Dean of Career Development
Macalester College invites applications and nominations for a Dean of Career
Development. The new Dean will lead a transformation of the Career Development
Center and its programs that, in alignment with the Strategic Plan 2014, will develop,
support, and guide its students and young alumni on pathways and options to vocations,
careers, and continued education.
INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW
Since its founding in 1874, Macalester has provided students with the inspiration, insight,
and experience to become successful and ethical leaders. Located in St. Paul, Minnesota,
Macalester currently enrolls 2,172 students who come from 47 U.S. states, D.C., Guam,
and Puerto Rico. Fourteen percent of Macalester students are international students.
Macalester is committed to being a preeminent liberal arts college known for its high
standards of scholarship and its special emphases on internationalism, multiculturalism,
and service to society.
Macalester has a long history of providing a transformative learning experience through
intense and integrated intellectual and civic engagement. Macalester students are a
diverse and deeply engaged group, both intellectually and socially. Twenty percent are
U.S. students of color. Sixty-five percent of entering students graduated in the top 10% of
their high school class and 73 first-year students (Fall 2015) are National Merit Scholars
and Semifinalists, National Achievement scholars, semifinalists, and outstanding
participants, or National Hispanic Scholars. The college provides financial aid to 77
percent of its students with a commitment to meeting the full financial need of its
admitted students. Macalester students can choose from a wide range of classes, which
are typically small in size. The average class size is 17 with a faculty-student ratio of 10:1.
Preparing students for engaged citizenship and effective civic leadership is a critical part
of Macalester’s mission. Ninety-four percent of students volunteer in the Twin Cities
before they graduate, and in any given year, half of the student body is engaged in
community service through a community-based course, applied research, off-campus
work-study, community service, or civic leadership program. The majority of Macalester
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students believe that promoting racial understanding is an essential or very important
objective. Approximately 60% of Macalester 2015 graduates studied abroad for academic
credit in approximately 48-60 countries. On campus, students participate in 115 clubs and
organizations, nine men’s and ten women’s Division III athletic teams, and six club
sports.
The power of a Macalester education is clear from the achievements of alumni. In the past
10 years graduates were Fulbright-Hays award recipients, National Science Foundation
Fellows, Watson Fellows, Rhodes Scholars, Goldwater Scholars, Truman Scholars, and
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows, a program that every year prepares 10 outstanding
Macalester students of color for careers in academia. Sixty-one percent of Macalester
alumni pursue advanced degrees within six years of graduation. Alumni of Macalester,
which include former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and former Vice
President and Senator Walter Mondale, embody the college’s academic excellence,
commitment to social justice, and service to the world.
Macalester is ranked by US News at number six in the nation for “best undergraduate
teaching.” Ninety-three per cent of Macalester’s 180 full-time faculty members hold a
doctorate or the highest degree in their field. Twenty-two per cent are U.S. citizens of
color and three per cent are international. The college has a longstanding tradition of
supporting interdisciplinary studies and team-teaching and the Macalester faculty
publishes over 400 scholarly works per year. Macalester received $3.45 million in
government and foundation grants in the past year.
Macalester’s 16th president Brian Rosenberg, PhD, a vocal and oft-quoted champion of the
liberal arts college in the United States, notes that, "The liberal arts model rests on a
belief in the transformative power of ideas, the necessity of collaborative action for the
common good, and the importance of individual self-determination."
Macalester is proud of its longstanding commitment to multiculturalism and social
justice and to creating a safe environment for all people regardless of sexual orientation,
race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion, age, or ability. For over 46 years,
multiculturalism has been a core value along with internationalism and service to
community. Macalester fosters spiritual growth amongst a campus community of many
religions and provides a wide variety of religious offerings. The Advocate College Guide
for LGBT Students recognized Macalester College as one of the 100 Best Campuses for
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender students. The selection was based on
institutional policies, commitment and support, academic life, housing, student life,
counseling and health services, campus safety, recruitment, and retention.
