Recruit
Dean of School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences
Position overview
Position title: Dean of the School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences(Note: the successful candidate should hold an underlying prof-AY title)
Application Window
Open date: February 3, 2025
Next review date: Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Tuesday, Feb 3, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
Position description
The Founding Dean, reporting directly to the Executive Vice Chancellor, is the academic and administrative leader of the School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences. The founding units of SCIDS include the Halicioğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI) and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), supported by joint interactions and affiliations with existing Schools and academic departments, including Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Cognitive Science, and Mathematics. HDSI encompasses the academic core of SCIDS, and includes a broad range of Data Sciences undergraduate and graduate programs and research centers.
SCIDS will have strong academic interactions involving all UC San Diego departments and schools supporting the goal of transforming data into knowledge through development of data and information science, advancing innovative computing paradigms and developing new contextual learning algorithms and methodologies that can transform society. SDSC will serve as the operational and translational science core, building on its history as one of the four national Supercomputer Centers established by the National Science Foundation nearly four decades ago, leading the development of high-performance computing and more recently big data and cloud computing.
The Dean is responsible for providing academic, intellectual, and administrative leadership, and will promote inclusive excellence in all aspects of the School’s research, teaching and public engagement missions. The Dean will oversee recruitment of a diverse faculty and staff and will maintain an effective administrative structure to support the School’s programs and activities.
The Dean is responsible for the implementation of strategic plans and program improvement in the areas of instruction; research; public engagement; academic planning; development and management of resources; and articulation of the goals and programs of the School with the profession, industry, and government at the local, state, national, and international levels. The Dean sets school goals; develops long-range plans; promotes high academic standards in instruction and research; promotes the needs of an outstanding diverse faculty and student body; provides leadership assistance to departments in resource and space needs, academic recruitments, and advancement of faculty. The Dean works with campus administration, Academic Senate, and other academic units in the maintenance, innovation, development, and implementation of needed programs; and participates in campus-wide decisions and policy development through service on campus committees.
UC San Diego has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of diversity among its faculty, staff, and students. The Dean is responsible for the recruitment and retention of a diverse community of scholars and further is charged to create an inclusive environment where all can thrive.
The successful candidate will:
• Be responsible for all of the School’s activities in research, education, and administration;
• Provide leadership in the development of new academic initiatives and is instrumental in the review and approval processes for establishment of new departments, graduate and undergraduate programs or degrees, and curricular changes within the School;
• Provide leadership on programs and initiatives that improve student access, experience, and academic success;
• Cultivate partnerships for developing interdisciplinary programs and initiatives with units throughout the university;
• Authorize the initiation of faculty recruitment, including negotiations. Approves faculty start-up packages. Ensures the establishment of appropriate onboarding and mentoring programs for new faculty;
• Maintain provision control of permanent and temporary faculty FTE and Teaching Assistant FTE allocated to the School;
• Review and/or have final authority for many academic personnel actions related to faculty appointments, merit and promotion reviews, or leaves and sabbaticals;
• Serve as the School’s academic affirmative action officer for all academic affirmative action compliance documents;
• Serve as the advocate and champion to the larger campus community on efforts to promote diversity, equal opportunity, inclusion, and the UC San Diego Principles of Community. Responsible for the School’s Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence accountability process and report;
• Be responsible for promoting an environment in which the highest standards of ethical conduct are understood to be a primary responsibility of all members of the School;
• Be responsible for engaging the faculty in enhancing the profile, visibility, and prestige of the School, and for promoting and supporting a positive culture and the sense of collective purpose for the School;
• Cultivate local and national scientific and industrial affiliation and support;
• Initiate proposals and represents the school to extramural agencies for institutional support grants. Provides leadership for UC San Diego’s participation in competitions for large-scale, collaborative interdisciplinary research opportunities;
• Co-supervise the Directors of Development and Communications assigned to the School and works closely with University Advancement to engage alumni and cultivate major gifts in support of the School’s teaching, research, and public engagement programs;
• Be responsible for overseeing the school’s budgetary and space proposals and for the allocation of financial and space resources among the units within the School. Reviews and approves acquisition of infrastructure support for computing and communications. Responsible for overseeing the financial performance of the School including the avoidance of and recovery of overspending within the units of the School;
• Be responsible for short- and long-range planning of minor and major capital improvement projects for the School. Approves requests for renovations and alterations in the School’s space. Serves on Building Advisory Committees of all School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences capital projects, usually as chair;
• Represent the School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences on various General Campus, campus-wide and University- wide committees as designed. Represents the School at the local, national, and international levels.
