"Dean of Student Affairs"

Dean of Student Affairs

Division: Student Affairs
Department/Office: Student Affairs, Equity, and Belonging

St. Catherine University's Division of Student Affairs, Equity and Belonging invites applications for a full-time Dean of Student Affairs.

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs, Equity and Belonging, the Dean of Student Affairs provides leadership, management, and direct supervision for key areas of student life, including Campus Life, Residence Life, the Health and Wellness Center, and the Counseling Center. The Dean supports students across all three colleges-the College for Women, the College for Adults, and the Graduate College-and works collaboratively with the Dean of Equity and Belonging and other campus partners. This role has on-call responsibilities in the director-level duty rotation.

Responsibilities Include:

• Provide leadership and day-to-day management for Campus Life, including Residence Life, the Health and Wellness Center, and the Counseling Center.
• Ensure programming and services reflect student diversity, support belonging, and enhance student engagement and leadership development programs.
• Supervise and oversee program implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement within assigned units.
• Supervise and support professional development of Student Affairs staff.
• Build collaborations among the many offices and programmes that report to the Dean.
• Develop systematic ways to assess, improve, and renew programmes, benchmarking them against best practices and gathering the data necessary for informed decision-making
• Oversee a comprehensive residential life program, ensuring a supportive, inclusive, and safe living-learning environment.
• Work closely with colleagues to ensure their work is responsive, coordinated, data-driven and closely aligned with the mission of the Division of Equity and Belonging and Student Affairs, the university leadership and its community members.
• Supervise various campus programmes and serve as a liaison between college administrators and student organizations, such as a student government, clubs and societies on campus.
• Develop and implement proactive strategies to support student mental health and overall wellbeing, consistent with the mission and values of the university.
• Work closely with other units to integrate wellness into student life and learning.
• Offers support during student crises by collaborating with key departments while managing interventions.
• Address effectively student concerns regarding residence life, health services, and campus well-being, working collaboratively with cross-campus partners
• Advance efforts to scale innovative, data driven strategies for student wellness at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Serve as a strong advocate for students, both within and outside the university, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are met.
• Foster a psychologically safe and student-centered environment.
• Collaborate with the Dean for Equity and Belonging, academic affairs and other offices and divisions to support and ensure student retention, belonging, and success.
• Participate in policy review and implementation that affect the student experience.
• Develop collaborative relationships with campus managers, staff, faculty, administrators, and community leaders to support strategic initiatives and student support.
• Enrich on-campus life and social engagement for students with different backgrounds. Serve as an approachable leader who earns the trust and respect of students while providing a model of engagement with them for other administrators and faculty.
• Provide effective leadership and guidance when student-related crises occur.
• Manage through campus-level and individual student crisis with equanimity, discretion, and a sense of responsibility and respect for students, families, and the institution
• Work collaboratively to develop and manage the university's response to various student-related crises and is knowledgeable about issues related to confidentiality and federal policy.
• Assist in student crisis response and behavioral intervention planning in collaboration with counseling, health services, and safety personnel.
• Serve on relevant response teams and assist in the resolution of critical student concerns as appropriate.
• Represent the Division of Students Affairs, Equity, and Belonging, on committees and at campus events.
• Contribute to institutional reports, initiatives, and assessment processes as directed by the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs, Equity, and Belonging.
• Emergency/Crisis response may be needed at any hour on 24/7 basis
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Employees at St. Kate's feel a deep connection to the University's Mission and Vision, and they live their values at work. Benefits available to full-time employees include:

• Fourteen (14) paid holidays and paid 'gift' days when the University is closed.
• Free tuition for employees and reduced tuition for their families after one year of service
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 403b retirement plan access
• Accrued sick time

Specific information on all of our available benefits for full-time employees can be found HERE.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Educational Policy and Leadership, Student Affairs/College Personnel/Higher Education Administration, Counseling, Social Work, or related degree
• A minimum of 5 years successful, progressive professional experience in Student Affairs.
• Excellent management and supervisory skills, including experience supervising director-level staff
• Experience in leading a team in collaborative strategic and operational planning
• Demonstrated ability to oversee the development and implementation of effective policies
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement program and project goals, objectives, procedures and work standards
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity and success in working with diverse constituencies to support an inclusive campus environment, and a high degree of accessibility and openness to students;
• Demonstrated knowledge of student development theory and application as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion frameworks and theories, including functional intersectionality.
• Demonstrated ability to build partnerships and promote collaboration within the unit and beyond, particularly as it relates to the interface between student development and undergraduate, graduate and adult education
• Experience in campus crisis management and demonstrated knowledge and understanding of student mental health and well-being issues, student conduct and community standards, higher education case management, and relevant legal issues in higher education
• Exceptional interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively with multiple and diverse constituents
• Proven ability to lead and manage a team of professionals effectively, to make tough decisions when necessary, and to work well with other senior staff;
• Ability to manage multiple budgets
• Exceptional conflict engagement skills
• A consultative, collegial style with the ability to inspire trust in others;

Preferred Qualifications:

• Doctoral Degree (EdD or PhD)
• Administrative experience in multiple areas of student affairs
• Proficient with data, technology, and knowledge of data analytics
• Demonstrated support for staff professional development

Application instructions:

Posting Number: 20220788-STAFF
Posting Start Date: 01/12/2026
Application Deadline: 2/20/2026

To apply, visit https://stcatherine.peopleadmin.com/postings/10517

Compensation: The salary is $106,392 - $148,900.00 depending on qualifications and experience.

The salary range listed reflects a good-faith estimate of what we reasonably anticipate to pay for this position, based on market data and internal equity, at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be determined based on qualifications, experience, skills, and other relevant factors. St. Catherine reserves the right to modify or adjust compensation depending on University needs.