Mississippi State University Hiring for Dean & Professor – Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi, United States Full Time

Position Function:

Applications and nominations are invited for the position of dean
and professor, College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State
University. A land-grant, research extensive institution,
Mississippi State University is in Starkville, Mississippi. For
more information about the university and community visit www.msstate.edu.

The college is fully accredited by the AVMA Council on Education,
the AAALAC’s animal care and use program, the teaching hospital and
clinics by AAHA, and the four-laboratory diagnostic system by
AAVLD, and the B.S. in veterinary technology program by AVMA CVTEA.
The college is comprised of three academic departments supporting
118 full-time tenure and clinical track faculty, 421 veterinary
students, 65 veterinary medical technology students, 70 graduate
students (MS, PhD, and DVM-PhD), and 300 staff. In addition to
faculty and staff located on the main MSU campus, the CVM has
full-time faculty located at diagnostic laboratories in Pearl, the
Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Flowood, an aquatic
research and diagnostic laboratory in Stoneville in the Mississippi
Delta, and at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport.
Students participate at all locations. The college has a
progressive professional curriculum. The first two years consist of
core didactic lectures and laboratories. The final two years
consist of mentored instruction in mandatory clinical rotations and
elective rotations and courses. The client-owned animal caseload in
our CVM campus hospital and Flowood emergency/referral clinic (last
year 28,536 cases; not counting the large animal ambulatory
practice) is complemented by a nationally recognized shelter
medicine program. Students graduating in 2022, completed on-average
73 spays and neuters. The college has a large aquatic animal
program that covers the health and production spectrums of U.S.
farm-raised food fish, fish for food production in developing
countries, and rescue and conservation of critically endangered
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles and bottle-nosed dolphins in the
Mississippi Sound.

MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine is recognized as one of the
world’s four UN FAO Reference Centers for Antimicrobial Resistance
and Aquaculture Biosecurity. The college is the lead academic
institution for the USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for
Fish with currently 20 active projects in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar,
Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, the Pacific Islands, the Philippines,
Peru, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. For more information about the
college visit www.vetmed.msstate.edu.

Candidates for the position must have an earned Doctor of
Veterinary Medicine degree or equivalent and must qualify for the
rank of professor in one of the college’s academic departments.
Graduate degrees, specialty-board certification, and/or
administrative experience with major responsibility in a university
veterinary program are preferred. The dean is the chief executive
officer with administrative responsibility for the college’s
faculty and staff, college budgets (total revenue received for FY
22 was $75.1 M), and overall management of space and facilities. In
the academic mission of the college, the dean reports to the
Provost and Executive Vice President. Through the campus-wide
Dean’s Council, the dean contributes to decisions that affect the
university at large as well as the College of Veterinary Medicine.
As part of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary
Medicine, the dean also reports to the Vice President of the
Division and serves as a member of the Division Council, along with
the Directors of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry
Experiment Station, Mississippi State University Extension Service,
and the Deans of the College of Forest Resources and College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Salary Grade : UC

For salary grade UC, these positions are “Unclassified” and salary
ranges are determined by the hiring department.

Anticipated Appointment Date:

July 1, 2023

Tenure Track Status:

Tenured

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serves as the chief administrative officer responsible for the
accomplishment of teaching, research, and service missions of the
college.
• Oversees all academic programs of the college and encourages the
faculty to continuously improve the college’s undergraduate,
professional and graduate academic programs.
• Fosters an environment conducive to scholarly research
appropriate for degree programs in the college.
• Encourages service activities that are consistent with the
mission of the college.
• Oversees the recruiting, hiring, supervising, and evaluation of
personnel within the college, with a commitment to diversity and
fairness.
• Manages the college’s budget and resources effectively,
transparently, and collaboratively.
• Works with the faculty and staff in establishing and implementing
the mission and strategic plan that will productively guide the
teaching, research, and service activities and decision-making of
the college.
• Values and actively encourages faculty and staff involvement in
periodic reviews and reassessments of the strategic plan.
• Develops, fosters, and maintains positive relationships with
college stakeholders within the University and with those external
to the college.
• Identifies, develops, and strengthens synergistic relationships
with other MSU colleges and serves as an advocate for the
college.
• Develops and strengthens relationships with alumni of the
college.
• Serves as the primary spokesperson for the college in
interactions with local, state, and federal officials and other
leaders to promote the missions of the college and enhance its
stature.
• Oversees and participates in major fundraising initiatives and
activities of the college to acquire the resources necessary for
effective performance of the teaching, research, and service
mission of the college.
• Advocates to the state Legislature for the college’s separately
funded appropriation.
• Ensures compliance with all requirements of the college and
university accrediting bodies.
• Encourages and facilitates faculty and staff development
• Performs related duties as assigned.