This commitment to multiculturalism is integrated into the curriculum, with graduation
requirements in multiculturalism and internationalism, as well as in quantitative skills,
writing, and foreign language proficiency (in addition to general distribution
requirements). Macalester has a Dean for Faculty Diversity and Development that
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oversees curriculum development, faculty development, and campus-wide activities to
expand the college’s mission of multiculturalism. Staff positions supporting
multiculturalism include the Dean of Multicultural Life, the Title IX Coordinator and
Director of Equity, the Director of the Lealtad-Suzuki Center, and personnel in
Admissions, the Macalester Academic Excellence Center (MAX), Center for Spiritual Life,
and Campus Programs.
STRATEGIC PLAN
In January 2015, Macalester’s board of trustees formally adopted the priorities of Strategic
Plan 2014 to advance and fully support the college's commitment to its Mission and
Statement of Purpose and Belief throughout the coming decade and beyond. At its core,
the Strategic Plan is designed to position Macalester on a sustainable path and as a leader
in liberal arts education, enabling the college to continue its core work of providing a
talented and diverse group of students with a liberal arts education that is outstanding in
quality, distinctive in character, and demonstrably preparatory to vocational success.
Among its key objectives, the Plan will reinforce Macalester’s distinctive excellence in
internationalism and, more broadly, encourage every department and program in the
college to seize and develop opportunities to be distinctive in additional ways that serve
its students well.
THE DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
As a program of the Division of Student Affairs, the Career Development Center (CDC),
reports directly to Donna Lee, the division Vice President, and the Dean of Career
Development is an integral member of the division’s leadership team. The CDC plays a
vital role within Student Affairs to help define a culture and sense of community on
campus that promotes students’ intellectual growth, identity exploration, reflective
leadership, and responsible citizenship. Student affairs programs and resources are a
fundamental element of the student experience at Macalester. In addition to the CDC, the
programs and offices within the division of student affairs include:
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Athletics and Recreational Sports
Campus Activities and Operations
Residential Life
The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life
Disability Services
Forensics
Health and Wellness Center
International Student Programs
Multicultural Life
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The division of student affairs plans and implements a number of signature programs
that provide students with unique opportunities for engagement in and beyond the
Macalester community. Examples include Family Fest, MacConnect trips to San
Francisco and Washington, DC, Wellness Wednesdays, the Multifaith Council, Pluralism
and Unity, and Macward Bound.
In addition to its exemplary service to students, the division has been named one of the
2015 Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs at Baccalaureate and Liberal Arts
Institutions by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and Diverse Issues
in Higher Education. This designation is an honor recognizing Student Affairs at
Macalester for its commitment to workplace diversity, equitable staffing practices, and
supportive work environments.
THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Macalester’s Career Development Center is committed to helping students and young
alumni develop, understand, and connect their liberal arts educational experience with
their future goals. Career counselors guide undergraduates through choosing a major,
career planning, job search, and graduate schools options. They offer resume and
personal statement reviews, mock interviews, workshops, access to employment
opportunities, and career assessment testing and interpretation to students and recent
alumni.
The CDC strives to understand and support the individualized needs of the students and
alumni it serves, recently earning Gold level certification by Out For Work, an
organization that provides career resources and support to LGBT students.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
With Strategic Plan 2014, Macalester College demonstrates clear recognition of the need
to support students and young alumni to ensure they have developed their own toolkits
for navigating life after Macalester, including, perhaps most importantly, the ability to
articulate to potential employers the value that a liberal arts-educated individual can
bring to all sectors of the workforce. At a time when liberal arts colleges are under
pressure to defend themselves, Macalester is inordinately proud of the educational
experience it delivers to its students and seeks a Dean of Career Development that will
help students and alumni leverage that experience in a life after Macalester that is
meaningful and productive.
