Dean, College of Public Health

ETSU•Johnson City, TN

About The Position

East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in the Appalachian Highlands of Tennessee, invites applications and nominations for an experienced, creative, student-focused, and energetic academic leader to serve as Dean of the College of Public Health. We seek a visionary leader who will foster the College’s leadership role in the state, region, and nation, advancing health and well-being for all through innovative teaching, research, and community engagement. For more information on ETSU, visit ETSU At-a-Glance [https://www.etsu.edu/umc/documents/etsu-at-a-glance-2026.pdf?_gl=1gv46xv_gcl_auMTExNDgyMTA0OS4xNzcxMDAxMDU3_gaNTQ5NDQxMjI0LjE2Njk2NzQ1NjI._ga_LFDKHVHJPYczE3NzIwNDYyMzYkbzYzMiRnMSR0MTc3MjA0NjI2NiRqNjAkbDAkaDA._ga_337TTHXJQYczE3NzIwNDYyMzYkbzQzJGcxJHQxNzcyMDQ2MjY2JGo2MCRsMCRoMA..]. The College of Public Health comprises five departments and seven research centers or institutes. Departments include Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Biomedical Health Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Sciences, Health Services Management and Policy, and Community and Behavioral Health. Centers and institutes include the Addiction Science Center, Center for Applied Research and Evaluation in Women’s Health, Center for Rural Health and Research, Center for Cardiovascular Risk Research, ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center, Tennessee Public Health Training Center, and the Tennessee Institute of Public Health. The College enrolls approximately 750 undergraduate students and 250 graduate students, employs over 90 full-time faculty and staff across the college, and offers eight degree programs at the bachelor’s, master's, and doctoral levels. The College of Public Health is dynamic. Since its founding as a standalone College in 2007, enrollment has grown an average of 7.8% annually, faculty and staff have more than doubled, degree offerings have doubled, and research productivity has increased by more than four orders of magnitude. In 2024, the College received the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Harrison Spencer Award for Outstanding Community Service, ASPPH’s highest honor for a school or college and has twice won the Delta Omega Award for Innovative Curriculum, one of only two schools in the country to have received both awards. The research portfolio of the college has grown exponentially including extramural funding and scientific publications. Sources of funding are diversified and include federal, state, private foundation, and non-profit sources. The college faculty and research centers have a strong track record of securing external funding to address pressing health challenges at the regional, state, and national levels. The college values student engagement in research with over half of all research projects and scientific presentations originating from the college including student participation. The Dean of the College of Public Health leads a Dean’s Office of 14, including 3 Associate Deans and 3 Assistant Deans, the Chairs of 5 academic departments, and Directors of 7 centers/institutes. More information on the College of Public Health can be found via the ETSU College of Public Health website [https://www.etsu.edu/cph/]. The incoming Dean will become an integral member of an energetic, collaborative, progressive leadership team of deans focused on regional health improvement through the unified branding of ETSU Health. ETSU Health includes the newly restructured College of Health Sciences, the James H. Quillen College of Medicine, the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, the College of Nursing, and the College of Public Health. Together, they enroll 4,000 students and offer 35 different degree programs, including 12 clinical and research doctoral degrees, and have achieved national recognition for their interprofessional education programs and practice partnerships spanning more than three decades. With a commitment to preparing graduates to practice in rural and underserved areas, ETSU Health is on the front lines of building the future health workforce for the region and nation. Roles and Responsibilities We seek a nationally recognized leader who respects the complex nature of teaching and learning across public health disciplines, impactful research, and interprofessional education. The Dean is expected to cultivate a healthy work environment by embracing a culture of transparency and shared governance, and to assure the College’s well-being by allocating funds, space, and other resources to support the College’s mission. The Dean will support and develop strong interprofessional, collaborative relationships with other colleges within the University, external academic institutions, local and regional health systems, healthcare providers, and community partners. They will provide leadership for strategic planning and policymaking, represent the College on university governance committees, and ensure compliance with internal and external policies, accreditation, and certification requirements. The Dean will also set the conditions for interdisciplinary research growth consistent with ETSU’s ambition to be one of the premier R2 research universities in the nation. Reporting to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academics, the Dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College of Public Health. The next Dean will be a visionary, collaborative leader who advances the College’s excellence in education, research and scholarship, and community partnership—aligned with ETSU’s mission and public service commitment across the Appalachian Highlands region and beyond.

Requirements

An earned terminal degree in a discipline appropriate to public health.
Achievement appropriate for appointment as a tenured full professor in an academic department within the College.
Demonstrated progressive administrative responsibilities in an academic, governmental, or practice-based public health setting, including demonstrated experience in vision development, strategic decision making, budget management, and hiring and leading teams of professionals toward common goals.
In addition, candidates should bring a record of effective leadership across complex organizations and an ability to communicate and build trust with a broad-base of constituents, including faculty, staff, students, policymakers, and community and professional partners.

Nice To Haves

Evidence of 10+ years of meaningful leadership and senior-level administrative experience in higher education.
Demonstrated success in advancing interdisciplinary research, external funding, public health practice partnerships, and community-engaged scholarship.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership for high-quality, innovative, workforce-relevant curricula across undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral public health programs.
Strengthen recruitment, retention, advising, experiential learning, and career pathways to promote student success.
Recruit, retain, mentor, and support outstanding faculty and staff.
Promote professional development and performance evaluation practices that strengthen a collegial culture.
Support a culture of shared governance, transparency, and well-being
Set conditions for interdisciplinary research growth consistent with ETSU’s R2: High Research Activity classification.
Expand externally funded research, policy translation, and impact-driven scholarship that improves population health—especially in rural and Appalachian contexts.
Strengthen and expand collaborative relationships across ETSU and the Academic Health Sciences Center.
Deepen partnerships with local and regional health systems, public agencies, and community organizations to advance health equity and measurable public health outcomes.
Lead strategic planning, policy development, and implementation; represent the College within the University and externally.
Ensure compliance with university policies and relevant accreditation expectations and standards.
Manage and align budgets, space, and resources to advance the College’s priorities and long-term sustainability.