Responsibilities of the Position
Reporting to and in close partnership with the vice president for student affairs, the dean of students and associate vice president (dean) is a senior leader in the Division of Student Affairs and provides strategic leadership and operational direction for Macalester College’s student experience. The role advances a holistic vision of student engagement, advocacy, education, support, and accountability that promotes student success, belonging, and holistic well-being.
The dean serves as an important campus leader for student life, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment grounded in care, equity, and student development. The position oversees a comprehensive portfolio, including student support, case management, crisis response, student conduct, residential life, health and well-being, disability resources, international student programs, counseling, health promotion and sexual respect, and the commencement ceremony. The dean ensures these areas operate cohesively and inclusively, align with institutional priorities, and deliver developmental and student-centered services. As the primary on-call leader for student-related emergencies, the dean exercises sound judgment in high-stakes situations, coordinates the institutional response, and ensures timely decision-making. The dean provides leadership in navigating complex campus dynamics, including student activism and protests, balancing free expression with community safety, institutional integrity, and continuity of operations. Additionally, the dean serves as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator and offers students support through this process.
Grounded in student development theory and best practices, the dean leads the design and implementation of policies, systems, and protocols that foster a culture of care, accountability, and learning. The position plays a key role in shaping campus climate by building trust among students, faculty, and staff and serving as a visible, credible, and responsive advocate for student needs. The dean collaborates across divisions and with external partners to strengthen the student experience, advance equity and inclusion, and respond to the evolving needs of a diverse student body. Through strong leadership, effective communication, and data-informed decision making, the dean contributes to institutional and divisional goals related to student success, retention, and community well-being. The dean provides supervision to four direct reports and over 40 staff in their area, while managing a budget of approximately $500,000.
Key responsibilities as outlined in the job description include:
Oversight of Student Support, Safety, Well-Being, Student Conduct, and Crisis Response: Provide strategic leadership for these areas and for the staff responsible for them, implementing high-impact practices and ensuring safe outcomes. Implement clear protocols, consistent training, and high levels of competency for the on-call Scots Care case management and risk assessment teams, maintaining a focus on timely, coordinated, and student-centered response. Serve as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator.
Student Engagement, Advocacy, and Communication: Serve as a visible and trusted advocate for students through administrative roles, attendance at events, and consistent outreach. Ensure clear, transparent, and timely communication that builds relationships and support for student success. Create and champion student-centered structures and approaches that strengthen opportunities for student development, engagement, and belonging on campus.
Policy Development, Compliance, and Risk Management: Lead the development, implementation, and regular review of the Student Handbook and other student-facing policies to ensure alignment with legal requirements, institutional values, and best practices. Mitigate institutional risk through proactive compliance efforts, education, and consistent policy enforcement. Train downstream staff and campus partners serving on-call, on Scots Care, and on risk assessment teams—to have high competency in assessing risk management in mid- and high-stakes situations.
Leadership in Campus Climate, Student Activism, and Institutional Response: Provide leadership in planning for and navigating complex campus climate issues, including student activism and protests. Balance support for free expression with institutional responsibilities, guiding coordinated, values-based responses that promote safety, dialogue, and community trust.
Cross-Divisional Collaboration and Institutional Partnerships: Build and sustain strong partnerships across academic and administrative departments to support a holistic student experience. Collaborate with faculty, staff, and senior leadership to align priorities, address emerging issues, and advance institutional goals.
Assessment, Data-Informed Decision-Making, and Continuous Improvement: Establish and use metrics to assess effectiveness, identify trends, and inform strategic decisions. Lead continuous improvement efforts by leveraging data, emerging best practices and research, student feedback, and outcomes assessment to enhance programs, services, and operational efficiency.
Team Leadership: Hire, train, develop, and manage the effectiveness of team members to meet college and department goals. Provide coaching and informal feedback on an ongoing basis and formal feedback in the annual performance review process to develop talent. Collaborate with human resources on employee processes.
Qualifications and Characteristics of the Successful Candidate
Requirements include a master’s degree in higher education, leadership, or a related field, and a minimum of eight years of progressive leadership experience in student affairs, student services, or a related area. Preferred qualifications include experience within a higher education environment and a terminal degree.
Competitive candidates will possess:
- Knowledge of student development theory, trends related to college-age young adults, higher education administration and supervision, student support and case management, conflict resolution, crisis management, and student success.
- Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, such as the ability to define on-call, case management, and crisis response protocols, and to make decisions quickly and competently under stressful circumstances while providing support to students and leadership to staff.
- Effective management and allocation of financial and other resources.