To meet this challenge, the Dean must be able to facilitate a wide variety of relationships
on behalf of Macalester College, including internal partners and external constituents and
must understand how to leverage those relationships appropriately and in congruence
with the Macalester spirit and sensibility. Opportunities for creative and proactive
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collaborations abound at Macalester and the Dean will be well-positioned to explore and
leverage new points of intersection with the Career Development Center. Examples
include:
 building strong relationships with faculty and the entire academic affairs division
to collaboratively identify opportunities for appropriate integration of career and
vocational exploration in the classroom or through departmental programs and
initiatives;
 coordinating with Alumni Relations, to build a corps of engaged alumni volunteer
who will mentor students and young alumni and share stories of their own career
or vocation exploration as well as professional contacts;
 collaborating with the Advancement office to develop multifaceted outreach and
engagement strategies with corporate partners;
 exploring seemingly non-traditional points of intersection across the entire
Macalester campus community to foster new and creative career and vocational
prospects;
 developing engagement and inclusivity in career and vocation exploration with
international students through Macalester’s many support programs, including the
International Student Programs;
 working with the newly-recruited Entrepreneur in Residence to nurture an interest
in entrepreneurship and explore and create opportunities for students in this
emerging space;
 collaborating with the Internship Program, to help students translate internship
experience into career development opportunities and to create consistency of the
applications processes with CDC-sponsored programs; and
 networking with the many Fortune 500 companies that have a presence in the
Twin Cities.
DEAN OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT: ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Dean will lead a team of five professionals, one graduate student, and student staff
members in providing a comprehensive and contemporary career center, serving students
throughout their undergraduate and early post-graduate years.
Macalester's strategic plan includes an imperative to strengthen the connections between
a liberal arts education and vocation by making more obvious and accessible the paths
from what students study at Macalester to eventual careers. With an understanding of
and commitment to liberal arts education, the Dean of Career Development will develop
and implement programs and other engagement opportunities that will encourage
students and young alumni to explore and prepare for potential career and vocational
paths. The Dean will support faculty and staff who seek to incorporate vocational
exploration in the classroom and in other student-focused programs. The dean will:
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provide visionary, innovative, and strategic leadership of the Career Development
Center in creating a proactive and forward-thinking resource for students, alumni,
faculty, and staff that prepares Macalester students for life beyond the campus
experience;
lead, manage, and mentor the Center’s professional staff;
cultivate strategic campus partnerships, including faculty, academic departments,
and center directors; student affairs departments; alumni relations and
development offices; the internship program; and campus employers;
work with faculty and academic departments in the development and
sustainability of discipline-based and career discernment programs;
cultivate and develop effective relationships with current students and alumni and
parent volunteers;
incorporate ways for students to align interests, beliefs, and values with vocational
paths;
evaluate current CDC programs and practices to identify areas for growth or
improvement; collect and analyze performance metrics and measureable
outcomes; assess effectiveness of current technologies, databases, and social
media, and make recommendations as needed on tools to ensure career center
objectives are achieved;
develop a strong and fluid external network to support the objectives of the
center, including potential employers representing for-profit and non-profit
sectors; parent and alumni volunteers; regional, national, and international career
and vocational sources;
develop and implement a communication strategy that ensures the entire
Macalester community understands and values the CDC as a dynamic and
proactive resource and that students are active consumers of its tools, programs,
and opportunities;
administer the Center’s budget and ensure funding for existing and yet-to-be
developed initiatives; and
engage as a member of the college community, serving on campus committees and
task forces and participating in and contributing to major college activities and
events.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS
Macalester College seeks a Dean of Career Development who embraces and understands
the value that a liberal arts-trained individual will bring to the workforce. Candidates will
demonstrate successful and progressively responsible leadership in student career
services or other applicable career development settings, and will have a strong belief in
Macalester’s educational values and goals. An advanced degree is required (masters or
doctoral).
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In addition, the ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and
characteristics:
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eight years (minimum) progressively responsible experience;
innovation, entrepreneurship, and the ability to conceive of and implement an
exciting vision, in collaboration with others;
understanding of the liberal arts setting, the broad interests of liberal arts
graduates, and the unique worth of a liberal arts degree;
comprehensive and contemporary knowledge of career and vocation services,
trends and best practices, and employment trends and markets;
experience and demonstrated ability in leading and managing staff;
understanding of the academic environment and knowledge of student learning
and student development;
ability to help students translate, articulate, and leverage an exceptional
undergraduate experience;
ability to partner with faculty, staff, and students of diverse backgrounds,
perspectives, and experiences;
effective oral and written communication, interpersonal, leadership, and
collaborative management skills;
exceptional organizational, analytical, presentation, and public speaking skills;
cultural sensitivity and a deep appreciation of diversity;
understanding of the unique employment needs of international students and
young alumni, including working knowledge of H-1B visa requirements; and
decisive, objective, decision-making that moves processes forward in an
environment open to change and innovation.
