SEARCH PROFILE: DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERISTY, LONG BEACH 4 ACADEMIC AFFAIRS 5 THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS 6 THE LEADERSHIP AGENDA 7 QUALIFICATIONS 8 NOMINATIONS AND APPLICATIONS 9 EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS 9SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts3 California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) seeks an inspirational leader who possesses the academic, financial, and strategic acumen to execute collaborative, equitable, and transparent leadership for the present and future of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). CSULB seeks outstanding, publicly engaged leaders to join a dedicated leadership team that is committed to advancing the University’s broad and forward-looking mission. The new Dean is expected to begin in the summer of 2026.SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts4 ABOUT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY , LONG BEACH CSULB is a diverse, learning-centered, globally engaged public university that is a minority serving institution (HSI and ANAPISI designations). The University enriches the lives of its students and its surrounding community through globally informed, high-impact educational experiences with superior teaching, research, creative activity, and public action. CSULB envisions being a force for good at the forefront of public higher education for California and the world by providing excellent and affordable education to a diverse student population, striving to recruit faculty and staff that reflect the heterogeneity of their student population, and committing to the social mobility of our students and graduates. As recently as 2024, national rankings by Money.com place CSULB among “The Best Colleges in America.” For these rankings, Money assessed factors such as educational quality, tuition, financial aid awards, graduation rates, debt load, and early-career earnings. In addition, CSULB is ranked No. 3 in the nation for its impact in driving social mobility, according to a new ranking published by U.S. News & World Report 2024. The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education has ranked CSULB No. 8 in the nation for campus diversity. The CSU system prepares more of California’s teachers – preschool through grade 12 – than any other institutions combined. The CSUs produce 4% of the nation’s teachers. In March of 2021, CSULB’s accreditation was reaffirmed for 10 years by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission. The Commission’s findings highlighted the academic excellence and commitment to student learning that defines CSULB. These highlights include: • “The culture of mutual respect evident across its campus and programs, notably between its student affairs and academic affairs areas, as exemplified by their collaborative spirit and commitment to supporting students and helping them progress academically and graduate in timely fashion.” • The depth and breadth of CSULB’s academic and other student support services, “targeted to the varying needs of its very diverse student body, and for the resulting improvements in undergraduate graduation rates.” • “The broadening of academic program review processes to include inquiry into the effectiveness of student support programs and administrative centers.” • CSULB’s approach “to supporting the success of graduate students, who receive academic advising, guidance in writing, mental health workshops, preparation for internships, and conference opportunities, and for the planned expansion of graduate student space.” • The ongoing commitment to the local community, “exemplified by the Promise program, which has raised the percentage of local area students entering the university and fostered close partnership between CSULB and Long Beach City College that includes enhanced advising and support for transfer students.” SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts5 ABOUT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY , LONG BEACH (CONT.) THE CAMPUS Located three miles from the Pacific Ocean, CSULB’s urban campus spreads across 322 acres and has 84 buildings, 63 academic departments and programs, 24 centers, four institutes, and four clinics. The minimalist-designed buildings, created primarily by architect Edward Killingsworth, places emphasis on landscaping, giving CSULB a naturalistic, park-like layout that has earned numerous design awards. The Beach recently opened a state-of-the-art net zero energy classroom for the College of Professional and International Education, the first of its kind in the California State University system. Its Platinum LEED rating is the highest energy efficient building on campus. Five buildings have earned LEED ratings of Gold or Silver. The student-operated University Student Union is located at the center of the campus, providing a focal point for the campus community. The three-story glass building occupies roughly 180,000 square feet and houses offices, a study lounge, ballroom, food court, bowling alley, arcade and movie theater. Brotman Hall, located near the University Student Union, is where administrative offices and many centralized campus services can be found. OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, CSULB HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS ACCOLADES FOR MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY INCLUDING: •No. 3 among national universities in promoting social mobility ( U.S. News and World Report , 2025) •“Best Colleges in America,” 5 out of 5 stars (Money. com 2025) •Among the top 50 U.S. universities ( Wall Street Journal , 2025) •Seal of Excelencia certified institution ( Excelencia in Education , 2025) •Among the ‘Most Engaged Campuses for Student Voting’ (Civic Nation , 2024) •One of 27 institutions nationwide to earn both High Research (R2) and Opportunity Colleges and Universities (OCU) designations ( Carnegie Classi ication , 2025) •No. 9 in the U.S. ‘Best Colleges for your Tuition Dollars’ (Washington Monthly , 2025) •In the top 10% of schools nationwide for return on investment (Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, 2025) •$2.4B CSULB’s statewide economic impact (CSU ICF Study, 2025) •$10.6B state economic impact by alumni attributable to their Beach degree ( CSU ICF Study, 2025)ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Academic Affairs is the largest unit on the campus and is committed to providing leadership, oversight, and technical assistance to enhance all academic areas within the eight colleges, the University Library, academic support units, and central academic administrative