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated capacity to communicate broadly across campus constituencies.
- Ability to collaboratively lead strategic initiatives with a student-centered focus on efficiency and improvement.
- Strong supervision, communication, accountability, and coaching skills to allow mid-level managers to successfully lead their areas of responsibility.
- High degree of accessibility and openness to students, and a commitment to fully participating in the life of the campus community. Ability to inspire trust, create relationships across all areas of the institution, cultivate a sense of community and shared vision, and lead multi-unit work groups to address complex campus issues.
In addition to the qualifications stated above, key stakeholders identified the following capabilities and attributes of a successful candidate:
- Experience with crisis management, behavioral intervention and care teams.
- Exceptional collaboration and partnership building with stakeholders both on and off campus.
- Strong skills in relationship building and networking.
- Student-centered professional who advocates for student needs and concerns.
- Content expertise in student services delivery.
History of the Position
The position will become vacant following Dr. Javier Gutierrez’s departure in June 2026. Upon his departure, Gutierrez will have served in the role for two and a half years. The former chief student affairs officer served as both the dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs before becoming the vice president for student affairs.
Opportunities and Challenges of the Role
In transitioning to Macalester College, the dean will encounter the following opportunities, priorities, and challenges, as shared by key campus stakeholders:
- Enhanced Student Life. A new residence hall is scheduled to open in 2027, increasing the residential community to over 1,500 students. The college has expanded the live-in requirement for students from two to three years. Living learning communities will expand co-curricular programming and events to support greater student success and collaboration across campus.
- Understanding of the Macalester Campus Culture. The new dean will promote an environment that celebrates differences, social transformation, and civil discourse for students passionate about broader social issues and activism. Macalester aims to create alumni who work toward a more just and peaceful world.
- Increased Complexity for Student Services. Student needs continue to expand in complexity. The new dean will facilitate a seamless student experience by fostering greater collaboration, more effective resource use, and greater capacity for shared initiatives across the division and campus. They will need to develop creative strategies to support and advocate for all areas as the complexity of student services demands continues to grow.
- Staff Support and Professional Development. As students seek more support for well-being, belonging, and academic success, staff face the ongoing challenge of balancing these growing needs with capacity constraints, underscoring the importance of staff development and training. Macalester will continue to invest in supervisor-specific training for mid-level and senior-level staff that equips them to set clear expectations, develop departmental policies and procedures, provide staff support, and develop strategic departmental plans.
- Operational Efficiency. The new dean will work with departmental leadership to assess operations, resources, and programs. They will use these reviews to maximize efficiency and greater collaborations among units and campus partners.
Measures of Success
The items listed below will define success for the dean throughout the first year of employment. The next dean will:
- Be viewed by students and senior leaders as a visible and engaged leader throughout the campus, building bridges between students and administrators.
- Effectively analyze, contribute to, and define initiatives that are best practices for the division moving forward with their strategic plan.
- Be seen as an advocate for students and a champion for building a sense of belonging for all community members.
- Assess the impact of programs and services within their areas of responsibility.
- Be considered an essential team member and collaborator with faculty, staff, and students working toward achieving departmental, divisional, and institutional goals.
- Expand the professional development and mentoring of staff within the department.
- Contribute to policy evaluation, creation, and education for the campus community.
Overview of The Dean of Students Office
The Dean of Students Office is part of the Division of Student Affairs, reporting to the vice president of student affairs. The Dean of Students Office serves as the primary administrative contact and advocate for students. The office works directly with students to provide services, resources, and programs that enhance student life and the Macalester community.
The functions of the Dean of Students Office are to:
- Provide general assistance to students, parents, and/or families with concerns and questions.
- Serve as a point of contact for off-campus living and neighborhood concerns.
- Be responsible for the Scots Care program and the behavior intervention and on-call teams.
- Oversee the student conduct process and the Macalester College student handbook (FAQs).
- Coordinate the process for student leave of absence, leave extension, and withdrawal from the college.
- Collaborate with faculty to ensure comprehensive case management support for students.
- Serve on the academic standing status committee.
Dean of Students Office organizational chart
Division of Student Affairs
The Division of Student Affairs encompasses a wide array of departments and programs to support and provide resources to students at Macalester.
Divisional Leadership
Kathryn Kay Coquemont
Dr. Kathryn Kay Coquemont serves as Macalester’s vice president for student affairs, which includes the areas of entrepreneurship & innovation, student research & creativity, behavioral intervention & case management, health & wellness, student leadership & engagement, Division III athletics, residential life, counseling, recreation, the campus center, disability services, health promotion and sexual respect, orientation, career exploration, employer engagement and internships, and international student programs.