LOCATION
Macalester is centrally located in a residential neighbor of the Twin Cities of Minnesota,
the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country with more than 3.5 million residents.
Just minutes from both downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis, Macalester is a short drive
away from the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport which services non-stop flights
to destinations across the country and around the world. The Twin Cities offer a
remarkable quality of life, replete with outstanding restaurants, theaters, sports, and
other cultural attractions. Minneapolis-St. Paul receives praise for its exceptional urban
planning and affordability. The Green Guide ranks Minnesota 4th in the nation as a
sustainable state.
The Twin Cities community has long been noted for its tremendous spirit of civic
cooperation. Private corporations and foundations often join with government and
community organizations to improve and expand the resources available to the
community. There are over 58 professional and community live-performance theaters,
including the Guthrie Theatre (the largest regional playhouse in the country), the
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Penumbra Theatre (one of the country’s oldest African-American theater companies).
Included in the area’s 30 museums are Mia (Minneapolis Institute of Art) and the Walker
Institute, along with many other arts organizations that reflect the area’s ethnic diversity
that include its nationally acclaimed music scene, restaurants, movie theaters, and
botanical and zoological gardens.
The Twin Cities has earned commendation as one of America’s most bike-friendly cities;
the seven-county metropolitan area boasts one of the most extensive regional parks and
trail systems in the country.
The metro area hosts several professional sports teams including the Minnesota Twins
baseball team, the Vikings football team, the Timberwolves and Lynx basketball teams,
the Minnesota Wild hockey team, and the Minnesota United FC soccer team.
Home to more than 20 colleges and universities, the Twin Cities rank 4th as a college
destination; only Boston/Cambridge, D.C. and the San Francisco Bay area rank higher.
Macalester’s staff and faculty interact regularly with colleagues across these Twin Cities
institutions, including the University of Minnesota, Hamline University, the University of
St. Thomas, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, St. Catherine University, and
Augsburg College, as well as with St. Olaf College and Carleton College, just south of the
Twin Cities.
National surveys consistently pick Minnesota as an ideal place to raise a family, offering
excellent schools, health care, and employment opportunities. Minnesota's educational
system is a national model. The state's public school open enrollment program allows
students to enroll in schools outside their district. Minneapolis/Saint Paul was ranked:
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as the fourth best city for families by Parenting Magazine based on great schools,
affordable homes, low crime rates, plenty of jobs, and lots of public green space;
eleventh in Forbes magazine ’s list of the Top 20 Cities for Working Mothers;
the fourth best market in the country for quality hospital care, according to
HealthGrades survey; and
among the top in many “Best” lists including Inc. Magazine’s “Best Places to Start
and Grow a Company,” Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live” and author Sandra
Gurvis’ “30 Great Cities to Start Out In.”
Minneapolis is the third-most literate city in the nation, behind only Washington, D.C.
and Seattle, according to an annual study by Central Connecticut State University. The
Twin Cities have a sizeable and growing African-American community, the country’s
largest urban population of Native Americans, a thriving Asian-American community
(including the country’s fastest-growing, and largest urban, Hmong population), a vibrant
immigrant community from Somalia, and a significant Chicano/Latino population.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This position is anticipated to begin no later than July 1, 2016. For best consideration,
please send all nominations, inquiries, and expressions of interest in confidence and
electronically no later than January 8, 2016 to:
Susan VanGilder, Principal
Veronica Fitzgerald, Consulting Associate
Storbeck/Pimentel and Associates, LP
MacalesterDeanCareer@storbeckpimentel.com
For more information, please visit the Macalester College web site at www.macalester.edu
Macalester is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic staff
committed to working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications
from everyone who would add richness to our community, including people of color,
individuals with disabilities and women.
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