Dean of Students

Dean of Students at Colgate University

DSG Storbeck has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Ruth Shoemaker Wood and Kamilah Allen. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.

Posting Details

Position Information

Job Category Professional/Administrative

Position Title Dean of Students

Full Time/Part Time Full Time

Division Dean of the College

Department Dean of the College

Work Arrangement type On-Site (Hamilton, NY) – expected to work fully at the designated campus/office location.

Hiring Wage/Salary Range $150,000 - $165,000

Professional Experience/ Qualifications

• Progressively responsible leadership experience in student affairs at a residential college or university, with demonstrated success leading at the senior level within a complex undergraduate environment.
• Authentic and sustained engagement with students as a central element of professional practice. Genuinely enjoy working with undergraduates, understand the texture of campus life, and build credibility and trust across a diverse student community.
• Exceptional relational leadership skills with the ability to build strong and trusted relationships with students, faculty, staff, families, and senior colleagues, including constituencies outside the candidate’s direct reporting lines, and to navigate a complex community with warmth, discretion, and good judgment.
• Strategic capacity paired with operational engagement, including the ability to establish direction and think several steps ahead while remaining attentive to the day-to-day realities of student life. The Dean should be someone who sees emerging issues and opportunities early, moves beyond surface-level solutions to understand underlying dynamics, and translates broad priorities into effective action.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a trusted senior-level thought partner, contributing substantively to a shared agenda while exercising independent judgment and initiative. Comfortable bringing forward difficult issues, thoughtful analysis, and potential paths forward rather than simply reporting problems.
• Strong record of advancing student engagement, success, and persistence, with the ability to understand the multiple factors that shape students’ connection to an institution and to develop proactive strategies that help students thrive and remain engaged through graduation.
• Sophisticated understanding of student development and the residential liberal arts experience with the ability to translate that understanding into programs, policies, and practices that foster intellectual, personal, and leadership development beyond the classroom.
• Demonstrated capacity to use data, assessment, and evidence effectively, combining quantitative analysis with qualitative understanding of students and campus culture to identify emerging trends, evaluate programs, inform priorities and resources, and drive continuous improvement.
• Direct supervisory and organizational leadership experience, including managing professional staff across multiple functional areas, hiring and developing talent, establishing clear expectations, and creating a culture of accountability, collaboration, and professional growth.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to listen deeply, facilitate productive conversations, mediate differences, address sensitive issues with candor and care, and communicate effectively with audiences ranging from individual students and families to faculty colleagues and senior University leadership.
• Sound judgment in complex and high-stakes situations, with the ability to respond thoughtfully under pressure, balance competing interests, maintain appropriate confidentiality, and communicate with clarity and compassion.
• Demonstrated commitment to creating an inclusive and welcoming campus community, with a nuanced understanding of the ways identity, background, culture, and access shape students’ experiences and opportunities to participate fully in campus life.
• Authentic appreciation for the traditions, history, character, and distinctive culture of a highly residential liberal arts institution, coupled with the curiosity and imagination to help Colgate’s student experience evolve thoughtfully in response to changing student needs and a changing higher education landscape.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with fraternity and sorority advising or oversight, including student development, chapter accountability, risk management, and cultivating a healthy Greek community.
• Experience advancing inclusive student programming and belonging initiatives, including direct oversight of or close collaboration with multicultural affairs, LGBTQ+ initiatives, chaplaincy, or related areas.
• Experience with student conduct, crisis response, Title IX, or related student-affairs matters, with sufficient familiarity with relevant legal and regulatory frameworks to exercise sound judgment and partner effectively with institutional colleagues who lead these areas.
• Familiarity with residential college or living-learning models and the ways residential environments can reinforce institutional mission, community, and student learning.
• A record of professional engagement and continual learning within the student affairs field and a demonstrated commitment to developing both oneself and others.

Education

• A Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, or a closely related field is required.

• A doctoral degree is preferred.

• Certifications

• Offer Determination

• When extending an offer, Colgate University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations.

• Physical Requirements

• Other Information

• This position is deemed essential under the University’s Essential Personnel Policy.

• DSG Storbeck has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Ruth Shoemaker Wood and Kamilah Allen. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.

Benefits

• Colgate University offers a competitive benefits package, with most benefits effective on the date of hire. Highlights include: medical, dental, vision, retirement contributions, paid time off, paid family leave, health & wellness, continuing education and professional development. We also offer unique perks, such as free parking, gym discounts, bookstore savings, athletic tickets, and access to cultural and recreational facilities. Explore the full benefits package on our Benefits page.

• Department Statement

• Colgate University invites applications and nominations for the next Dean of Students, a key campus leader who will play a critical role in sustaining and deepening their distinctive student experience. This is a highly visible, deeply student-facing position that requires genuine presence with students and a nuanced understanding of the many ways they experience Colgate. The Dean will engage directly with student government, student organizations, fraternities and sororities, and a diverse student community, building the trust and relationships that allow the institution to understand what students are experiencing and respond thoughtfully to their needs. At a time when student success and retention are important institutional priorities, the Dean of Students will also help ensure that the experience Colgate promises students is one in which they can thrive.

• Accountabilities

• Reporting to Vice President and Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II, the Dean of Students occupies a distinctive position at the heart of Colgate’s undergraduate experience. The Dean of Students is both a senior leader within the Dean of the College Division and one of the University’s most visible and accessible leaders for students. The Dean of Students provides strategic leadership to areas that encompass important dimensions of how Colgate students find community, develop as leaders, explore identity and purpose, engage across difference and navigate the challenges and opportunities of college life: the ALANA Cultural Center; LGBTQ+ Initiatives; Office of Student Involvement, including Colgate Speaking Union; Center for Volunteerism, Education, and Civic Engagement (COVE); Fraternity and Sorority Advising; New Student Orientation; and the