Associate Dean for Student Life, TWU Dallas - Student Life Dallas

TITLE

Associate Dean for Student Life, TWU Dallas

JOB SUMMARY

The Associate Dean for Student Life serves as the chief student affairs officer for TWU Dallas and its locations, including the T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences Dallas Center and TWU Dallas Downtown. The Associate Dean leads Student Life operations, personnel, and student support partnerships serving undergraduate, graduate, and professional students across an evolving urban campus. The position develops services that respond to the broad needs of these students in their distinctive urban environment.

An initial priority of the founding associate dean position is to establish Student Life services for the Come to Believe College at TWU Dallas Downtown in partnership with its Founding Dean, while leading existing Dallas Student Life operations and building the staffing, partnerships, and operating practices needed for greater local capacity and responsibility as TWU Dallas grows. The Associate Dean provides strategic leadership for student engagement, non-academic support, retention initiatives, career development, and wellness, coordinating with academic and university service units to support persistence, degree completion, and career advancement.

Work is performed under general direction from the Dallas Campus President, with substantial independent judgment. Performance is evaluated based on the effectiveness of Student Life operations, progress toward strategic priorities, student outcomes, and adherence to University Policies & Procedures.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to: Dallas Campus President.

Supervises: Dallas Student Life personnel assigned to the position, Associate Director for Student Life and the Career Counselor at the T. Boone Pickens IHS Dallas Center.

Dotted line: Provides dotted-line guidance to the Student Success Case Manager embedded in the Come to Believe College. This position reports directly to the Founding Dean, who directs their assignments and evaluates their performance.

Coordination: Works closely with the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) personnel who retain their established reporting and clinical supervision through CAPS in Denton and Disability Support Services, and other units whose specialized authority remains within those offices.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES - May include, but not limited to the following:

• Leads planning, implementation, and assessment of Student Life across TWU Dallas locations, aligning services with Dallas priorities, university policies, and the needs of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.

• Leads the initial development of Student Life services for the Come to Believe College in partnership with the Founding Dean and embedded staff, establishing launch plans, service agreements, referral pathways, staffing recommendations, and measures of readiness and effectiveness.

• Develops an urban Student Life model that connects students across Dallas locations and draws on the city's rich cultural heritage, civic institutions, and business community to support shared learning, personal development, and a sense of belonging. Encourages engagement with institutions such as the Latino Cultural Center; the African American Museum, Dallas; the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum; the Dallas Museum of Art; and the Crow Museum of Asian Art, along with other community organizations.

• Develops educational relationships with business and financial institutions, exploring opportunities with organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), and NYSE Texas to support financial understanding, career exploration, and shared learning, in coordination with academic programs and the Director of Employer Relations.

• Builds partnerships with nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, including opportunities with Texas Women's Foundation and Dallas College, to expand leadership development, community engagement, student support, and joint student development activities.

• Provides leadership for orientation, student organizations and representation, leadership development, wellness, and student engagement, adapting delivery to commuter schedules, academic demands, and students' work and family responsibilities.

• Oversees coordinated non-academic support systems, including basic needs assistance, emergency aid referrals, and access to mental health and community services; works with responsible offices to resolve service gaps and barriers to student participation.

• Provides administrative oversight of Dallas Student Life spaces and amenities, including the Fitness and Recreation Center and student gathering spaces at the T. Boone Pickens IHS Dallas Center and lactation spaces at Dallas locations, coordinating access, maintenance, equipment, and safe operations with appropriate university units.

• Coordinates Dallas student conduct, student concern, crisis response, and behavioral intervention matters with the Dean of Students, CAPS, public safety, and other responsible offices, carrying out delegated responsibilities under established university procedures.

• Collaborates with academic leaders, advisors, and learning support personnel to connect academic advising and tutoring with non-academic support, early intervention, and retention efforts across Dallas programs.

• Coordinates career development and student employment support with Career Connections, the Director of Employer Relations, and academic programs; supports the Come to Believe College's bachelor's degree pathways and embedded associate degree milestone.

• Works with the Founding Dean and embedded College staff through regular planning and consultation to align professional practices, coordinate access to university resources, and assess student support while preserving their full-time assignment within the College.

• Develops and manages assigned Dallas Student Life budgets, recommends staffing and resource priorities, and coordinates planning for student fee requests and College-specific expenditures with the responsible administrators.

