Dean, School of Optometry
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Description: University of Alabama at Birmingham is at the momment seeking for Dean, School of Optometry right now, this career will be dwelled in Alabama. Detailed specification about this career opportunity kindly read the description below. Dean of the School of Optometry
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry invites nominations, applications, or expressions of in! terest for the position of Dean, School of Optometry.
THE ORGANIZATION
Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education and research at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, UAB is an internationally renowned public research university and academic medical center. UAB has rapidly become one of the state's largest public universities with a College of Arts and Sciences, nine schools (Business, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Optometry, and Public Health), a large graduate school, and a world-renowned medical center. UAB takes pride in the discovery of knowledge that will change our world.
UAB is among 51 public and private universities (and the only Alabama university) classified by The Carnegie Foundation for both "very high research activity" and "community engagement." UAB receives more than $450 million annually in research grants and contracts and ranks 21st nationally in NIH ! funding and 32nd in total federal research funding. 19,283 und! ergraduate, graduate, pre-professional, and post-doctoral students attend UAB. With 23,000 employees, UAB is the largest single-site employer in the state of Alabama with an annual state economic impact of more than $5 billion. Due to its growing and increasingly residential campus in the heart of a vibrant and diverse community, the University offers unparalleled opportunities for teaching, research, scholarship, and service. UAB was among 11 universities nationally (and only Alabama university) to earn the prestigious Beckman Scholars Award in 2012 for exceptional mentoring and training of undergraduate researchers. UAB was ranked among the top 15 percent of U.S. colleges and universities by The Princeton Review, and also ranked nationally in 2008 as one of the Top 5 "Best Places to Work in Academia" in a survey published by The Scientist magazine. UAB is among the top 150 universities for life sciences as well as clinical medicine according to the Academic Ranking of Wor! ld Universities. UAB has been named three consecutive years to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a university can achieve for civic engagement and service-learning.
UAB is home to the largest hospital in Alabama and one of the largest in the United States. It is the only medical center in Alabama listed in U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals" 23 straight years - since the issue's inception. At the same time, UAB has partnered with its community and state, spurring phenomenal progress over a half century. UAB's growth as a world-renowned research university and medical center has driven the social, cultural and economic revival of Birmingham. The university continues to strengthen this historic partnership, refining its own Strategic Plan and collaborating with the Birmingham Business Alliance on "Blueprint Birmingham," working towards a shared a vision for a healthier and more prosperous city and sta! te that thrive in the global knowledge economy. Consequently, The Carne! gie Foundation recognizes UAB not only in its highest tier for research activity, but also in its Community Engagement, Curricular Engagement, and Outreach and Partnership categories, making this university one of a select few nationally to achieve such classifications.
UAB continues to attract the best and brightest students from Alabama, the nation, and more than 100 countries around the world. Nearly 70 percent of the student body attends the university full-time and more than 65 percent of the freshmen live on campus. The Princeton Review has called UAB "a truly great American melting pot of different cultures, religions, and races," and has ranked UAB among the top 12 universities nationally for diversity for five consecutive years. UAB students continue to garner prestigious national and international scholarships, fellowships, and other awards. UAB has produced two Rhodes Scholars. In the past five years, UAB has also produced 15 Fulbright Scholars, 17 Goldw! ater Scholars, and seven National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows. Additionally, UAB undergraduates have won a total of nine United Negro College Fund/Merck Undergraduate Research Scholarships of only 30 awarded nationally.
Birmingham, Alabama is the largest city in Alabama, with a estimated current population of 1.2 million in the greater metropolitan area. Recent efforts to revitalize downtown Birmingham have successfully stimulated growth throughout the area and created a vibrant metropolitan community which have been recently highlighted in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/realestate/commercial/a-return-to-downtown-birmingham.html).
SCHOOL OF OPTOMETRY
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry is one of the world's preeminent schools of optometry. It is one of only a small number of optometry schools that are wholly integrated into a medical campus, providing unlimited opportunities for collaborative ! interdisciplinary care, research, and education. Through its educationa! l programs, clinical care, and research endeavors, the School of Optometry is a major contributor to eye and vision care knowledge and scientific advancement.
