Vice Dean

“We educate and empower communicators to create an informed and inclusive society, advancing understanding and connection among creators, audiences, industry and the academy.”

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University invites nominations and applications for the position of Vice Dean. As the chief academic officer of the School, the Vice Dean will help shape the future of education and practice in journalism, mass communications and media through programs that connect world-class teaching, applied research, and real-world experience with an ethos of public service, equity, and innovation.

Located in the heart of downtown Phoenix, with hubs in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and abroad, the School is home to award-winning professional programs such as Cronkite News, the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, the Knight Center for the Future of News, and CronkitePro, ASU’s global professional learning platform for media and communication. Cronkite’s mission reflects ASU’s charter: to measure success not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed. The Vice Dean will play a defining role in realizing that vision.

Reporting directly to the Dean, the inaugural Vice Dean will bring a track record of helping to shape and drive ideas forward while simultaneously managing faculty and staff toward desired outcomes. A key member of the leadership team, the Vice Dean will provide strategic, academic, and operational oversight for all faculty and student affairs within the Cronkite School. This role is instrumental in advancing the School’s vision as a global leader in journalism, strategic communication, and media education—aligned with ASU’s core values of access, excellence, and innovation. The Vice Dean will lead with a broad, ambitious, and impactful vision and a leadership style that aligns with ASU's culture of invention and innovation. The ideal candidate must be a thoughtful, articulate, inspiring leader who will work collaboratively with others across both the School and ASU, emphasizing the value of curiosity and excellent communication skills.

This inaugural role offers an experienced leader the opportunity to innovate on a personal and professional level and have an impact on the School as a whole. The successful candidate will bring not only a passion for the ASU's commitment to the "New American University" vision but also the capacity to be creative and nimble in the face of an ever-changing and evolving academic landscape.

The Vice Dean will lead the academic evolution of the Cronkite School amid rapid technological change and global expansion, balancing academic rigor with the School's entrepreneurial and applied mission. Across core responsibilities, the Vice Dean will maintain a key focus on transparency, communication, and stakeholder representation in decision making and implementation, and must be unambiguously committed to sustainability, efficiency, and collaboration, and above all, student access and success.

Central to this role is advancing a culture of transparency, inclusion, and collaboration among faculty, staff, and students, while building connections between research, practice, and pedagogy through the RTAST model—Research, Test, Apply, Share, Train. The Vice Dean will also align academic priorities with CronkitePro's workforce development initiatives and global educational partnerships, ensuring that the School's scholarly work directly informs and enhances professional training and international reach. As a key part of the College leadership team, the Vice Dean will contribute innovative ideas and proposals that will better the future of the School as a whole.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 

Academic Leadership and Strategic Planning

•    Serve as the chief academic officer for the Cronkite School, overseeing the integrity and excellence of all undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.

•    Lead faculty and academic governance in partnership with the Dean, senior associate deans, associate dean, and assistant dean.

•    Advance curriculum design, program assessment, and academic innovation across on-campus, online, and global platforms, ensuring alignment with ASU’s Learning Enterprise and CronkitePro initiatives.

•    Collaborate closely with the Dean to execute the School’s strategic plan, focusing on academic quality, innovation, and enrollment growth.

Faculty Affairs

•    Oversee all faculty matters, including recruitment, development, mentoring, evaluation, promotion, and retention.

•    Cultivate a collegial, creative, and inclusive academic environment that empowers faculty to thrive in teaching, research, and professional practice.

•    Partner with research centers and professional programs to strengthen faculty engagement with CronkitePro, the Knight Center for the Future of News, and Cronkite+ platforms.

•    Lead initiatives to attract, recruit, and support faculty who exemplify inclusive excellence and reflect the communities served by the School.

Student Affairs and Academic Experience 

•    Provide oversight for student success initiatives across undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs. 

•    Collaborate with the leadership team to ensure cohesive advising, mentoring, and academic support. 

•    Promote a student-centered learning environment that integrates classroom instruction with professional experience through Cronkite News, CronkitePro, and the School’s Los Angeles and Washington D.C. programs.

