Dean of the Frank J. Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies

Description

Dartmouth seeks an accomplished academic leader to serve as Dean of the Frank J. Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies — the University's central home for graduate education, doctoral programs, research training, and postdoctoral affairs. Reporting to the Provost, the Dean of Graduate and Advanced Studies will lead the strategic, academic, and administrative direction of graduate and advanced studies across Dartmouth's schools and divisions, serving a community of more than 2,000 graduate students and a growing postdoctoral and postbaccalaureate population.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Dartmouth invites applications for the position of Dean of the Frank J. Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies (the Guarini School). The Dean will provide strategic, collaborative, and inclusive leadership for Dartmouth's graduate and advanced studies enterprise, strengthening doctoral programs, graduate education, research training, and postdoctoral affairs across the University. Dartmouth seeks to enhance the quality, breadth, and international reputation of its graduate, postdoctoral, and postbaccalaureate programs. The next Dean will lead this initiative.

As Dartmouth's academic home for nearly all PhD, MS, MA, and MFA programs, as well as postdoctoral scholars and other advanced scholarly training, the Guarini School plays a central role in advancing the University's research mission and educating future scholars, professionals, and leaders. Through centralized oversight and close partnership with Dartmouth's schools, departments, and institutes, the Guarini School promotes academic excellence, innovation, access, and student success. Dartmouth's doctoral programs are concentrated primarily in STEM fields, with master's programs spanning the arts, sciences, engineering, and professional schools.

Reporting to the Provost, the Dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the Guarini School and plays a key institutional role in shaping priorities related to graduate education and research training.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a visionary, decisive, and relational academic leader to serve as Dartmouth's principal advocate for graduate and advanced studies — articulating the essential contributions of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to the University's research distinction, faculty excellence, undergraduate teaching, and broader intellectual community, and translating that advocacy into sustained investment, philanthropic support, and institutional standing.

THE GUARINI SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND ADVANCED STUDIES

The Guarini School provides institution-wide leadership and coordination for graduate and advanced studies at Dartmouth. As Dartmouth's academic hub for graduate education, research training, and postdoctoral and postbaccalaureate affairs, the School oversees nearly all graduate programs across the arts, sciences, engineering, and professional schools, serving a community of more than 2,000 graduate students and acting as the central administrative home for postdoctoral scholars and a growing population of postbaccalaureate and predoctoral fellows.

Supported by a central staff of approximately 14 professionals, the Guarini School works in close partnership with Dartmouth's schools, academic departments, centers, and institutes — including through Dartmouth's Centers and Institutes, which represent significant and underutilized connective infrastructure for interdisciplinary graduate education. The Dean chairs the Council on Graduate Studies — the primary faculty body for graduate academic policy and program approval — and coordinates institution-wide admissions strategy in collaboration with academic units.

The School stewards institutional fellowships, scholarships, and stipend support across programs. It also collaborates with campus partners to advance career and professional development initiatives — including through the GuariniGRAD initiative — that prepare graduate students and postdoctoral scholars for leadership in academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector.

PRIORITIES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND CHALLENGES

The next Dean will lead the Guarini School at a pivotal moment for graduate and advanced education nationally and at Dartmouth — a moment in which the value of graduate education requires active, visible, and compelling advocacy, and in which the structures, identity, and ambitions of the Guarini School must be clarified and elevated. Key priorities include:

Advocacy, Narrative, and Institutional Standing: Serve as Dartmouth's leading internal and external advocate for graduate and advanced studi