The UAB School of Optometry was established through the leadership of numerous outstanding Alabama and other nationally recognized optometrists. The school's first O.D. degrees were awarded in 1973, and since that time, the School has grown to include graduate degrees (M.S., Ph.D.) in Vision Science and post-doctoral residency education. The school was the first to establish optometric residency programs within a school of optometry, and also the first to establish a Vision Science Research Center to be located in a school or college of optometry. The UAB School of Optometry is known across the nation for its outstanding clinical education programs.
The School of Optometry is organized into a Department of Optometry and a Department of Vision Sciences. The Chair of each department is responsible for ! faculty assignments and allocation of departmental resources. The Dean, the Department Chairs, clinic Chief-of-Staff, and the Directors of the school's Center for Structural Biology, Vision Science Research Center, and Graduate Program in Vision Science serve as the executive committee.
The mission of the School is to educate optometry students, residents, and future scientists; discover and broadly communicate new principles and concepts in eye care and vision science to professional and basic science graduate students to foster the next generation of leaders in the field; to translate these ideas into basic science discovery and clinical practice; to deliver health care with integrity and compassion, and to discover new treatments and cures for ocular disease. The UAB School of Optometry has an unyielding commitment to: (1) scholarship and research in both basic and clinical science, which provide the underpinning of optometric and vision science education and se! rvice; (2) strengthening the provision of optometric care to a diverse ! public; (3) cherishing the value that diversity in faculty and students brings to optometry and vision science; and (4) fair and equitable treatment of faculty, students, and staff. The School of Optometry's achievement of its mission is measured by the success of students and faculty who learn, create, teach, publish, and provide patient care in its doctoral level professional and graduate programs.
Its excellence in carrying out its mission has led to a loyal and ever-growing alumni base that is highly engaged with the school. UAB School of Optometry alumni are consistently elected to critical national leadership positions. This strong alumni base has consistently helped the UAB School of Optometry exceed capital campaign goals. In fact, during UAB's last capital campaign, the school exceeded its campaign goal by more than $1,000,000.
Through basic, translational and clinical research, the Vision Science Graduate Program in the School of Optometry offers! opportunities to investigate all facets of vision, including visual neuroscience, crystalline lens, corneal and ocular surface disease, psychophysics and visual function, genetics of blinding diseases, biochemical mechanisms of retinal degenerations and functional brain and eye imaging. A goal of incorporating more clinical optometrists and other health profession faculty in translational research is being increasingly emphasized. While the hallmark of the program is PhD level graduate students, there is also an active combined OD/MS program, in which optometry professional students work towards an MS degree in vision science concurrently with their professional optometry degree. Students draw from over 65 research faculty, including many from outside the school of Optometry, and use the most up-to-date advanced equipment and techniques to address research problems from many avenues to solve the most difficult challenges. We actively foster unique inter- and intra-departme! ntal laboratory collaborative efforts to exploit the full benefits of U! AB's resources and explore students' full potential.
The School was the first to establish optometric residency programs within a school of optometry in 1978. The professional and all residency programs of the UAB School of Optometry are fully accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association,. Consistent with its educational mission, the School places significant emphasis on residency education. Currently, seven residency locations offer a total of twelve residency positions. The School's residency programs include: Family Practice, Cornea and Contact Lenses, and Pediatric Optometry. Affiliated residencies include: Geriatric and Low Vision Rehabilitative Optometry at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Hospital-Based/Primary Care Optometry at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Ocular Disease at Omni Eye Services, Atlanta; and Ocular Disease at VisionAmerica of Birmingham.
The UA! B School of Optometry continues to help drive the university's mission of service to the community. UAB Eye Care provides a wealth of educational outreach opportunities for its clinical students through formal contracts to provide care to unaffiliated locations (e.g., health centers of the Jefferson County Department of Health) where faculty and/or students frequently volunteer (e.g., Cahaba Valley Health Care). The school is involved locally in Alabama to provide eye care to the homeless in Birmingham as well as to the denizens of the poverty-stricken Alabama Blackbelt region. Outreach efforts of clinical professors and their students also cross international boundaries through eye care missions that have taken place in Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.
