Position Description – Vice President and Dean of

Academic Affairs

POSITION DESCRIPTION
Position Title:	Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs	FLSA Status: Exempt
Reports to:	President
Department:	Academic Affairs
Date Prepared:	June 2005

BASIC FUNCTION

The Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs supervises and coordinates the work of seven academic divisions, the Evening and Off-Campus Office, the library, and Trio Programs. The incumbent is also responsible for communicating with the University System of Georgia office on matters involving academics. This primary responsibility of this position is to provide leadership in enhancing the academic quality of the Institution and to ensure that the College conforms to University System policies.

NATURE & SCOPE

The Vice President of Academic Affairs reports to the President of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, who, along with the University System of Georgia Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, assigns work to the incumbent. An annual evaluation of work is conducted by the President. This position has the latitude to consider any courses of action within general College policies, principles, and goals. The incumbent has the autonomy to consider what activities must be undertaken within Academic Affairs in order to achieve the goals of the College.

With a staff and faculty of approximately 185 that the incumbent either directly or indirectly supervises, leadership skills are critical for the Vice President of Academic Affairs. He/She must be able to direct the departments to work toward a common goal for the benefit of the College. He/She must also help shape goals for the individual divisions within Academic Affairs, and these goals must coincide with the overall College goals. The vision necessary for long-term planning is critical to success, as is the ability to execute short-term objectives. Correctly placed confidence in employees helps the incumbent delegate responsibilities, an essential task in order to complete all of the requirements of this position. The incumbent must be resourceful with time and finances, as many divisions of the department require these resources.

Similar to the aforementioned need for leadership skills, interpersonal communicative ability proves invaluable to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. This ability is helpful in leading the department and motivating staff and faculty, but it also plays a key role in the incumbent’s participation in campus-wide and University System of Georgia committees. The ability to articulate the needs and views which he/she represents in an understandable manner which prompts action is imperative to the success of ABAC and the department.

The incumbent must have thorough knowledge of instructional methods, as this position oversees all instruction at ABAC. This includes addressing the concerns of faculty and students and working out acceptable solutions. The incumbent also gives advice to faculty and advisors as necessary.

Position Description – Vice President and Dean of

Academic Affairs

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

Ø Supervises all aspects of instruction at ABAC

Ø Oversees curriculum at ABAC

Ø Conducts all processes related to the hiring of faculty

Ø Communicates with the University System of Georgia office regarding curriculum changes and the System office’s requests for information related to faculty and academic policies and procedures

Ø Represents ABAC’s academic needs and views at various University System of Georgia committee meetings

Ø Supervises the budgets within Academic Affairs

Ø Communicates with or for the faculty and supports their activities

Ø Evaluates the performance of the administrator of academic units on an annual basis

BUDGETARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Vice President of Academic Affairs supervises the budget of the Academic Affairs office (approximately $200,000) and indirectly the budgets of the other academic units (approximately $9.7 million).

SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

This position requires an advanced degree and over ten years of experience. The Vice President of Academic Affairs is required to have a thorough understanding of the University System of Georgia’s academic policies and procedures and the guidelines for accreditation set forth by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.