Job description

Position Overview:

The Associate Dean of Student Life at Duke Kunshan University serves as core part of the leadership team for the Office of Student Experience (DKU’s nomenclature for Student Affairs). S/he is responsible for strategic leadership for the functional unit of Student Life (comprised of Residence Life, Campus Engagement, and Student Conduct) that serves all undergraduate and graduate students. S/he collaborates closely with University Housing and Campus Services (separate units under University Operations) and other units of Student Experience to ensure a safe, supportive and development-centered living environment that is conducive to student learning and growth. S/he creates a living-learning community that promotes academic success, student engagement, self-responsibility, diversity and inclusion. The Associate Dean provides direct supervision, training and evaluations of Assistant Directors for Residence Life and Campus Engagement and the Senior Coordinator of Student Conduct and maintains strategic leadership and oversight of these reporting units. This position requires service on and coordination of the senior leadership on-call duty rotation and responds to critical issues and emergencies as they occur. S/he also has a dotted-line supervision of the Senior Coordinator of Leadership Programs and student leadership development initiatives. S/he is a central part of the Student Experience Leadership Team (SELT) for the Office of Student Experience.

 

Reports to:

Dean of Student Experience

 

Essential Duties:

All areas of Student Life:

1.         Provide comprehensive leadership to Student Life departments by overseeing the budget, developing and monitoring the Student Life strategic plan, and assessment of key Student Life commitments.

2.         Serve on the University CARE Team and Accommodations Review Committee to assess weekly reporting and support for at-risk students due to physical, mental, personal, or academic challenges.

3.         Lead scheduling and coordination of SEOD (Student Experience on Duty) staff for shift coverage of community emergencies, and serve in rotation as Student Life Leadership Duty (SLLD).

4.         Identify broader initiatives that enhance the quality of student experience or that are responsive to student needs.

5.         Support and serve as a dotted-line supervisor to the Sr. Coordinator of Student Leadership Programs, working closely to ensure leadership initiatives align with residence life and student clubs and organizations.

Residence Life:Senior oversight of residential community staffing, programs and activities to support and promote student growth and development:

1.         Collaborate with University Housing Operations, Campus Security, Counseling and Wellness Services and Student Health to maintain a safe, secure, healthy and positive living environment that enhances student learning and development.

2.         Propose and develop policies and procedures for Residence Life.

3.         Counsel and resolve student issues related to personal, interpersonal, academic or mental health challenges and make counseling referrals when deemed necessary.

4.         Direct responses to student crisis situations as needed.

5.         Assess risks for all programs and activities organized by staff.

6.         Participate in the design, program planning and preparations for future phases in residential complex planning and development as the campus grows to 2,200 undergraduate residential students.

Student Conduct: Oversee and direct the University’s student conduct process:

1.         Responsible for operationalizing every aspect of the student conduct process, with attention to Chinese MOE policy compliance and with sensitivity to US Federal HED standards.

2.         Investigate, evaluate, and counsel students on disciplinary issues.

3.         Train conduct board members on their roles and responsibilities.

4.         Educate the community regarding the University’s behavioral expectations for students.

5.         Ensure that cases of alleged misconduct are assigned to appropriate adjudicators, sanctions are designed to be equitable and educational relative to upholding community standards and policies, and the conduct process serves to improve and reinforce a safe and respectful campus community.

6.         Review and update the Student Handbook annually to ensure all policies and practices are articulated.

Campus Engagement: Senior oversight and supervision of Campus Engagement and the Assistant Director of Campus Engagement, including:

1.         Vision, planning, and execution of major annual programs (Orientation, First Year Experience, Clubs and Arts Fair, Campus Activity Board, and Arts and Music Festival, Leadership Awards)

2.         Serve as co-advisor to the Student Leaders’ Board.

3.         Advise and help to implement structures and policies that foster a robust and supportive environment for student organizations, clubs, and leadership activities.

4.         Perform other duties as assigned.

5.         University employees' job responsibilities will continue to expand in scope and depth as the University grows in size and complexity in its programs.

Skills & experience

Required Qualifications:

1.         Master’s degree in student affairs, higher education administration, counseling or related fields.

2.         At least 10-15 years’ professional work experience in higher education administration roles, with at least five years of progressively responsible managerial or professional-level experience in student life.

3.         Fluency in English.

4.         Intercultural competency demonstrated by having lived, worked, or studied in an international, cross-cultural setting with excellent communication skills.

5.         Commitment to supporting an innovative, living-learning community through academic support and co-curricular programs and activities.

6.         Experience in having lived and worked in a US-HED residence hall model.

7.         Experience in having supervised, and/or provided training to resident assistants, other student assistants and full-time student affairs staff.

8.         Crisis management experience, including working with or supporting students who have mental, emotional, and physical health challenges.

9.         Possess excellent interpersonal skills in working with student groups, campus committees, and/or as an advisor to group(s), and/or chairs of committee(s).

10.     Experience in establishing and writing policies and procedures.

11.     Ability to think critically and equitably, demonstrating wisdom, discretion, and transparency in dealing with complex situations.

12.     Experience in organizational planning skills and budgeting.

13.     Ability to utilize current technology and residential life-related software for communication.

14.     Experience in learning outcome assessments for evaluation and improvement of residence life programs and workshops.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

1.         Earned Doctorate (Ph.D. or Ed.D.) in student affairs, higher education administration, counseling or related fields.

2.         Desire to work in a team-oriented, dynamic, fast-paced, diverse environment.

3.         Fluency in Chinese.

4.         Experience with or extensive knowledge of the higher education systems in China or US-foreign joint venture contexts.