Coquemont received her BA in journalism and her master’s degree in education from the University of Georgia, and her PhD in educational leadership and policy from the University of Utah. She has served in a number of national leadership roles, including on the board of directors, for both NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) and NODA (Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education).
Student Affairs organizational chart
Student Affairs Strategic Plan
Institutional Overview
Macalester prepares students to address real-world needs by learning about issues in the classroom and working in the community. Students work toward social justice and are dedicated to making a difference. Macalester combines a close-knit, welcoming community with the benefits of being in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area in Minnesota, a state where each person has the right to express their full human dignity. Macalester students come from 49 U.S. states and 108 countries for an academic program ranked among the top in the nation, where ideas and intellectual curiosity matter.
The college’s philosophy of global citizenship and collaborative learning prepares students to have an outsized impact on the world. Successful Macalester alumni are found everywhere, from politics to public health, technology to theology, and entertainment to the environment.
The Student Body
Total Enrollment: 2,138
Undergraduate: 2,138
Male: 47%
Female: 53%
African American/Black: 6%
Asian: 8%
Hispanic/Latino: 11%
White: 50%
Two or More Races: 9%
Unknown: 1%
Non-Resident: 15%
Institutional Leadership
Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera
Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera is Macalester College’s 17th president. Having worked in higher education for more than 25 years, Rivera is an accomplished leader, instructor, researcher, and scholar. She is an advocate for social justice and brings a strong commitment to inclusion and equity to her role as president. Prior to her appointment at Macalester, Rivera held academic and leadership roles at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio; UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas; and the University of California-Irvine.
As president of Macalester, Rivera also participates in numerous civic and professional organizations. She is the chair of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Presidents Council, chair of the board of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Minnesota Private College Council and the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Locally, she serves as a trustee of the Science Museum of Minnesota and of College Possible. Rivera is also a member of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Forum. A national expert in research ethics, Rivera has published numerous articles, essays, and book chapters that explore the moral dimensions of science, including informed consent for research, the use of human specimens, and the protection of research subject privacy. She co-edited the book Specimen Science, published by MIT Press in 2017. More recently, her public speaking and writing have focused on the value of higher education, the importance of expanding access to college, and educators’ role in fostering a healthy democracy.
Senior Leadership Organizational Chart
Imagine, Macalester Strategic Plan
Diversity Statement
“Macalester is a community that intentionally leans into challenging conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Macalester’s value of multiculturalism inherently means a commitment to cultural competency, building bridges, and reaching out across differences.”
Land Acknowledgement
“Macalester College is located on the homeland of the Dakota people – Mni Sota Makoce [Mini SOta Ma-KOH-chay], which translates to Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds. Although they were forcibly exiled by aggressive and persistent settler colonialism, the Dakota people still flourish despite this painful history. We make this acknowledgment to honor the Dakota people, ancestors, and descendants, as well as the land itself. Macalester engages in ongoing work toward repair and partnership with the Dakota people and the land, as well as to support Indigenous members of our campus community.”
Benefits Overview
Macalester College understands the contribution each employee makes to the college’s accomplishments and works to provide a comprehensive program of competitive benefits to attract and retain the best employees available. Through its benefits programs, Macalester strives to support the needs of each employee and their dependents by providing a benefit package that is easy to understand, easy to access, and affordable for all employees.
- Ten percent (10%) employer contributions to the retirement plan.
- Generous Parental Leave.
- Outstanding vacation and sick time packages, plus an additional ten (10) paid holidays.
- Comprehensive health insurance plans, including a generous employer contribution to a Health Savings Account.
- Tuition assistance, which pays between 75 – 100 percent of eligible tuition for employee dependents at select institutions.
- Free primary care for most services through Nice Healthcare when enrolled in a Macalester health plan.
- Access to the athletics fitness facility, wellness coaching, and activities.
For a better understanding, including answers to frequently asked questions, please visit the Macalester Benefits Page.
Application
Review of applications will begin April 30, 2026, and continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start for this position is July/August 2026. To apply for this position, please click on the Apply button, complete the brief application process, and upload your resume and position-specific cover letter. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895 or email info@spelmanjohnson.com.
Visit the Macalester College website at https://www.macalester.edu/
Macalester College does not discriminate on the grounds of sex, gender identity, race, color, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, marital status, familial status, pregnancy, genetic information, membership, or activity in a local human rights commission, veteran status, sexual orientation, status with regard to public assistance, or other categories protected by law, in employment policies and practices, education, and all other areas of the college. For additional information, see Macalester College’s full Notice of Non-Discrimination.
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