In the Business of Success.
Dean
THE LOCATION
Located on a 37-acre wooded campus in suburban River Forest, Illinois and just ten miles west of downtown Chicago, the Brennan School of Business at Dominican University provides students and alumni both an
accessible and welcoming location and superb access to a wealth of business opportunities.
The village of River Forest is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park. The significant architectural designs located in River Forest include the Winslow House by Frank Lloyd Wright. Nationally renowned for its architecture since construction began in the early 1900s, the Dominican campus was designed by famed architect Ralph Adams Cram, who also drew the plans for Princeton University, West Point Military Academy, and Chicago’s landmark Rockefeller Chapel. Dominican’s campus, which includes the Priory Campus located approximately half a mile east of the main
campus, has maintained its signature Gothic look through expansion over the past century.
Dominican University invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the Brennan School of Business. In 2014, while celebrating 35 years of graduate business education, the Brennan School of Business (BSB) earned accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The Brennan School also holds accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
The Dean reports to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and is responsible for implementing and achieving the mission and goals of the Brennan School of Business, in alignment with the mission statement, vision, and strategic priorities of the University. The Dean is expected to assume office by July 1, 2015.
THE UNIVERSITY
Dominican University is a distinctively relationship-centered community rooted in the liberal arts and sciences. It is known for its rigorous and engaging academic programs, the care and respect with which it mentors students, its enduring commitment to social justice, and the enriching diversity of its students, faculty and staff. Integral to Dominican’s success and distinction is the ongoing exploration, clear expression and shared experience of its Catholic Dominican identity.
Founded in 1901 as St. Clara College in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary, the university began as a women’s college founded on the fundamental values that continue to guide the university today—rigorous education
encouraging diversity of thought, a commitment to social justice, and close mentoring of students. As a Sinsinawa Dominican-sponsored institution, Dominican University prepares students to pursue truth, to give compassionate service and to participate in the creation of a more just and humane world.
With its move to River Forest in 1922, the school became known as Rosary College and rapidly grew its enrollment and programs over the next decades, including adding graduate programs and becoming co-educational. To reflect its stature as a respected, comprehensive and modern university as well as its Catholic Dominican heritage, the college was re-named Dominican University in 1997.
A premier Catholic university, Dominican is repeatedly named among the top master’s-level universities in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report, which also cited Dominican as one of three Illinois schools offering a “best value” education. The University is recognized for academic excellence and its continuing commitment to social justice. While maintaining its core Catholic identity, the university enrolls and mentors students of all faith backgrounds.
Small by design, Dominican is rich in resources and opportunities. The University boasts over 3,400 students and more than 160 full time faculty members. The average class size is 17 and the student-faculty ratio is 12 to 1. University offers more than 50 academic majors, including several pre-professional programs and four graduate schools in library and information science, business, education and social work. Classes are also offered in downtown Chicago, at the Chicago Bar Association and the Metropolitan Library System, as well as internationally.
The University motto of Caritas et Veritas, meaning Love and Truth, is a living reality on a campus where collegiality, collaboration and respect define relationships among faculty, students and staff members. Commitment to these values is further realized through the Caritas Veritas
Symposium, a treasured annual tradition wherein, for one day during the fall semester, classes are suspended so that the entire university can come together to explore the meaning of Dominican’s mission and motto, through formal papers, panel presentations and interactive workshops. Every school and discipline is represented in the day’s program, and each year over 1,000 faculty, staff, students, alumnae/i participate.
Under the strong and steady leadership of President Donna Carroll, Dominican University has outlined
Pathways to Distinction, the second of two five-year plans linked by one vision. It follows upon a plan that exceeded enrollment and fundraising goals. Two overarching aspirations shape the plan—increasing quality internally and building reputation externally. The four priorities of the plan include: Interdisciplinary/Integrative Studies, Global Citizenship, Civic Engagement, and Research and Scholarship. More information about the strategic plan is available at www.dom.edu/sites/default/files/documents/ about/StrategicPlan2.pdf.
