Description

Dean

School of Education, American University

Washington, DC

THE SEARCH

American University (AU) seeks a strategic and innovative leader to serve as dean of the School of Education (SOE). Recently independent of the College of Arts and Sciences, SOE offers a wide range of programs aimed at empowering creative, passionate, and critical thinkers to be effective educators and leaders in a diverse and ever-changing world. The next dean will leverage SOE’s many assets—including its unique blend of scholarship and practice as well as its location in the nation’s capital—to further progress the unit into a leading education school. The dean will be aided by a dedicated faculty and passionate staff as well as a record-setting gift endowing the School with resources to bolster its areas of distinction.

In early 2025, the School of Education received the largest gift by any individual donor in American University’s history, providing permanent endowed resources for SOE and establishing an endowed leadership chair. In addition, the gift will bolster areas of distinction, including expanding the School’s community partnerships and interdisciplinary research, and provide scholarship resources to recruit and retain graduate students. As a result of the gift, SOE will be renamed the Linda A. and H. Kent Baker School of Education at a later date in 2026.

SOE is one of eight colleges and schools at AU, a private, student-centered, research university chartered by Congress and established in 1893. Today, AU employs more than 900 full-time faculty members and enrolls approximately 11,300 students from every US state, the District of Columbia, and 126 countries. The R1-level university offers a rich array of undergraduate and graduate programs, including bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in education through SOE.

As the chief executive of SOE, the dean reports to AU’s provost and is responsible for all program and unit activities within the School. The dean provides strategic, visionary, and programmatic leadership to faculty, students, and staff; leads administrative, fundraising, planning, and program-development efforts to build and sustain excellence in operations; and is the principal representative for the School at the AU leadership table and in the Washington DC community. Bringing a deep respect for both the practice-based and scholarly aspects of education, the dean works cooperatively and closely with faculty, administrative staff, other deans, and AU leaders to advance SOE and the university and build on the School’s strong partnerships with formal and informal educational organizations.

AU has retained Isaacson, Miller to assist in the search. All applications, inquiries, and nominations, which will remain confidential, should be directed to the search firm as indicated below.

APPLICATIONS, INQUIRIES, AND NOMINATIONS

American University has engaged Isaacson, Miller for this search. Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be sent in strict confidence to: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/american-university-school-education/dean. Electronic submission of materials is strongly encouraged.

Keight Kennedy, Partner

Jeff Kessner, Partner

Diana Carmona, Senior Associate

Jenny Rubin, Senior Search Coordinator

COMPENSATION

The salary range for this position is $250,000 to $300,000. The President and Board of Trustees reserve the final determination of the selected candidate’s actual pay, considering their experience and qualifications for the role.

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual’s genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in its programs and activities.

This document has been prepared based on the information provided by American University. The material presented in this leadership profile should be relied on for informational purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, the original source documents and information provided by American University would supersede any conflicting information in this document.