Job Title:

Assistant Dean, Retention and Persistence Programs

Job Summary:

The Assistant Dean of Retention and Persistence Programs in the Center for Academic and Student Achievement (CASA) reports to the Associate Dean, Retention and Persistence and provides leadership and direct student support for high-impact initiatives aimed at improving retention, persistence, and graduation outcomes. The primary focus will be to lead and guide strategy and implementation for the following high-impact retention initiatives and programs: Black Achievement Success and Engagement (BASE) initiative, the PACT Mentorship Program, First-Generation Initiatives, and Transfer Student Success efforts. These programs support USF’s mission of inclusive excellence by offering academically challenging, personally supportive, and empowering educational experiences that uplift historically underrepresented, first-generation, and transfer student populations. The Assistant Dean also supports CASA’s broader efforts to respond to trends in continuing student persistence.

The Assistant Dean, in consultation with the AVP/Dean, Student Academic Services, and Associate Dean, Retention and Persistence, works in close partnership with Academic Affairs leadership, the office of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEI), college/school associate deans/deans and institutional research, to monitor student retention trends and co-develop institutional strategies aimed at eliminating equity gaps and supporting timely graduation.

As one of the top universities for ethnic diversity, USF is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging for all students. As a member of the larger staff in Student Life, the assistant dean will support student development in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. The mission of Student Life is to support the holistic well-being, co-curricular development, and academic and professional success of all students within a culture of equity and justice that prepares them to be caring, socially and environmentally responsible citizens of our global and interdependent world.

Full Job Description:

Essential Responsibilities

1. Collect, analyze, and interpret relevant data to determine immediate and long-term strategies to support historically underserved student populations, including Black, first-generation, and transfer students.

2. Provide academic coaching and case management to Marshall-Riley Living-Learning Community students, Black Scholars, and other students as identified through persistence metrics and trends.

3. Develop and maintain campus-wide partnerships to strengthen academic belonging and student success for priority student groups.

4. Collaborate with Academic Affairs—including college/school deans, faculty, institutional research, and academic advisers—to monitor student retention and persistence data, share trends, and co-design institutional strategies to support student success.

5. Represent CASA and related programs (BASE, PACT, FGI) at Admissions events and orientation programs.

6. Lead and support CASA's retention and persistence initiatives in collaboration with the Associate Dean, Retention and Persistence and First-Generation Initiatives Program Director.

7. Manage budgets allocated to specific retention and persistence initiatives as directed.

8. Serve on CASA and University-wide committees and contribute to strategic planning for retention and student success.

Specific Duties

Black Achievement Success and Engagement (BASE) Initiative (70%)

In collaboration with the BASE Senior Director, the Assistant Dean will develop and administer programs to provide Black students with a critical sense of belonging, opportunities for engagement in all aspects of university life and the broader Bay Area community, and the resources, skills, and support necessary to achieve academic excellence and pursue rich and rewarding careers after graduation. 

Leadership

1. Coordinate operational needs of the BASE initiative as delegated by the Senior Director, including but not limited to strategic planning, student triage, program development, etc.

2. Jointly supervise the BASE Program Manager in conjunction with the Senior Director, including management of payroll and annual performance evaluations.

3. Participate in weekly BASE Staff meetings to communicate issues of student concern, enrollment and retention trends, Student Life updates, etc.

4. Assist the BASE Senior Director in data collection and analysis for Black-identified students by developing data tracking systems to identify causes of and risks of student attrition, and aid in the assessment of BASE programs.

5. Collaborate with BASE Senior Director and faculty to develop policies and programs that increase the retention, persistence, and aca