that catapult the next generation of global leaders to create impact abroad. These new initiatives enhance an already robust study away program for our students as Colby has long been distinguished from its peers by its high rate of study-abroad participation (currently approximately 70 percent) and an international student population that includes students from more than 80 countries.

DavisConnects equips Colby students to shape the world they will inherit after graduation from the moment they arrive on campus. It is one of the College’s premier and signature programs.

Reporting to the Dean of the College, the Dean for Student and Global Advancement will have the intellect, freedom, and ambition to continue evolving DavisConnects into a national model for globally-minded career preparation with expansive experiences that support working and learning in diverse settings and environments. The dean will lead DavisConnects through a period of re-organization; recast the vision and programmatic direction of DavisConnects; identify and recruit high performing staff; establish and sustain networking opportunities for students with companies and organizations throughout the globe; and work closely with faculty to ensure DavisConnects and its initiatives remain tethered to Colby's academic program.

The new dean will also promote the longstanding culture of excellence, collaboration, and creativity that have come to define Colby’s student affairs division while continually harnessing aspirations across the division to create new and exciting opportunities. High priority will be given to the ongoing capacity building necessary to affect this work at scale, as the ambition and reach of DavisConnects continues to grow. 

The ideal candidate will bring energy, vision, and resourcefulness to this critical leadership position. They will also have a sophisticated understanding of the important contemporary pathways to traditional as well as non-traditional careers and bring these understandings and experiences to a dynamic, liberal arts environment.  The full position description can be viewed here.

The Diversified Search Group has been retained to assist in this recruitment. All inquiries, nominations, and expressions of interest will be held in strict confidence and should be submitted electronically to:

Lionel Anderson, Euris Belle, or Stephanie Franklin
ColbyDSGA@divsearch.com
Diversified Search Group
1050 30th Street NW
Washington, DC 20007