The UAB School of Optometry is considered by many experts to be one of the best in the country. It is second in annual research funding ($7,921,575 per 2012 ASCO data), a! nd the school ranks sixth in NEI annual funding ($2,090.001). Its facul! ty members have authored more textbooks (30) than any other school or college of optometry, and are national leaders in the number of periodicals and papers published by a school or college of optometry faculty. UAB has the only doctoral level program in optometry that has had three former American Optometric Association National Optometrists of the Year awardees on the faculty, and the school is one of the leaders nationally in the percentage of students who pass the national board exams. The previous Dean of the school, John Amos was recently inducted into the Optometry Hall of Fame.
The UAB School of Optometry utilizes three research centers. The Center for Structural Biology, which moved into a 75,000-square-foot building in 2001, includes research laboratories and related engineering facilities for faculty, scientists, staff, graduate students, and fellows working together on projects related to the identification and design of large protein molecules, explora! tion of space research, and nanotechnology designed to be used in space and on earth. The Center for the Development of Functional Imaging is a resource for visual and functional neuroscience, focusing on brain mechanisms related to sensorimotor behavior, adaptation, and recovery of function. This 2,300-square-foot facility was completed in 2002 and houses a high field MRI system and associated support services. The Vision Science Research Center, with 65 appointed faculty members representing 15 departments and seven schools at UAB, exists to promote vision science research, facilitate collaborative investigations, and add to the scientific knowledge of the eye and central visual pathways leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of blindness and visual impairment.
The Vision Science Research Center hosts UAB's P30 Core Grant Research Support Modules. These support modules include a sophisticated Molecular and Cellular Analysis suite, a state-of-the! -art electronics module, an extensive computer programming development ! laboratory, a fully-equipped machine shop, and an administrative module. These support modules provide centralized locations where center members can receive administrative support, obtain design and repair of electronic equipment, can prepare, analyze and photograph their histological material, analyze their data and prepare publication-quality figures. In addition, the VSRC provides community outreach for all aspects of vision through its shared ocular tissue and education outreach modules. The School of Optometry excels in the intellectual environment of the health system. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System (UABHS) is the heart of health care in Alabama. It is an innovative network of services that provides a complete continuum of care for patients from all over the world. The UAB Health System is internationally renowned for its expert health care providers and groundbreaking research, but, more importantly, it stands out for its strong commitment to ! compassionate, personal care for every patient.
UAB Eye Care is the clinical operation for the UAB School of Optometry, an integral part of the UAB Medical Center. The state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary clinic houses both optometrists and ophthalmologists providing eye care in a number of subspecialties. The clinic is comprised of 34,000 square feet of space with all of the modern equipment needed to accurately diagnose and treat most eye problems and conduct a wealth of clinical research. Comprehensive eye exams for adults are provided in the Primary Eye Care Service along with the Ocular Disease and Cornea/Contact Lens Service, while exams for infants and children are provided in the Pediatric Optometry Service. Additional services are available for low vision, binocular vision, vision therapy, nursing home care, and surgical co-management. In 2012, UAB Eye Care experienced more than 21,000 patient encounters. If there is a need for surgical recommendation and/o! r intervention, there are ophthalmologists specializing in cataracts, g! eneral ophthalmology, and retina available at the clinic. Individuals may also refer to any number of nationally recognized individuals in UAB's Department of Ophthalmology, which is housed largely in the adjacent Callahan Eye Hospital. The Callahan Eye Hospital directs a 24-hour eye emergency room that is a regional referral resource and serves as the only Level 1 eye trauma center in the country. The clinic's Optical Service has over 1,400 different eyeglass frames on display. Additionally, the clinic's Community Eye Care Service offers weekly eye clinics at various health department locations around Jefferson County, along with vision screenings at various health fairs, employee benefit fairs, schools, and other events. The University Optometric Group is the stand-alone faculty practice of the Department of Optometry, and offers faculty an opportunity for salary and skill enhancement.
Five years ago
the UAB School of Optometry partnered with the UAB School o! f Medicine to create one of the nation's only joint Optometry-Ophthalmology research programs. This endeavor was made possible by strong institutional support and a gift from the Eyesight Foundation of Alabama one of two major research supporting philanthropic organizations whose offices are housed at UAB. In less than three years since faculty first moved into the newly renovated space, the established close proximity of Vision Science and Ophthalmology basic science and translational researchers has led to numerous cross-department collaborations, increased funding, and publications. Both the school of Medicine and the School of Optometry, through the efforts of the Chairs of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences are committed to raising the level of basic and clinical research to make UAB a world leader in focused efforts on the retina including glaucoma, AMD and other hereditary disorders of the posterior segment. There is also a major effort to map the visual centers and r! esponse patterns of the brain and to understand and treat ocular disord! ers in children. UAB vision scientists publish their work in the highest rated journals including Cell, Nature, Neuron, Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Biological Chemistry and other prominent journals.