offices. Academic Affairs encompasses the breadth and depth of the academic enterprise, including 900 tenure line faculty and approximately 500 lecturer faculty who provide instruction and support to over 33,000 undergraduate students enrolled in 90 majors and more than 5,400 graduate students across all eight colleges. The Dean will join the senior leadership team in Academic Affairs and report directly to the Provost, Karyn Scissum Gunn, Ph.D. who joined CSULB as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in July 2021. Before coming to CSULB, Dr. Scissum Gunn served as an associate vice president in Academic Affairs at Cal State Fullerton since 2017. She provided leadership for initiatives to bolster inclusive excellence and equitable outcomes for all students, with an emphasis on retention, graduation, time-to-degree, and elimination of equity gaps. With a passion for student success and a mission for serving the campus and community, Provost Scissum Gunn has developed an impressive track record as an academic leader and innovative administrator. SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts6 THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS The College of Liberal Arts at CSULB is the largest college on campus, with 31 excellent departments and programs, several innovative centers and projects, and more than 685 outstanding faculty members and 74 individual staff members. The College faculty are among the best in the nation and have received a variety of national and international awards. CLA has 9,300 undergraduate students pursuing a variety of highly valued degrees through the College’s 99 unique majors and minors. Additionally, 575 graduate students are also obtaining advanced degrees and special certificates in the College. With degrees ranging from humanities and foreign languages to social and behavioral sciences, CLA’s graduates are well-rounded citizens, effective communicators, and analytical thinkers who live knowledgeably, responsibly, and humanely in a world where complex problems demand informed, creative, and thoughtful solutions. The CLA Dean is expected to exercise vision, ethical leadership, and advocacy for the academic affairs of the College, including curricular matters, research, and other scholarly activities. As such, the successful candidate will hold a proven record of scholarship; experience in fostering diversity and inclusive excellence; commitment to transparency in decision making; a track record of promoting effective approaches to teaching and learning; and an unwavering commitment to fair, transparent, and collegial leadership.The Dean’s Duties include: •Providing leadership in the College’s scholarly areas ofteaching, research, and service. •Cultivating and supporting faculty teaching, scholarship,and service especially that which engages students. •Managing the fiscal and human resources of the College in consultation with the Dean’s Cabinet and the Liberal Arts Faculty Council. •Planning the orderly development of the College and its programs. •Promoting the use of effective and/or innovative curricula and pedagogy that support the success of students from a variety of backgrounds. •Fostering a collegial, consultative, and inclusive work environment with students, staff, faculty, and administrators within the College and throughout the University. •Building and maintaining fruitful relationships with alumni/ae, industry, and the community. •Championing exploration of difficult issues around systemic racism and unconscious bias in the College’s curricular and operational values. •Maintaining and enhancing an effective student advising and evaluation program. •Supervising and mentoring the College’s department andprogram chairs. •Supporting student organizations and fostering facultymentoring beyond the classroom. •Enhancing the visibility and reputation of the Collegewithin the University and the community. •Coordinating, supporting, and evaluating efforts on behalf of the instruction, research, and service missions of the University.SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts7 THE LEADERSHIP AGENDA As CSULB enters the next phase of the Beach 2030 strategic plan, the new Dean will play a critical role in shaping the future of the College both in the region and nationally. CLA seeks a leader who can articulate a clear vision for the College in the context of regional/ national emerging trends/issues in higher education and the humanities and social sciences fields, such as the enrollment cliff, shifting demographics, increased competition from UCs and CCs and meeting the lifelong learning needs of all students. The new Dean will provide visionary and strategic leadership to advance the mission and goals of CLA developing a plan to place CLA as a leader among peer institutions and further enhance the College’s record of achievement and excellence in the humanities and social sciences. The College seeks a leader who is both visionary and pragmatic—able to align aspirations with existing resources, while pursuing creative funding sources through grants, partnerships, and philanthropy. Within this context, the key priorities for the new dean include: 1.Strategic Planning •Proving leadership to the College’s assessment of itsstrategic plan (2022-2025) and imagining the forward goals for its next planning direction. •Contributing to achieving the campus strategic aims to reimagine faculty scholarship and creative activity. •Working with campus strategic enrollment planningunits to best assure well balanced enrollments in the College’s degree programs. 2.Fostering a Culture of Innovation, Collaboration and a Commitment to Inclusive Excellence •Leading a CLA culture that advances the University’sinclusive excellence goals, including use of creative recruitment, retention, and development strategies for faculty of color and underrepresented faculty morebroadly.