Dean of Arts and Humanities. New York University Abu Dhabi

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1 Dean of Arts and Humanities New York University Abu Dhabi Search Summary New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), the first comprehensive liberal arts campus to be operated abroad by a major American research university, seeks an energetic, engaged, and exceptional scholar and academic administrator to serve as its next Dean of Arts and Humanities. Located in the United Arab Emirates at a new crossroads of today s changing world, and a critical portal in NYU s Global Network University, NYUAD is looking for a leader to succeed Dean Judith Graves Miller and join an extraordinary team of pioneers engaged in shaping discovery and scholarship for one of the finest and most selective liberal arts colleges in the world. Since its inaugural class was admitted in the fall of 2010, NYUAD has quickly emerged as a center of research, scholarship, teaching, and service. NYUAD is fully integrated with New York University (NYU), one of the largest private research universities in the United States, and is closely linked with the host community in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. NYUAD offers a model of liberal arts and science education, unsurpassed in quality and distinctive in its ability to educate students from every corner of the globe as leaders for the 21st century. NYUAD s leadership team, with which the next Dean will collaborate, consists of academic innovators who excel in such a diverse and dynamic community and who are passionate about the prospects of this fundamentally international educational experience. The Dean of Arts and Humanities will be expected to embrace the significant opportunity to assess and attract exceptionally talented and ambitious faculty, recruit a team of scholar-teachers, navigate the needs and preferences of a top research-intensive university and a small, highly selective undergraduate college, and understand and proclaim the promise of NYU s Global Network University. The Dean must demonstrate a sensitivity, flexibility, and affinity for cross-cultural work and celebrate diversity. We are reaching out to every region and continent in this search for a creative and talented leader who can convincingly articulate the mission and meaning of NYUAD, attract top faculty to enlist in this enterprise, and join Vice Chancellor Al Bloom and Provost Fabio Piano and his team in shaping the global liberal arts campus of the future. NYU and the Global Network University Within the span of a single generation, NYU has evolved from what had historically been a good regional school with a local role in New York to one of the nation s leading research universities. Founded in 1831, New York University hosts 18 schools and colleges at five major centers in Manhattan and in sites in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. Today, NYU s 40,000 students come from every U.S. state and from 133 foreign countries. The faculty totals over 3,100 full-time members, whose research and teaching encompasses the humanities, the sciences, engineering, and the social sciences; the law; medicine; business; education; the fine arts, studio art, and the performing and cinematic arts; music;

2 social work; public administration; the ancient world; and continuing and professional studies. With more than 2,500 courses offered, the University awards more than 25 different degrees. Although overall the University is large, the individual schools and colleges are small- to moderate-sized units each with its own traditions, programs, and faculty. In recent years, NYU has placed particular emphasis on recruitment of an academically distinguished faculty. Among the faculty at NYU, there are Guggenheim Fellows, Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, Abel Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows awardees, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, National Medal of Science winners, Academy Award winners, Tony Award winners, and Emmy Award recipients. NYU's advance in recent decades can be seen in retrospect to have flowed not only from the assets of its unique location and its ability to attract talented scholars, but also from a distinctive institutional "personality" marked by a spirit of entrepreneurship, creativity, a willingness to take risks, an agility in decision-making, and a readiness to work with colleagues across boundaries in what its President has deemed a "common enterprise of excellence." NYU has chosen to think boldly and creatively about ways to build programs and attract students and faculty. The Global Network University (GNU) is a new paradigm in higher education. Designed to draw the most talented and creative students and faculty from around the world, it enables those students and faculty to circulate seamlessly throughout the network without leaving the University's intellectual community and resources. Research and learning at each of the network's sites are connected to and enhanced by the whole, and students become global citizens. Once "in and of the city," NYU, its students, and faculty are now "in and of the world." The fundamental organizational element of the GNU is the portal campus, of which NYU has three: NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai. These "anchor" campuses grant NYU degrees and are deeply related to one another, each using and building upon one another's assets. While students may choose to complete the majority of their programs of study in one location, the campuses curricula are designed with mobility in mind as are those of the global academic centers scattered around the globe. The 11 global academic centers (Accra, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, London, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Sydney, Tel Aviv, and Washington, DC), located on six continents, complement the three portal campuses, allowing students to study away for a semester or longer at a site of their choice. Each site offers a range of courses, permitting students to complete core requirements as well as co-curricular activities to explore the region, meet local students and figures, and use new language skills and is characterized by a distinct academic identity. NYU Accra, for example emphasizes global, public health and economic development, while NYU Berlin focuses on art and the humanities, and NYU Prague centers on music, as well as global media and transitional government. Students are encouraged to spend up to two semesters during their four years at NYU Abu Dhabi studying abroad at GNU sites, where students from both NYUAD and NYUNY study together and experience the rich social diversity of NYU's global network. In addition to semesters away, students may spend up to two January Terms away at a GNU site. J Term courses are typically offered in Abu Dhabi, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, London, New York, Shanghai, Sydney, and Washington, D.C. Regional course-related study trips are also offered, during which students led by faculty and local experts experience the diverse places and people of the UAE and broader Middle East, connect their academic studies with on-the-ground exploration of the region, and deepen their knowledge through first-hand experiences of the societies and issues they are 2