The Brennan School of Business
Founded in 1977 and in 2006 named in honor of Edward A. and Lois L. Brennan, the Brennan School of Business is one of the leading small business schools in Chicago. It offers a challenging, values-based environment where students engage with faculty to learn real-world skills and where opportunities are provided to help students advance their careers while making the world a better place. The Brennan School of Business takes pride in producing outstanding ethical business leaders with a global perspective.
Created to fulfill the mission of Dominican University by providing value-centered intellectual development and professional preparation in the business disciplines for motivated students, the Brennan School of Business is committed to providing students with an understanding of the concepts and theories of ethical decision-making as well as numerous opportunities to practice and apply those concepts during their study. This is done through a variety of curricular and co-curricular programs, ranging from case study analyses and service learning courses to student-sponsored lectures and off-campus volunteer programs. The Christopher Chair in Business Ethics enables the business program to place an ever-increasing focus on ethical business practices, through annual lectures, workshops, and other faculty and student initiatives that ensure that ethics are taught and practiced in every part of the curriculum.
Students choose the Brennan School because of its commitment to preparing leaders who will make the world a better place. The small, highly interactive classes are taught by extraordinary faculty with real world experience, and the flexibility of online and evening classes add to the full-time and part-time options. Currently, the Brennan School has approximately 500 students from both the United States and around the world.
The business faculty is comprised of highly qualified academicians and distinguished practitioners who are passionately committed to excellence and rigorous instruction. They ensure that students understand not only business theories but also the practical applications, and they bring the material alive by leveraging their own significant experience in business. The current faculty consists of 20 full time faculty members, five clinical instructors, and approximately ten adjunct faculty engaged throughout the year.
The curriculum takes a broad interdisciplinary approach to business education and reflects the university’s commitment to liberal arts and professional learning. A primary purpose of the business program is to prepare graduates to have an understanding of ethical precepts and a commitment to socially responsible behavior. Through its international business curriculum and programs, the Brennan School of Business also supports and extends the university’s dedication to cultural and ethnic diversity. Finally, the Brennan School of Business supports the university’s goal of graduating intellectually curious and engaged students who will carry
with them an enthusiasm for lifelong learning as cultural traditions and the professional environment constantly change and evolve.
Undergraduate students can earn the BS in Accounting, BA/BS in Business Administration, BA in Economics, and BA in International Business, as well as minors in Accounting, Business Administration, and Economics. In addition, qualified students may also complete the bachelor’s degree and the Master of Business Administration degree in a total of five calendar years. Graduate programs at the Brennan School of Business include both the Masters of Business Administration and the Masters of Science in Accounting. In addition, Brennan offers the MBA in distinctive combinations with the MLIS, the JD, and the MSW and draws students from across the country to its unique program in dietetics (MBA/RD). This program is offered in conjunction with Dominican University’s Nutrition Sciences Department, which prepares students to become Registered Dietitians and take on leadership roles in dietetics, food science, healthcare and other nutrition-related industries.
Signature programs that engage students outside of the classroom include:
• Annual Ethics and Leadership Lecture organized by the Christopher Chair in Business Ethics
• Annual Edward A. Brennan Forum on Corporate Governance
• U.S. Bank Center for Economic Education
• Center for Global Peace through Commerce
• Entrepreneur’s Boot Camp
The academic program is designed not only to help students learn business concepts but also to prepare them for success throughout the course of their
professional management careers. Towards that end, the faculty has articulated academic goals and objectives that enable the students in the Brennan School of Business to expand their knowledge and to develop the tools for managing companies and organizations in an ethical manner with consideration for all stakeholders. These goals seek to ensure that Brennan School graduates will appreciate the ethical foundation of effective long-run business decisions and promote social responsibility and ethical leadership in managerial decision making; communicate effectively in written and verbal formats; utilize technology and electronic learning to address business applications; utilize quantitative and analytical methods as well as critical-thinking skills in business applications; and utilize a global perspective in the evaluation of contemporary business issues.
Leadership Agenda for the Dean of the Brennan School of Business
Capitalizing on the momentum from the AACSB accreditation process and the recognition it brings, the Dean will provide leadership, energy and vision to guide the Brennan School of Business through ongoing growth and change as it realizes the aspiration to be a leading small-school provider of business education in the competitive Chicago-area market.