•    Strengthen pathways for student access, persistence, and career readiness through partnership with ASU’s Learning Enterprise and industry collaborators. 

Research, Innovation, and External Engagement

•    Support and elevate the School’s research enterprise through faculty collaboration with the Knight Center for the Future of News and other Cronkite research labs. 

•    Encourage cross-disciplinary innovation between journalism, media technology, and social science to advance public trust in media and information literacy.

•    Work with the Dean and Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives to align academic programs with CronkitePro’s global training ecosystem and external partnerships.

•    Build connections between research, practice, and pedagogy through the RTAST model—Research, Test, Apply, Share, Train.

Administrative and Operational Leadership

•    Oversee faculty and academic operations, including budgeting, scheduling, accreditation, and academic policy.

•    Ensure academic quality, fiscal responsibility, and effective use of resources.

•    Serve as acting Dean when delegated, providing steady leadership and sound judgment in the School’s management and representation. 

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

Required

•    Earned terminal degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) in journalism, mass communication, media studies, or other relevant discipline.

•    Have previously earned tenure at a peer institution and/or have a strong teaching and research portfolio and a national reputation commensurate with the rank of a tenured full professor at a Research 1 university.

•    Demonstrated excellence in teaching, scholarship, and/or professional achievement.

•    Substantial experience in higher education administration, including supervision of faculty and oversight of academic programs.

•    Proven ability to lead collaboratively in a complex academic environment.

Preferred

•    Experience developing and launching new academic programs, including online and hybrid modalities.

•    Demonstrated success in faculty mentoring, performance evaluation, and shared governance.

•    Experience managing budgets, accreditation, and strategic planning.

•    Track record of connecting academic programs with industry and community engagement.

•    Strong communication, organizational, and leadership skills reflecting integrity, creativity, and empathy.

ABOUT THE CRONKITE SCHOOL

The Cronkite School is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier colleges of journalism and mass communication. The school fosters excellence and ethics among students as they master the professional skills they need to succeed in the media world of today and tomorrow.

The Cronkite School is located on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus, in the heart of the nation’s fifth-largest city, with additional centers in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The Cronkite faculty includes award-winning journalists, strategic communicators, digital media thought leaders, media entrepreneurs and world-class media scholars.

Cronkite offers bachelor’s degrees in journalism and mass communication, sports journalism, digital audiences, mass communication and media studies, and digital media literacy. The School offers master’s degrees in strategic communications, mass communication, sports journalism, investigative journalism and digital audience strategy as well as a PhD program in journalism and mass communication.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Arizona State University, ranked the No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for nine years in succession, has forged the model for a New American University. Year after year, ASU ranks at or near the top of the list in areas that matter. ASU is a comprehensive public research institution, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves. ASU operates on the principles that learning is a personal and original journey for each student; that they thrive on experience and that the process of discovery cannot be bound by traditional academic disciplines. Through innovation and a commitment to accessibility, ASU has drawn pioneering researchers to its faculty even as it expands opportunities for qualified students, attracting some of the highest- quality students from all 50 states and more than 130 nations.

APPLICATIONS, INQUIRIES, AND NOMINATIONS

Applicants should click the ‘Apply’ button below to submit their application, which must include the following materials: 

•    A cover letter stating qualifications 

•    Curriculum vitae or resumé

•    Contact information (name, address, email, telephone number) for three professional references

Cover letters may be addressed to Dr. Dawn Gilpin, chair of the search committee. Questions about the position should be directed to: CronkiteViceDean@imsearch.com.

Application deadline: January 22, 2026. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled. This position is located in Phoenix, Arizona at the downtown Phoenix campus.

Successful candidates will demonstrate throughout their materials how their teaching, research, and service will contribute to the fulfillment of the ASU Charter.

David Bellshaw is leading this search with Jaime Morgen, Leslie Lemus, and Kendra Moleé. 

A background check is required for employment. Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and 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, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. For more information, please visit: https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html  and https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/ 

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