3 studying at NYUAD. Recent trips were made to Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, and the seven emirates of the UAE. This global environment also allows faculty members to flow between NYUAD, NYUNY, and NYUSH. Enhancing its standing faculty, NYUAD has a large cohort of affiliated faculty from across NYU's vast range of programs in New York, as well as visiting faculty from other outstanding universities. NYUAD professors are scholars, scientists, and artists who are proven and transformative teachers and leaders of international standing in their fields. They are creating an institution unlike any other in the world. Global education is an essential component of NYUAD's educational mission and curriculum. It is realized through a careful sequence of interrelated academic and intercultural experiences that provide students with intellectually rigorous, research-focused, learning environments that complement and extend their coursework. This global orientation reflects the international diversity of the student body and the cosmopolitan character of Abu Dhabi. New York University Abu Dhabi NYUAD, created in partnership with the Abu Dhabi government, consists of a highly selective liberal arts and science college, including engineering, and a center for advanced research and scholarship elements fully integrated with each other and further connected to NYU in New York. The first class graduated in the spring of The current undergraduate enrollment of approximately 800 will grow to 2,200 students over the next several years. NYUAD is a small school with enviable resources and huge expectations. The University provides the finest preparation for careers in a global world and for its leadership. Still in its academic infancy, NYUAD has already turned heads. In the words of one faculty member, the intellectual density is unparalleled. NYUAD s leadership, starting with its Vice Chancellor, Al Bloom, the former President of Swarthmore College, and its Provost, Fabio Piano, Founding Director of NYU s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, is uncompromisingly committed to the recruitment and retention of a faculty that are at once great teachers and distinguished scholars. The Dean of Arts and Humanities will share that commitment. Located on an island in the Arabian Gulf, Abu Dhabi is the dynamic capital city of both the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates, which was established as a nation (constitutional monarchy) on December 2, The population of the UAE is approximately 4.6 million. Abu Dhabi, which comprises about 87 percent of the landmass of the UAE, is a truly international city with 80 percent of its inhabitants from outside the UAE. Fortune magazine ranks Abu Dhabi as the richest city in the world. Today, 90 percent of women and 80 percent of men enrolled in their final year of secondary school apply for admission to an institution of higher education. NYUAD seeks to contribute to and advance Abu Dhabi's transformation into one of the next great idea capitals, a magnetic center of ideas, education, and talent. NYUAD's curriculum, research, and public programs illuminate aspects of Abu Dhabi's policy agenda and connect deeply to the possibilities and interests of the country and the region. After operating for four years in short-term facilities, the University moved during summer 2014 to a permanent campus on Saadiyat Island. Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, the campus covers nearly 40 acres and is scaled for a student population of 2,600. It promotes interaction between living and learning, research and teaching, and faculty, students, and staff. The arrangement of offices, the visibility across large areas and between indoors and outdoors, the connections between buildings so that none stands alone, the outdoor gathering spaces, and the on-campus living are among the ways the campus design encourages this interaction. Saadiyat Island is 500 meters off the coast of Abu Dhabi. A 3

