Deans' Roles and Responsibilities
Dean Dharamsi is the chief academic officer and administrative leader of the College of Health Sciences, and serves as a key member of the University leadership team. The College's Department Chairs, Program Directors, Associate and Assistant Deans, and College staff report directly to the Dean. Representing the College within the University and among a wide range of external constituencies, the Dean promotes UTEP's highly acclaimed Access and Excellence mission, strengthens collaborations with community partners, and fosters excellence in education and research.
The Dean’s mandate includes several key priorities:
- Set the academic climate
- Promote a culture of outstanding interdisciplinary education, research and innovation
- Support the mission of the College to prepare the next generation of health and human service practitioners to improve quality of life locally, nationally and globally
- Work with faculty to ensure adherence to accreditation standards, enhanced community engagement, and excellence in clinical practice and research
- Build collaborative relationships between departments and programs in the College, and across the University and into the community
- Foster global engagement efforts
- Cultivate and develop relationships with alumni and industry partners
- Provide financial and administrative management responsibility for the College
Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs - Role and Responsibilities
Dr. Candyce Berger is the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs. In this position, she serves as the senior administrator for all research and faculty activities and is responsible for developing and facilitating innovative, progressive, faculty-led programs of research guided by Boyer’s Model of Scholarship. The Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs provides strategic vision and leadership to the research mission of the college and is responsible for partnering with faculty, academic programs and administration to provide programs and resources to assist and promote faculty growth and accomplishment.
Major/Essential Functions
Research
- Assists in the development of a compelling and inclusive vision for research;
- Provides strategic leadership in developing and refining the College’s research mission and activities towards meeting current and future needs in the Paso del Norte region and beyond;
- Assists faculty to form successful collaborative research groups that integrate and support individual, community-based, and team-based programs of research;
- Creates mechanisms to facilitate cross-college research activities;
- Builds strong intra-and-inter-professional relationships that enhance new and existing research linkages, including between research and teaching faculty, research faculty and clinical practices or hospitals, college and community engaged research enterprises, and local, national and international researchers;
- Promotes translational science and the integration of research activities into clinical and community practices;
- Demonstrates an entrepreneurial mindset to enable faculty to pursue diverse external funding sources in the expansion of the research mission. Helps faculty navigate among traditional research opportunities and emerging funding sources;
- Provides and facilitates mentorship of research-active faculty;
- Provides consultation regarding preparation of research proposal and potential funding;
- Ensures that all College-related activities are compliant with School and University policies, as well as federal and state policies and procedures related to research;
- Conducts or directs special projects as assigned; and acts in other matters and capacities as delegated by the Dean.
Faculty Affairs
- The Faculty Affairs portfolio is broad, focusing on strategic planning, faculty recruitment and retention, and faculty review;
- The Associate Dean serves as a member of the Dean’s Leadership Team to provide a coordinated, college-wide approach to strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation of investments in educational and research program development;
- Provides leadership and guidance in the development and implementation of policy relating to faculty recruitment (shared with Associate Dean for Academic Affairs), development and promotion to satisfy professional and accreditation requirements;
- Develop programming and governance guidelines in conjunction with the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Dean, and Dean’s Lead Team to promote faculty excellence and diversity;
- Participate in addressing faculty grievances;
- Conducts or directs special projects as assigned; and acts in other matters and capacities as delegated by the Dean.