The above essential duties are representative of major duties of
positions in this position. Specific duties and responsibilities
may vary based upon needs as they arise. Other duties may be
assigned to the above consistent with the knowledge, skills, and
abilities required for the job.

Minimum Qualifications:

• An earned doctorate in Veterinary Medicine degree (or equivalent)
and a distinguished record of teaching and scholarly activity
commensurate with a tenured professor in one of the college’s
academic departments.
• Demonstrated experience in leading and supervising faculty and
staff.
• Experience in administering a broad range of programs in settings
including higher education.
• Experience in budgetary and academic affairs.
• Experience in securing external funding for research and
educational purposes from private, public, and/or non-profit
sources.

Preferred Qualifications:

Administrative experience equivalent to a department head or
above.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

The dean should have a distinguished record of teaching and
scholarly or research accomplishments; a strong commitment to the
college’s missions of teaching, research, service, and educational
outreach; a demonstrated capacity for effectiveness in academic
management; the ability to foster and sustain an environment that
attracts and retains quality faculty; the vision to encourage
superior teaching, scholarship, research and creativity; an ability
to manage a complex budget; and the qualities needed to lead and
advance the college in the pursuit of academic and research
excellence. The dean must be an effective spokesperson for the
college to state and university officials, to veterinary
practitioners, to the animal agricultural industry, to financial
supporters, and to the animal-owning public. In addition, the dean
must develop and present budget documents to the state legislature
which provides direct funding to the college.
• Proven visionary leader with a record of effective interpersonal,
motivational, and innovative skills.
• Knowledge of accrediting standards pertinent to the college and
ability to interpret and implement applicable standards of
accrediting bodies.
• Effective leadership skills and a commitment to fostering a
supportive environment of faculty development, high levels of
scholarly achievement, and impactful outreach into the public
sector.
• An advocate for the college with excellent interpersonal and
communication skills in working with all constituent groups.
• A strong commitment to excellence in undergraduate, professional
and graduate education, in both teaching and non-teacher
preparatory academic programs.
• Commitment to fostering global partnerships and research
initiatives, in addition to the advancement of international
education among undergraduate, professional and graduate
students.
• Commitment to and experience with faculty governance
practices.
• Commitment to transparency and integrity in
decision-making.
• Ability to represent the college’s diverse education interests
and research strengths to the university, local, regional,
national, and global communities.
• Ability to guide the college to become a diverse, inclusive, and
equitable leading force for its faculty, staff, and students and to
advocate for professionals and constituencies throughout the state,
region, and nation.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity and to continuing programs
to achieve inclusion among faculty, staff, and students, and to
provide services that meet the needs of a diverse population of
students and scholars.
• Ability to formulate and implement strategic planning consistent
with the mission and goals of individual academic and research
units.
• Ability to foster and maintain productive relationships with the
college’s external stakeholders.
• Ability to create and maintain a collegial environment that
fosters excellence of scholarship and learning.
• Ability to raise funds from various sources, including private
donors, foundations, and government agencies.

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

• No unusual physical requirement. Requires limited lifting of
files and records. Work is normally performed in a typical
interior/office work environment.
• Frequent – External imposed deadlines set and revised beyond
one’s control; interruptions that influence priorities; difficult
to anticipate nature or volume of work with certainty beyond a few
days; meeting of deadlines and coordination of unrelated activities
are key to the position; involves conflict-resolution or similar
interactions involving emotional issues or stress regularly.
• Job frequently requires walking, sitting, reaching, talking,
hearing, and handling objects with hands.
• Vision requirements: Ability to see information in print and/or
electronically.
• Hearing requirements: Ability to hear over the telephone and
during a presentation.
• Involves some night and weekend work and travel

Instructions for Applying:

Review of applications and nominations will begin December 1, 2022
and continue until the position is filled. Applications should
include curriculum vitae, address and telephone numbers of five
references, and a statement of the applicant’s administrative
philosophy relating to this position.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Scott Willard, chair,
Dean of College of Veterinary Medicine Search Committee,
[email protected]

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

MSU is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants
will receive consideration for employment without regard to race,
color, ethnicity, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age,
sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, gender
identity, status as a U.S. veteran, and/or any other status
protected by applicable law. We always welcome nominations and
applications from women, members of any minority group, and others
who share our passion for building a diverse community that
reflects the diversity in our student population.

What do I do if I need an accommodation?

In compliance with the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a
disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to
apply for a position with Mississippi State University, please
contact the Department of Human Resources Management at tel: (662) 325-3713 or [email protected] .

If you have any questions regarding this policy, contact the
Department of Human Resources Management at (662) 325-3713 or [email protected] . Upon
request, sections of this job listing are available in large print,
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