The
The UM-SJTU JI offers Engineering
undergraduate degree programs in
The JI recruits top-quality faculty worldwide to conduct high-impact research and direct doctoral and master’s level education, with degrees granted by the SJTU. It currently employs 65 faculty members and 19 post-doctoral researchers, all appointed at the JI within SJTU. Additional UM visiting faculty offer courses at the JI each year. The JI faculty mentors a graduate student body of over 294 individuals. The JI’s operating budget is independent of SJTU with tuition revenue contributing a majority of the financial income. Its incoming first-year class is set at 300 domestic students, with additional international students joining its degree programs.
The next Dean will bring exceptional leadership skills, extensive experience in academic administration, a strong and innovative vision for the future of the Joint Institute, a history of academic engagements with international partners, and energy and enthusiasm for promoting the work of the Joint Institute.
A search committee with representation from both institutions has been convened to conduct the search and to recommend finalists to the UM-SJTU Partnership Board.
The Dean, residing in
● set the strategic vision and provide leadership in the JI’s pursuit of its goal of providing high-quality undergraduate and graduate education, and research;
● recruit and maintain an excellent faculty body;
● create and support educational and research programs of the highest quality;
● attract excellent undergraduate and graduate students;
● create collaborative opportunities with other schools and units within both SJTU and the U-M;
● provide leadership and guide fundraising and development initiatives to support JI’s priorities.
● enhance productive relationships with alumni, donors, and local, national, and international communities;
The Dean of the JI plays a major leadership role within the broader SJTU community, stimulating and facilitating synergistic collaborations with other schools and colleges, and providing a testbed for Western models of education and research at a Chinese campus.
As the chief academic, administrative, and
financial officer of the JI, the Dean reports directly to the UM-SJTU
Partnership Board, comprising leadership members of
Since its inception, the Joint Institute has established an exceptional faculty body that excels globally in research along several technology fronts. Today, the Joint Institute is at the forefront of domestic and international competitive opportunities as a center of excellence for future technology developments.
The next Dean of the Joint Institute has the unique opportunity to build on a solid foundation of excellence in research and education, to further enhance the mission and success of the UM-SJTU Joint Institute. In this context, the Dean will pursue the following goals:
● Grow and expand the diversity of the faculty and the students. The Joint Institute expects to experience growth in its faculty size, in alignment with the number of students affiliated with each of its three engineering programs. Such growth should expand faculty diversity along a wide range of dimensions, including gender, ethnicity, country of origin, cultural background, etc. The international profile of the JI’s student body has been growing as well, with significant further potential for growth in this dimension.
● Grow and expand the diversity of the JI’s graduate student population, with a target goal of steadily increasing the size of the graduate student body in the next five years. Such growth should consider the future research directions of the Institute, and expand the diversity of the graduate student body along a wide range of dimensions, including gender, ethnicity, country of origin, cultural background, etc.
● Pursue innovative and strategic education and research directions, to expand the areas of research and education of the Joint Institute along directions that promote its excellence among peer institutions, the pursuit of research grants by the faculty, both in quality and quantity, and attract even stronger cohorts of top-quality undergraduate students.
The next dean must have the following qualifications:
● An earned doctorate and a record of scholarly achievement appropriate for an appointment at the level of Professor with Tenure in a department within the Joint Institute. The individual should be an internationally recognized scholar with the desire, ability, and vision to lead an organization that is at the forefront of developing new models for research and scholarship, and graduate and undergraduate education within China;
● A record of progressive and visionary academic leadership experience in higher education. The candidate must possess demonstrated effectiveness in planning, administration, and personnel and fiscal management;
● Demonstrated substantial evidence of leading sustainable transformation in diversity and inclusion initiatives and a strong ability to recruit excellent faculty;
● Effectiveness in working with a diverse student body, faculty, staff, other university constituents, and external organizations;
● Ability to work collaboratively with academic units and international partners to create curricular and co-curricular components that advance student experiences and research partnerships;
● A high level of administrative
acumen, enabling them to lead a unit (the Joint Institute) that operates under
different academic and procedural rules than its host institution (SJTU). As an
example, the Joint Institute follows practices that are typical of the
● An understanding of operating and governance structures in both Chinese and US academic systems. Additionally, familiarity with the U-M or SJTU (or both) governance structures is a valuable addition to a candidate’s profile;
Interested candidates should email umsjtujisearch@sjtu.edu.cn and UMSJTU-JIapplications@umich.edu for any questions. Applications should include a CV and cover letter that articulates the candidate’s interest in the deanship at the Joint Institute. Materials should be in English and be emailed as a single PDF document to both umsjtujisearch@sjtu.edu.cn and UMSJTU-JIapplications@umich.edu. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through September 30, 2024.
The UM-SJTU Joint Institute is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic university community committed to teaching and the pursuit of research in a multicultural environment. Potential applicants who share this goal are encouraged to apply.