•Cultivating and supporting faculty teaching,scholarship, and service, especially that which engages students’ success. •Working with faculty to identify, develop and create innovative, interdisciplinary environments •fostering learner success by integrating ouracademic, research, and community engagement endeavors. •Supporting student organizations and fostering faculty mentoring beyond the classroom. •Working closely with the College of Professional andContinuing Education (CPaCE) to sustain, expand, and advance programming opportunities to well position the CLA as a responsive and innovativeregional/national leader in humanities and social sciences professional and continuing education. •4/5 new programs from planned implementation to concept •Embrace new structures for launching degree, certificate and credential programs responsive todisciplinary and employer needs 3.Expanding Outreach and Securing External Support •Internal Relations: Enhancing the visibility andreputation of the College within the University and the community. •External Relations: Fostering relations between the University and educational partners in the Long Beach Community, including K-12 and community colleges. •Proactively leading fundraising opportunities thatwill push the frontiers of scholarship and support opportunities to engage students in experiences supporting their development as analytical thinkersand see themselves as social change agents in their respective disciplines.SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts8QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED •An earned terminal degree from an accredited institution in the humanities, liberal arts, or social sciences. •An excellent record of university teaching, scholarship, and service that would warrant appointment at the rank of full professor in one of the departments or programs housed in the College. •Articulated leadership vision to advance the missionand goals of the College of Liberal Arts, shaping the future of liberal arts education, emphasizing critical thinking, creative expression, and civic engagement. •Demonstrated experience working successfully withethnically and racially diverse student, faculty, and staff populations. •A record of progressively responsible leadership experience, including management of fiscal resources. •Demonstrated leadership in dynamic, diverse, multidisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary environments •Demonstrated leadership with consultative decision making and shared governance.PREFERRED •Commitment to advocating for faculty professionaldevelopment and success in the areas of instruction, research, and service. •Commitment to advocating for staff professional development and success. •Evidence of support leading to undergraduate andgraduate student success, including opportunities for high-impact practices—especially among first- generation, Pell-eligible students, and students withdiverse backgrounds. •Evidence of support for interdisciplinary initiatives andcollaborations among and between humanities and social science disciplines. •Demonstrated experience managing fiscal, human, and physical resources. •Success in identifying and cultivating philanthropic/fundraising opportunities to advance the mission and strategic direction of the College. •Demonstrated support of such aims as those articulated in Beach 2030 and the College strategic plan •Familiarity with the range of existing and emergingtechnologies, pedagogies, and methodologies impacting teaching and scholarship, including AI, digital learning, and support for life-long and distance learning. •Demonstrated ability to foster relations between theUniversity, K-12, and community college partners. •Demonstrated understanding of and commitment toprinciples of free speech and academic freedom. SEARCH PROFILE: College of Liberal Arts9 NOMINATIONS AND APPLICATIONS Academic Search is assisting California State University Long Beach in this search. Although nominations are not required to be considered for this position, leaders who know of outstanding candidates are welcome to submit confidential nominations by sending an email to CSULB- CLADean@academicsearch.org . Please include the nominee’s full name, position, institution/organization, and email address. Priority consideration will be given to materials received by Sunday, February 22, 2026. To apply a candidate should submit the following in three separate documents (pdf format preferred) to CSULB-CLADean@academicsearch.org : 1.a letter of intent addressing how the candidate’sexperiences match the position requirements; 2.a current CV/resume; and 3.contact information for at least five professional references, including email addresses and a brief note of the candidate’s working relationship with each. References will not be contacted without the priorknowledge and approval of the candidate and at a later stage in the search.The anticipated salary range for this position is $230,000 - $241,000. If you have any questions or if you have a disability and need accommodation with pre-employment processes (applications, interviews, etc.), please email FAHR@csulb.edu . Dr. Cynthia Patterson and Dr. Maria Thompson, Managing Directors and Senior Consultants with Academic Search, are assisting in this search. All inquiries, nominations, and applications will be held in strict confidence. To learn more about this opportunity, potential applicants are welcome to submit their CV’s to CSULB- CLADean@academicsearch.org . Additional information about the institution may be found at www.csulb.edu . EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS The duties of this position will include participation in decisions that may have a material financial benefit to the incumbent. Therefore, the selected candidate will be required to file Conflict of Interest Form 700: Statement of Economic Interests on an annual basis, complete ethics training within 6 months of appointment, and take this training every other year thereafter. A background check (including a criminal record check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.The person holding this position is considered a “mandated reporter” under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 Revised July 21, 2017, as a condition of employment. All university program and activities are open and available to all regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Consistent with CSU’s Nondiscrimination Policy, as well as state and federal law, CSULB provides equal opportunity in education and employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. To access CSULB’s full statement on Equal Opportunity and Excellence in Education and Employment, please visit Equity & Compliance.ABOUT ACADEMIC SEARCH Academic Search is assisting California State University, Long Beach in this work. For more than four decades, Academic Search has offered executive search services to higher education institutions, associations, and related organizations. Academic Search was founded by higher education leaders on the principle that we provide the most value to partner institutions by combining best practices with our deep knowledge and experience. Our mission today is to enhance institutional capacity by providing outstanding executive recruitment services, executive coaching, and transition support, in partnership with our parent organization, the American Academic Leadership Institute. academicsearch.org • 202-332-4049
