Dean of Health and Wellness
Extraordinary Opportunity for a Visionary Leader to Shape the Future of Integrated Student Health and Counseling Services at One of the Nation’s Preeminent Liberal-Arts Colleges
Grinnell College announces a national search for the newly established position of Dean of Health and Wellness. Reflecting the College’s strong commitment to the health and wellbeing of its student community, Grinnell has created this new Dean position in the Division of Student Affairs to provide a holistic and renewed vision, strategic leadership, and enhanced collaboration for Student Health and Counseling Services (SHACS) within a caring campus community with strong support and dedication to holistic, student-centered health.
Grinnell is seeking a leader with exceptional credentials, experience, communication skills, and credibility to lead and assure the quality and effectiveness of a comprehensive and integrated program. The successful candidate must have a detailed understanding of health and wellbeing for college students; a holistic perspective and disposition regarding the essential connections among health, counseling, wellness and prevention services; and a deep commitment to understanding and responding to the needs of Grinnell’s high-achieving, diverse and global student body.
Position Summary
The Dean of Health and Wellness (Dean) has responsibility for the strategic leadership, holistic vision, effective management, supervision, and overall administration and operations of Student Health and Counseling Services (SHACS), including an array of wellness and outreach programs. This position will facilitate and maintain a culture of intentional collaboration and integration among all areas of SHACS to develop and improve policies, programs, and services aimed at a holistic model of health, counseling and wellness for the campus community.
The Dean provides all aspects of administration and operational management including budget and financial oversight; supervision of a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals, public health professionals, and administrative staff; and the coordination of assessment, strategic planning, policies, and procedures. This position reports to the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and serves as a member of the Student Affairs leadership team. The Dean plays a pivotal role in creating and fostering partnerships across other areas in Student Affairs, as well as other campus and community partners, to ensure the delivery of high quality health, mental health, and preventive care and services to students in alignment with institutional and Student Affairs’ goals, purposes, and priorities.
Primary Responsibilities
• Create a vision for health and wellness on campus and advance the growth and improvement of these areas; serve as a thought leader among staff and faculty.
• Provide overall direction for an integrated health and wellness center that includes counseling, nursing, tele-psychiatry, health promotion, substance abuse prevention, education, and in-town transportation.
• Build a cohesive team among the Health, Wellness and Counseling staff and facilitate collaborations needed to accomplish departmental and office goals and priorities.
• Organize and lead an ongoing strategic planning and assessment process for SHACS.
• Create and oversee policies and protocols that govern medical and mental health care and that mitigate risk to students, the staff, and the institution.
• Oversee personnel recruitment, training, supervision, and evaluation; provide frequent opportunities for professional development.
• Supervise and manage direct reports, including but not limited to, the staff counselors, Director of Health Services, Assistant Dean for Wellness and Prevention, a shared University of Iowa faculty member, and three administrative professionals.
• Provide direct clinical supervision for in-house staff counselors and the doctoral program faculty from the University of Iowa, including clinical case management, consultation, upholding documentation standards, quality assurance, and coordinating treatment plans.
• Provide occasional direct clinical care for students in emergent or triage situations; be available for occasional consultation by phone with Student Affairs colleagues who are on-call.
• Establish and maintain close collaborations with campus partners, and liaise with off-campus medical and mental health providers.
• Ensure effective and confidential use of the electronic medical records systems.
• Manage operational budgets totaling approximately $410,000. Manage contracts for the University of Iowa doctoral internship program and Protocall (after-hours counseling care). Provide support to the Director of Health Services with contracts for the medical director, tele-psychiatry, Fonemed (after-hours nursing care), and medical waste.
• Coordinate a comprehensive prevention and education program that incorporate multicultural diversity, inclusivity and social justice concepts and principles.
• Provide information and data on request to represent the accomplishments and needs of the department.
• Serve on the leadership team for Student Affairs; serve on relevant committees within and outside of Student Affairs.
• Remain professionally current in knowledge and practice and ensure that staff remain appropriately licensed.
Required Qualifications
• Doctoral level degree in Counseling or Clinical Psychology from an APA accredited program or other related fields with an advanced degree in counseling or social work.
• Licensed as a clinician or psychologist in the state of Iowa or currently licensed in another state and eligible to attain Iowa licensure.
• At least seven years of relevant experience that includes demonstrated success in the management and supervision of health, mental health, or health promotion services, or a closely related area of health care practice and administration.
• Demonstrated supervisory and leadership skills within a diverse environment.
• Strong fiscal management/budget skills.
• Well-developed skills of team management, coalition building, and operation in interdisciplinary environments.
• Knowledge of integrated care and ability to lead effectively within an integrated model.
• Experience with Electronic Health Records (Grinnell uses Point and Click) and commitment to/respect for the relevant student privacy obligations.
• Excellent public speaking, interpersonal, communication, and critical thinking skills, including the ability to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds.
Preferred Qualifications
• Understanding of and direct experience in a college or university setting.
• Three or more years of post-doctoral clinical or administrative experience.
• Experience or past participation with a clinical training program (i.e., doctoral internship, postdoctoral fellowship, advanced practicum training program) within a college or university counseling center.
About Grinnell
Founded in 1846, Grinnell College is a highly selective residential liberal arts college that enrolls over 1,600 students from every state and about 50 countries around the world. The College’s primary mission is to provide students with a broad, deep, and life-enhancing education, preparing its students for professional success, personal growth, and social responsibility. The College’s graduates are equipped to pursue successful careers, satisfying personal lives, effective community service, and intellectually stimulating and physically active leisure.
The Grinnell liberal arts education is an exceptional, rigorous, comprehensive, and opportunity-rich experience that has, at its heart, meaningful one-on-one interactions between students and faculty. Capitalizing on a student/faculty ratio of 9:1; the College’s curricular and research programs incorporate active learning and collaborative work between students and faculty and a strong, growing commitment to undergraduate research.
Grinnell’s campus comprises 190 acres and 92 buildings, in the center of Grinnell, Iowa, a progressive, community-minded town of roughly 10,000 people located within an hour’s drive of Iowa’s main cities, Des Moines and Iowa City, and within about five hours of several major metropolitan areas including Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Omaha. In the last 15 years, Grinnell College has invested close to $265 million in the campus. The results are impressive and include a new campus center, the Noyce Science Center, five new residence halls, new and impressive athletic facilities, and substantial renovations to many existing buildings. For more information, please visit: https://www.grinnell.edu/about
Grinnell College is committed to establishing and maintaining a safe and nondiscriminatory educational environment for all College community members. It is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in matters of admission, employment, and housing, and in access to and participation in its education programs, services, and activities. The College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth, religion, disability, creed or any other protected class. Discrimination and harassment on any of the bases covered by state or federal antidiscrimination statutes is unlawful and a violation of Grinnell College policy.