4 population of 150,000 is planned for the island, with a cultural district featuring several museums, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. NYUAD s undergraduate program, leading to an NYU bachelor s degree, is divided into four multidisciplinary divisions: Arts and Humanities; Engineering; Science; and Social Sciences. The curriculum builds from an imaginative and comprehensive trans-disciplinary base, through 22 in-depth majors, towards a full-year independent project. This curriculum is supplemented by formative opportunities for research, community participation, and study abroad for up to two semesters. Undergraduates pay no tuition and the competition for admission is intense with about a 6% admission rate. Arts and Humanities at NYUAD The Dean of Arts and Humanities works closely with associate deans, program heads and administrators, and this team is responsible for the following programs: Ancient World, Anthropology, Arab Crossroads Studies, Art and Art History, Film and New Media, History, Interactive Media, Languages, Literature and Creative Writing, Music, Philosophy, Theater, and the Writing Program. The tenured and tenure-track faculty and arts professors currently number 35, and there are 58 other faculty in various types of appointments, including in languages and writing. The growth plan calls for approximately 175 faculty in the Arts and Humanities a mix of tenured, tenure-track, and arts professor lines, supplemented by faculty with other appointments, including NYU New York faculty, visitors from other universities, and faculty on contracts. The Dean works closely with the counterpart departments at NYU in New York, in particular in recruiting faculty, cultivating the Abu Dhabi faculty, integrating New York teaching at NYUAD, and developing the curriculum. The Arts and Humanities at NYUAD encompass fields of central importance to human culture and creativity. Students explore fundamental questions of human thought, cultural values, and modes of expression, and they develop their own creative capacities as scholars, writers, and artists in a variety of media. In each area of inquiry, courses respond to the location of Abu Dhabi and enable students to deepen their understanding of Middle Eastern history and culture. The courses also reinforce an awareness of the global interconnectedness of human values and the need for intercultural communication and respect. Students majoring in Art and Art History, Film and New Media, Music, and Theater undertake both artistic practice and academic study, and establish a balance between practice and reflection, craft and critical study, that suits them best. They have the opportunity to create original works in a variety of media, while those with a primary interest in academic study may focus on the history, theory, and criticism of art, architecture, film and new media, music, and theater. The Arts Center on the Saadiyat campus provides exceptional resources for the range of arts programs. The Arts Center aspires to be an internationally renowned performing arts center that presents student, faculty, and community productions alongside distinguished professional artists from around the world. As a place that both presents and develops work, the Arts Center will act as a vibrant laboratory for performance that fosters a dynamic relationship between the arts, scholarship, and the community. It will serve NYUAD with compelling programming that connects to the curriculum, using the arts to illuminate and enliven the scholarly pursuits of students and faculty. It will host a range of public programs that draw residents of Abu Dhabi to the campus, animating and enriching the cultural life of both the city and the University through interaction. The Arts Center includes four theaters, rehearsal rooms, workshop 4

5 and costume shop, film production facilities, multimedia labs, music practice rooms, visual art studios, and classrooms. The Dean will work closely with the professional staff of the Arts Center. Arab Crossroads Studies is a multi-disciplinary program that examines the cultural, social, economic, political, philosophical, and religious forces that have shaped and continue to shape the intersection of the Arab and Islamic worlds. Students study historical and contemporary cultural and philosophical approaches to the study of the Arab world and neighboring regions while being attentive to the multiple transnational connections, circuits, and crossroads that have shaped them. The Philosophy program encompasses three main areas of philosophical inquiry: practical philosophy, focusing on fundamental issues in morality, politics, and value; theoretical philosophy, focusing on fundamental questions in epistemology, metaphysics, mind, language, and science; and the global history of philosophy from ancient to modern times. The Literature program focuses on world literature, written in English or in English translation. The study of literary texts as they migrate from one culture to another, the theory and practice of translation and creative writing, in its various artistic and scholarly forms, are the basic constituents of the program. The History program adopts a global perspective, concentrating on four broad regions, each with its own unique geographical, cultural, and historical identity: the Indian Ocean, Asia-Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean worlds. NYUAD s foreign language program concentrates on Arabic and Chinese, with non-credit programs offered in a range of other languages. The multilingual community of NYUAD has a strong interest in languages, and most students come to NYUAD fluent in at least two languages. The Writing Program begins with a first-year course, Analysis and Expression, and follows with a Writing Workshop offered in association with a Core Curriculum course. Writing continues across the curriculum in the majors. The Writing Program continues to evolve as the language needs of the student body come into sharper focus, and the program encompasses other dimensions of communication, including oral expression. Ancient World, Anthropology, and Interactive Media are concentrations that offer relatively few classes, but over time, these programs may develop into majors. Challenges and Opportunities for the Dean of Arts and Humanities The Dean of Arts and Humanities will confront unprecedented opportunities as part of a team of academic pioneers, shaping a new paradigm for global higher education for the 21st century. This is a rare opportunity, not without considerable challenges, and requires a leader who is not afraid of uncertainties and who seeks adventure as an academic builder, where the parameters for the institution are still taking shape. For the Dean, the following are the major challenges and expectations: Building a First-rate Faculty of Scholars. In rough terms, over the course of the next five years, the Dean will hire approximately 60 new faculty members in the Division to join the outstanding faculty of 90 tenured/tenure-track scholars and artists already in place. The available resources for both teaching and research are impressive. The challenge will require a Dean who has a broad and discerning background in the appropriate disciplines spanning the humanities and performing and studio arts that enables her/him to evaluate excellence with a focus on recruiting faculty that 5

