Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Employment Type:

Job Profile:

Job Summary:

The School of Veterinary Medicine seeks an empathetic, student-centered leader to serve as the Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs. The Associate Dean provides strategic leadership for academic programs and student‑facing services within the School. Reporting directly to the Dean, the Associate Dean collaborates closely with leadership including Associate and Assistant Deans and Department Chairs. The Associate Dean co-leads the Office of Academic Affairs in collaboration with the Associate Dean for Professional Programs and provides visionary leadership and operational oversight for the student-facing side of the Office of Academic Affairs.

In addition to academic leadership, the Associate Dean oversees a comprehensive portfolio of services that support the professional and personal success of DVM students. This portfolio includes coordination of financial aid and scholarships, student wellness initiatives, accommodation and crisis response protocols, career counseling, externships and summer employment programs, and major student ceremonies including Orientation, the Blue Coat Ceremony, and Commencement. The Associate Dean is a strong communicator and serves as a subject matter expert on student issues, builds collaborative relationships across administrative and academic units, and engages internal and external stakeholders to advance student success. A central responsibility of the role is administration of the DVM admissions program to ensure a fair, equitable, and evidence‑based process. Through these efforts, the Associate Dean plays a pivotal role in shaping the student experience and strengthening the academic excellence of the school.

Key Job Responsibilities:

Provision and coordination of services that support professional student life, including oversight of financial aid and scholarships; class officers and their responsibilities; summer veterinary employment and externship opportunities; career counseling and placement; and student wellness initiatives. Advises students in crisis and develops protocols to meet student needs, including the implementation of appropriate accommodations. 15%

• Provides leadership for one or more academic programs by establishing strategic direction and setting priorities that align with the academic directives of the Dean, and ensures units effectively carry out duties in a way that best supports the university's initiatives, strategic direction, and academic mission; provides direct supervision of department/program leadership and monitors compliance with laws, regulations, university policies and procedures, and relevant contractual obligations 25%

• Builds consensus and develops collegial, collaborative working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, partners with administrative and academic departments to support initiatives, and gathers input from key stakeholders to support recommendations 5%

• Leads special initiatives and/or academic programs that require senior leadership attention with respect to program design, planning, coordination, and interaction with internal and external stakeholders 5%

• Ensures initiatives are effectively using program assessment and data analysis to improve initiatives and strategies, identifies opportunities for improvement, and makes recommendations to the Dean for approval 5%

• Directs on-going assessment and continuous improvement of academic programs and services by guiding the establishment of annual goals, ensuring progress towards goals is met, articulating challenges, and reporting on annual outcomes and achievements for programs/services 15%

• Serves on various university review committees, working with a wide range of constituencies including the Faculty Senate, Deans and Associate Deans, General Counsel, and University Leadership 5%

• Advises and collaborates with the Dean, Assistant Deans, and/or Office of the Provost on critical issues, represents the functional area of supervision at appropriate meetings and events as requested; and serves on and/or leads various program and/or university committees as directed to address issues 10%

Administer the DVM admission to ensure a consistent, fair, and equitable and evidence-based process. 5%

• May exercise supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 FTE or equivalent employees 10%

Department:

Deans Office, Office of Academic Affairs

Compensation:

Minimum: $126,727

Based on qualifications and experience

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years in student-facing roles within educational or academic settings
• Demonstrated experience supervising and mentoring professional staff

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in leadership roles within an educational institution
• Experience managing student affairs within a graduate-level professional program.
• Experience designing or overseeing wellness and mental health initiatives tailored to professional student populations.
• A track record of implementing inclusive excellence frameworks in admissions and student programming

Education:

Bachelor's degree required

Master's degree or other advanced degree in education, or a closely related discipline preferred.

How to Apply:

Please upload a cover letter describing your qualifications and experience as it relates to this position and a current resume.

Contact Information:

For questions about the position, please contact Chad Vezina, chad.vezina@wisc.edu 

For questions about the recruitment process, please contact Nancy Parkinson, nancy.parkinson@wisc.edu 

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.