Dean & Professor, College of Education & Social Services

About the Role

The University of Vermont (UVM) seeks an experienced, forward-looking leader to serve as Dean of the College of Education and Social Services (CESS). Reporting to the Provost, the Dean will serve as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College, leading nearly 150 faculty and staff. The Dean will serve as a compelling advocate for the College's disciplines, demonstrating their critical role in higher education and society. This leader will be a coalition builder, skilled at fostering trust and relationships across campus, with students, alumni, donors, and external partners. The Dean will play a central role in advancing the College's fundraising and development priorities, articulating a compelling vision for investment in CESS's mission, programs, and people.

Responsibilities

• Lead the College's scholarly enterprise in ways that complement its longstanding teaching and service mission
• Model, champion, and practice UVM's "Common Ground" values (respect, integrity, innovation, openness, justice, and responsibility) daily
• Navigate complex institutions with a thoughtful approach to strategic planning and resource management
• Build trust and relationships across campus, with students, alumni, donors, and external partners
• Articulate a compelling vision for investment in CESS's mission, programs, and people

Requirements

• Earned doctorate in a relevant academic discipline in education or social services (e.g., social work, human development and family science, counseling)
• Outstanding record of teaching, service, and scholarship that meets requirements for Full Professor with tenure

About the College of Education and Social Services

Grounded in UVM's public mission, CESS emphasizes professional preparation, community-engaged learning, and scholarship that address educational and social systems. Experiential learning is a central component of a CESS education. In the current year, 738 students were placed with nearly 125 organizations across 235 placement sites through service-learning, practicum, and internship courses. Collectively, CESS students contribute 200,000 hours of service each year in schools, agencies, and community organizations across Vermont.

CESS plays a critical role in the vitality of the broader UVM community through its longstanding contributions to equity-focused initiatives, community-engaged scholarship, and interdisciplinary collaboration, including UVM's 5-year, HHMI-supported "Driving Change" initiative. The role of CESS expertise in steering University-level policy and planning is well-established, and CESS's clinical connections to the Larner College of Medicine and major STEM-related, enterprise-level initiatives place it at the center of the University's continuing transformation as a tier-one research institution.

CESS currently enrolls 696 undergraduate and 413 graduate students. Approximately 16% of undergraduate students are the first in their families to go to college, 13.5% identify as members of underrepresented groups, and 52.5% come from out of state. Students are supported by 48 tenure-track faculty, 37 non-tenure-track faculty, and 58 staff. The College's AY25-26 operating budget is approximately $29.6M, with additional sponsored support totaling approximately $11.5M.

Academic Departments and Programs

The College's undergraduate and graduate programs are organized into three academic departments: Education, Social Work, and Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science.

Department of Education: Offers 16 undergraduate majors and minors, and 22 graduate degree or certificate programs in teacher education, curriculum and instruction, special education, educational leadership, trauma and resiliency, and social-emotional health and inclusive education. Faculty are committed to inclusive and equitable education, culturally responsive practices, and collaborative community engagement.

Department of Social Work: Home of two academic programs (BSW/MSW) and one community outreach and training unit (the Child Welfare Training Partnership). 100% of MSW graduates taking the Master's level exam pass the first time, compared to 74% overall in the U.S.

Department of Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science: Offers an undergraduate program in Human Development and Family Science and two master's degree programs in Counseling: school counseling and clinical mental health counseling, or a dual option track. 100% of graduate students consistently score above 90% on the National Counselor Certification (NCC) exam.

Research and Outreach Centers

• Center on Disability and Community Inclusion (CDCI): A federally authorized University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) that provides teaching, research, and community-engaged service to improve outcomes in education, health, employment, and quality of life for people with disabilities. Serves as a resource and a bridge between the broader disability community and UVM.
• Catamount Community Schools Collaborative (CCSC): A research-policy-practice partnership between UVM, the Vermont Agency of Education, and state and local partners that supports schools as community hubs integrating academic learning with health, social, and family supports, with a particular emphasis on rural contexts.
• Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership (CWTP): Staff train the statewide child protection workforce and all caregivers for Vermont's most vulnerable children, youth, and families, scaling up evidence-informed practices and engaging in practice and policy guidance at a statewide systems level. In collaboration with CESS, facilitates experiential field-based educational opportunities in social work and special education.

About the University of Vermont

Founded in 1791, UVM is one of the nation's oldest public universities and the state's flagship research institution. The University draws students from more than 80 countries, and nearly 80% hail from outside Vermont, with nearly 50% from outside New England. UVM achieved R1 status in February 2025. The University has been consistently ranked among the nation's top public universities. UVM received the No. 1 ranking on Princeton Review's 2024 and 2025 lists for "Best Schools for Making an Impact" and has been named to Princeton Review's "Green Rating Honor Roll."

The University offers more than 100 bachelor's degree programs, 61 master's programs, 33 accelerated master's programs, 28 PhD programs, 6 professional doctorates, and an MD program. Academic units include the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Education and Social Services, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Nursing and Health Sciences, the Larner College of Medicine, the Grossman School of Business, the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Patrick Leahy Honors College, the Graduate College, Professional and Continuing Education, and the UVM Libraries.

UVM's strategic plan, Green, Gold, and Bold, is organized around four pillars: Forge Bold Futures (student connection and purpose), Study What Matters (values-driven learning and research), Create Opportunity (access, engagement, and community partnership), and Enable Excellence (investing in people, systems, and infrastructure).

Leadership

President Marlene Tromp, PhD, became the 28th President of UVM in July 2025. She is an accomplished scholar and experienced leader in public higher education, with a career spanning comprehensive research universities and Land-Grant institutions. Before joining UVM, Tromp served for six years as President of Boise State University. Earlier in her career, she held senior academic leadership roles at the University of California, Santa Cruz (campus provost and executive vice chancellor) and at Arizona State University (dean and vice provost). Tromp's academic work has focused on Victorian studies and cultural history. She earned her BA from Creighton University, MA from the University of Wyoming, and PhD from the University of Florida.