Help the Brennan School of Business define its uniqueness in this marketplace.
• The dean will develop and implement a plan to articulate the distinctive characteristics of a Brennan School education, to raise its visibility, and to develop and to claim the Brennan School’s distinctiveness in the marketplace.
• The dean will give leadership to providing students with an enduring foundation in business and leadership skills and an understanding of the best in current business practices resonant with the University’s core values of Caritas et Veritas by educating the next generation of leaders to have impact with integrity.
Strengthen connections with Brennan School alumni and build partnerships with businesses and industry in the greater Chicago area and beyond.
• The dean will leverage the commitment of the Business Advisory Board and other existing relationships and will cultivate new ones to increase engagement and expand opportunities for internships and employment for Brennan graduates in the greater Chicago area.
• S/he will build strategic partnerships nationally and internationally to expand the global footprint of the Brennan School of Business and to prepare students for careers in a global economy.
In partnership with President Carroll, represent the Brennan School of Business and Dominican University in the community to raise visibility, awareness, and support.
• As part of an integrated funding model, the dean will pursue increased opportunities for fundraising, student recruitment, experiential learning opportunities and employment.
Support and enhance the commitment of the Brennan School and of Dominican University to diversity.
• The dean will support and develop initiatives that foster excellence and capitalize on an intercultural, multi-faith, multi-ethnic community and on Dominican’s identity as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).
• The dean will embrace interfaith understanding as a value, a necessity in the international marketplace, and a hallmark of the Brennan School of Business.
Work in collaboration with the Office of Graduate Admission to build graduate enrollments.
• The dean will survey market needs to inform the development of programs that foster the values that inspire and distinguish the Brennan School of Business. Continue growth and innovation, building a vision for the next generation of business education at the Brennan School of Business.
• The dean will provide a vision for the next generation of Brennan students, developing timely and relevant programs and exploring the most effective us of alternate delivery modes in providing programs to the diverse constituencies of the Brennan School of Business.
• The dean will build on the Catholic Dominican mission and values of the Brennan School of Business to expand the School’s footprint and bring these values into the workforce.
Required Qualifications
The successful candidate will hold the Ph.D. in a field relevant to one of the programs represented in the School, bring progressive and effective administrative experience in an academic environment, and demonstrate the capacity to understand, embrace and champion the mission and values of the Catholic Dominican intellectual tradition that distinguish the Brennan School of Business and Dominican University.
Desired Experience and Attributes
• Understanding of leadership in a small institution;
• Appreciation for the role of University citizen, as well as leader of the Brennan School of Business;
• Connections to and experience in industry, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally;
• Involvement in the global business environment
• Student centeredness, with an appreciation for – and potential interest in – teaching as a way to understand the essence of the Brennan School of Business and to remain connected to students;
• Expertise and experience with online teaching and learning environments and technology based pedagogy and curricula;
• Understanding of technology and nimbleness using the tools employed in the workplace;
• Commitment to diversity, including interfaith understanding;
• A vision for balancing tradition and history with change;
• Innovation, collaboration, energy, thoughtfulness, ethics, vision, and strength.
• Experience with fundraising
Application and Nomination Process
The University is being assisted by Academic Search, Inc. Applications should consist of a substantive cover letter addressing the qualifications and desired attributes listed above, a curriculum vitae, and a list of at least five professional references with full contact information and a note indicating the nature of your working relationship with each; references will not be contacted without explicit permission from the candidate. Applications, nominations, and expressions of interest can be submitted in confidence to BSBDean@academic-search.com. Applications received by January 15, 2015, will be assured full consideration. Confidential discussions about this opportunity may be arranged by contacting Dr. Andrea Warren Hamos, Senior Consultant, at awh@ academic-search.com or Ms. Marilyn Rhoads Mock, Senior Consultant, at mrm@academic-search.com.
Dominican University is an equal opportunity employer. The University is dedicated to the goal of building a diverse faculty and staff committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. We look forward to a diverse pool of applicants who bring varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.
