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The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), the world’s premier public university, seeks a visionary, strategic, and inclusive leader as its next dean of the Division of Biological Sciences.

UC Berkeley is internationally renowned for excellence across all disciplines, for the opportunities it affords students of all backgrounds, and for scientific discovery, innovation, and cultural creativity. Ranked nationally as the No. 1 public university by U.S. News & World Report Rankings 2023, the Berkeley campus is home to over 33,000 undergraduate students and more than 12,000 graduate students as well as approximately 1,500 ladder-rank faculty across 15 schools and colleges. Berkeley’s professors are highly distinguished researchers, scholars, and leading experts in their field as attested by their many Nobel Prizes, other distinguished awards, and memberships in the most prestigious learned societies.

UC Berkeley’s Division of Biological Sciences, a unit of the College of Letters & Science, profoundly deepens our understanding of the function and behavior of living organisms. New insights — many discovered in UC Berkeley laboratories — fuel the widely accepted belief that the life sciences form the defining research enterprise of the 21st century. CRISPR genome engineering, immuno-oncology, telomeres and telomerase, the proto-human “Ardi,” and the molecular behavior of insulin are examples of world-altering discoveries that originated at Berkeley. The Division’s undergraduates and graduate students learn from and work with some of the world’s leading scientists, deciphering the interplay of living systems from the intracellular to the ecosystemic to the planetary. The division’s 44,000 alumni are among the most influential leaders in academia, the life sciences industry, and other fields.

Within the University of California’s shared governance structure, the dean serves as the chief academic officer and executive of the division reporting directly to the executive vice chancellor and provost. The dean also works in close collaboration with the deans of the other divisions that constitute the UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science in support of the college’s research and teaching missions. The dean provides leadership and is responsible for all matters relating to the administration of the division, including academic programs, personnel, budgets, alumni engagement, fundraising, and government and industry relations.

The new dean will provide visionary leadership to the biological sciences division, considered to be among the most preeminent in the world. The dean will promote an understanding of the essential role diversity, equity, and inclusion play in a public university and how a commitment to these values extends to the division's mission, faculty and staff hiring, student recruitment and support, curriculum and programmatic offerings, research, and partnerships across UC Berkeley and in the external community. Fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, collaboration, and inclusion across the division will be paramount to attracting and retaining world-class faculty and staff within the division. The dean will work to advance and secure philanthropic support for the division to ensure continued preeminence.

For the full position profile, please visit: https://wittkieffer.com/positions/24955-dean-of-the-division-of-biological-sciences.

To be considered as candidates, applicants must have either a Ph.D. or M.D., or the equivalent international degree, at the time of application and submit, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile.

WittKieffer is assisting the University of California, Berkeley in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by February 26, 2024. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal at: https://candidateportal.wittkieffer.com/login?returnUrl=%2Fdescription%3FjobID%3D24955. Applicants must also apply directly to UC Berkeley at: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04028.

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Suzanne Teer, Jessica Herrington, and Randi Miller at BerkeleyDeanBioSci@wittkieffer.com

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.