This search is being managed by Isaacson-Miller; inquiries can be directed to Luciano Zuniga at [lzuniga@imsearch.com], and nominations, referrals and inquiries should be directed to Isaacson-Miller via [https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/university-california-san-diego-school-computing-information-and-data-sciences/dean]. Applicants must also apply and provide the required materials via this posting by March 21, 2025 for maximum consideration.
Qualifications
• An earned doctorate degree or terminal degree in computer science, data sciences, statistics, applied mathematics, or a closely related field.
• A distinguished record of teaching, research, and professional service appropriate for a tenured Full Professor.
• Demonstrated leadership and administrative skills.
• Demonstrated ability and/or experience to direct, mentor, develop, and supervise staff.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive academic excellence and a compelling vision for the future of the School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences.
*While no one person will likely embody all of the professional qualifications, skills, experiences, and personal qualities desirable in this role, the successful candidate will bring many of the following: *
• Possessing outstanding scholarly credentials and broadly recognized national stature.
• A demonstrated commitment to and success in achieving institutional goals for equity, diversity, and inclusion and in establishing a culture grounded in ethical behavior and transparency.
• Demonstrated capability to stimulate stakeholder engagement in new directions, to promote existing resources to the best advantage, and to collaboratively build for the future.
• A demonstrated appreciation of the intertwined research, educational and public engagement missions of a major research university and the interplay between undergraduate and graduate education.
• Demonstrated ability to encourage expression of diverse intellectual interests, foster varied modes of inquiry, and support wide-ranging pedagogical innovations.
• Demonstrated ability to set clear goals and to build a coherent entrepreneurial organizational culture for both scholars and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to engage the School openly and cooperatively. A record of achievement in working with a diverse academic community and creating an inclusive culture.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with promoting excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, academic personnel matters, and research affairs.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and other administrators.
• Demonstrated skill in fundraising, alumni relations, and industry partnerships.
Application Requirements
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter
Statement of Contributions to Diversity - Applicants should summarize their past or potential contributions to diversity. See our Faculty Equity site for more information.
Misconduct Authorization of Information Release - The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in university programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment, UC San Diego requires all candidates for academic appointments to complete, sign, and upload the Misconduct Authorization of Information Release form into AP Recruit as part of their application. If the candidate does not include the signed authorization with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists considered for positions will be subject to an institutional reference check.
https://aps.ucsd.edu/_files/Authorization_Release_of_Information_Form.pdf
The search firm will contact applicants selected to be interviewed to collect their reference information. Results of the findings will be shared privately with EVC Simmons.
Help contact: mbentley@ucsd.edu
About UC San Diego
The University of California, San Diego is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, covered veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.
For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM-20.
For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.
As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.
The University of California prohibits smoking and tobacco use at all University controlled properties.
The UC San Diego Annual Security & Fire Safety Report is available online at: https://www.police.ucsd.edu/docs/annualclery.pdf. This report provides crime and fire statistics, as well as institutional policy statement & procedures. Contact the UC San Diego Police Department at (858) 534-4361 if you want to obtain paper copies of this report.
As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.
Click for more information on Assembly Bill-810
Click for more information on Senate Bill-791
• “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy: [https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000385/SVSH]
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties: [https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination]
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment : [https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-035.pdf]