6 complement each other and meet the particular priorities of NYUAD. A leader who lacks experience in assessing academic achievement in disciplines beyond her/his own will not be successful in this role. In evaluating excellence, the Dean will be mindful about both research and teaching; the NYUAD Arts and Humanities faculty must be scholars of a rank comparable to their peers at NYU and other top research universities and additionally be successful teachers with the skills to convey knowledge and mentor students in the setting of a world-class liberal arts and science college. Convincing accomplished faculty of this caliber to relocate to Abu Dhabi and be part of this new University will require dexterity, charm, and negotiating acumen, especially in the early years. The goal is to reach a critical concentration of world-class scholar-teachers who will in turn attract others to the enterprise. Scaling Up. The faculty hired to date has experienced the growing pains of start-up enterprise as well as the benefits of an intimate community that has fostered a strong sense of collegiality and commitment to a shared endeavor. The University s steep growth trajectory combined with the expansive new campus will transform the scale of the University. While pursuing new possibilities and managing growth, the Dean must also preserve the distinctive qualities of NYUAD, advance faculty connections across the disciplines, cultivate the largely junior faculty, and help faculty balance the requirements of research, teaching and participation in University affairs. Understanding and Advocating the Value of the Global Network University. The Dean will have responsibilities beyond building the Arts and Humanities Division at NYUAD. As a member of the leadership of the University, the Dean will be expected to understand the potential of this new educational paradigm and to work diligently with other University leaders to promote and strengthen it. The broad framework has been established but optimizing the Global Network University to give students and scholars full access to the phenomenal resources that such an enterprise can offer remains an ongoing project. An optimistic, collaborative, and creative leader is sought to meet this challenge. Navigating the Challenges of Competing Traditions and Values. The students of NYUAD come from over 100 countries, with no majority country of origin. The Dean has to be aware of value systems, traditions, cultural norms, and biases that differ from those in which he/she has been immersed within the Anglo or so-called western ethos and tradition. Without compromising on the core educational mission of NYUAD, the Dean, along with her/his peers, has to have the capacity to understand, empathize, and adjust to other cultures and to work with diverse communities to establish a liberal arts and sciences, critical-thinking model where these concepts are not as readily accepted as they are in the United States. Adapting the model to work within other cultural norms and contexts requires patience, persistence and a strong measure of creativity and goodwill. Developing the Curriculum and Research Vision for the Future. The Dean will have the compelling opportunity to develop eminent graduate programs and research centers for the next phase of NYUAD. Research clusters in Arts and Humanities at NYUAD will take advantage of the plethora of on-staff and visiting specialists on the history, culture, and literature of the region, including the visiting fellows at the NYUAD Humanities Institute, and of the countless possibilities suggested by the impressive facilities in the Arts Center. 6

7 Experiences and Qualifications No single candidate will possess all of the ideal qualifications, but NYUAD seeks a Dean who has the experience and personal talent to lead and build an exceptional Arts and Humanities Division. The following qualifications and characteristics are of particular interest: An understanding of, and a passionate commitment to, maintaining the University s values as a premier liberal arts institution; A commitment to both the research and teaching missions of the University, and an ability and willingness to facilitate the faculty s development in both areas; A demonstrated ability to recruit and retain faculty who are committed teachers and first-rate scholars, and an understanding of, and sensitivity to, the competitiveness of the market for superb faculty; A commitment to the academic excellence of the student body and a willingness to mentor and assist other faculty in mentoring students; A demonstrated ability to manage program development, curricular planning, space planning, and all other aspects of academic administration; A demonstrated ability to develop and manage budgets; A commitment to diversity within the University and the ability to articulate and carry out practical and effective strategies for increasing diversity; An ability to think strategically and to work with other senior University administrators in developing and carrying out strategic initiatives; Excellent communication and leadership skills, whether dealing with individuals or groups, and an ability to work well with all constituents, including faculty, staff, students, the deans, senior administrators, the Vice Chancellor and the Provost and other University leaders; An ability to build consensus around decisions by working collaboratively with others and a willingness to make tough decisions when consensus is not possible; An established record of scholarship; professional and intellectual achievement; a terminal degree in an academic discipline offered by NYUAD; and a background and record qualifying him or her for the rank of full professor in one of the schools or departments of the University. The Search Process The goal of the Search Committee is to appoint a new Dean in early 2015, with a start date in summer If you wish to submit your own application materials or to nominate someone to serve as the next Dean of Arts and Humanities of New York University Abu Dhabi, please send an with supporting materials to NYUADDeanAH@spencerstuart.com. Any information sent via this address will be held in confidence and will be considered by the Search Committee with interest and care. NYUAD is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer 7