• Establishes goals and assessment measures for service access, engagement, student learning, retention, and persistence; uses student feedback and institutional data to improve services and inform expansion to additional Dallas locations.

• Recruits, develops, and evaluates direct reports; establishes job performance standards and coordinates staff responsibilities in accordance with University Policies & Procedures.

• Serves as a principal Dallas liaison to Student Life, Disability Support Services, and other university offices; coordinates student-facing information and procedures across locations.

• Ensures activities within the position's responsibility follow applicable university policies and requirements for student privacy, accessibility, nondiscrimination, and safety, in consultation with designated university officials.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES

• Represents TWU Dallas on university committees and in community partnerships, recruitment activities, and donor or partner visits related to student support and engagement.

• Guides effective use of student service technologies and staff professional development to strengthen coordinated service delivery.

• Performs other duties as requested by the Dallas Campus President.

EDUCATION

Master's degree in Higher Education Administration, Student Personnel, Counseling, Social Work, or a related field required. Doctorate (Ph.D. or Ed.D.) preferred.

EXPERIENCE

Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in higher education student affairs or student success administration, including professional staff supervision, budget administration, strategic planning, crisis coordination, and program assessment. Demonstrated experience supporting students with varied educational backgrounds and financial circumstances, including first-generation students, is required. Experience developing new services, coordinating multiple functional areas or locations, or serving commuter, graduate, or professional students is preferred. Experience with intensive, cohort-based student support models is preferred.

REQUIREMENT

Regular and reliable attendance at assigned TWU Dallas locations during regularly scheduled days and work hours is an essential function of this position. The position requires a regular presence across Dallas locations and occasional evening or weekend work for student activities and urgent matters.

All employees share the responsibility of maintaining information security and privacy requirements within the university by adhering to Federal and State regulations, and TWU Policies & Procedures.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES - The following are essential:

• Knowledge of student development theory and practices that support undergraduate, graduate, professional, commuter, and first-generation students.

• Ability to lead the development of an urban Student Life operation across multiple locations and adapt services as institutional needs change.

• Knowledge of coordinated student support, basic needs assistance, retention strategies, and the ability to apply the Come to Believe model within TWU Dallas.

• Ability to build partnerships with cultural institutions, businesses, financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions to expand student learning and support.

• Ability to lead through direct supervision and collaborative working relationships, respecting college leadership and specialized professional authority.

• Ability to plan, direct, and evaluate complex operations and apply sound judgment in allocating staff, budgets, space, and other resources.

• Knowledge of student concern, conduct, and crisis response practices and the ability to coordinate timely action with responsible university offices.

• Ability to analyze student feedback and service and retention data to guide decisions and assess outcomes.

• Ability to communicate effectively, resolve problems, and maintain productive relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community partners.

• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and use university administrative, student information, and case management systems appropriately.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described in the Essential Duties and below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

The employee may be required to travel between TWU locations and to off-site activities.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

All employees are responsible for maintaining an environment that is free from discrimination, intimidation, harassment, including sexual harassment. Work is normally performed in a typical interior work environment.

SAFETY

TWU promotes a safe working environment. Employees are responsible for completing assigned tasks safely and efficiently, and supervisors are responsible for creating and maintaining a safe work environment. Employees must report any unsafe work conditions or practices, as well as any near-miss incidents, to their supervisor and Risk Management. Supervisors and employees should ensure that injury/accident reports are submitted to the Office of Human Resources and Risk Management within 24 hours of the incident.

Texas Woman's University, an AA/EEO employer, provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected category, class or characteristic.

All offers of employment will be contingent on the candidate's ability to provide documents which establish proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Positions at Texas Woman's University deemed security-sensitive require background checks and verification of all academic credentials.

If you are a male between the age of 18 and 25, federal law requires that you must be registered with the U.S. Selective Service System, unless you meet certain exemptions under Selective Service law. Under HB 558, enacted by the 76th Texas State Legislature, if you are currently of the age and gender requiring registration with Selective Service, but knowingly and willfully fail to do so, you are ineligible for employment with an agency in any branch of Texas state government. For additional information regarding registration or status, you can contact the Selective Service System at 847-688-6888 or www.sss.gov.