Additionally, the School of Optometry has partnered with the School of Medicine to establish the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation, located on the fourth floor of the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital. This Center is an interdisciplinary effort involving optometry, ophthalmology, and occupational therapy in providing low vision patient care to a growing segment of the population. The center, which began delivering patient care in 2002, is the only such interdisciplinary center jointly affiliated with a school of medicine and optometry outside of the VA system in the United States.
POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Dean of the School of Optometry will be a full-time, twelve-month administrative position overseeing all administrative respon! sibilities for the department as well as participating in and providing academic leadership for teaching, service, and scholarly activities. Responsibilities will include:
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Providing leadership and working with others to achieve the vision and accomplish the mission and goals of UAB's Plan for the Future.
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Participating in university-wide efforts to create a more efficient, effective, cohesive, and high-quality academic enterprise.
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Ensuring consistent, clear, and continuous communication between the School and the administrative, fiscal, and academic offices of the University.
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Promoting inter-professional relationships and creating an environment for collaboration.
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Providing leadership in the recruitment of diverse faculty and staff with professional credentials and personal qualities that contribute to the achievement of the vision and mission of the University and School.
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Leading in th! e development and maintenance of a strong research program that support! s the mission and vision of the University and School.
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Effectively and efficiently organizing and managing the structure and operations of the School in a manner that promotes a spirit of teamwork and participatory governance.
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Providing leadership to secure, maintain, and allocate resources to support the effective, efficient, and high-quality operations of the School.
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Leading and assisting in the securing of resources necessary for the function and improvement of the School through participation and leadership in annual and capital campaigns involving both intra- and extramural sources.
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Prudently managing, monitoring, and organizing the fiscal operations of the School to maintain a balanced budget.
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Leading in ensuring that the School has in place effective programs of student recruitment, admission, advising, and job counseling activities. Continue the excellent, successful recruitment of underrepre! sented minorities and women.
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Leading in ensuring the School's full accreditation by provision of educational programs that meet knowledge and competency requirements in accordance with accreditation standards and the vision, mission, and strategic plan of the University and School.
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Effectively organizing, coordinating, and participating in service activities within and outside the School that support the mission and vision of the University and School.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
The Dean of the School of Optometry should hold a professional optometric degree. In addition, a PhD is preferred. The successful candidate will have experience in a similar environment, which includes education, research, service, and clinical practice components. In addition to these criteria, the Dean will:
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Have exemplary leadership skills;
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Possess the business acumen to successfully lead the enterprise, including, assuri! ng compliance with federal regulations and meeting standards of accredi! ting bodies, and assuring financial viability;
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Have strong development credentials to initiate new programs and support infrastructure needs;
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Be a creative thinker to identify opportunities to expand the School;
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Have a strong commitment to and understanding of basic and clinical research, to be able to support the faculty in increasing their research efforts in both departments;
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Recognize the value of the team in education, by taking ownership and supporting decisions that reflect the overall needs of the University;
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Possess exceptional communication skills, both verbal and written;
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Have excellent interpersonal skills and ability to connect with constituents, including faculty, students, donors and University Administration.
APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS
The Search Committee invites nominations, applications (a letter of interest, comprehensive curriculum vitae, and th! e names and contact information of five or more references) or expressions of interest to be submitted to the search firm assisting the UAB School of Optometry(electronic submissions preferred). Confidential review of materials will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. It is preferred, however, that all nominations and applications be submitted to the search firm prior to October 24, 2013.
Katie Bain, Vice President
Jacob Anderson, Associate
Parker Executive Search
5 Concourse Parkway Suite 2900
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: (770) 804-1996 X 111; Fax: (770) 804-1917
janderson@parkersearch.com
www.parkersearch.com
UAB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and family-friendly environment in which all faculty and staff can excel and achieve work/life balance irrespective of ethnicity, gender, faith, gender identity! and expression as well as sexual orientation. UAB also encourages appl! ications from individuals with disabilities and veterans. A pre-employment background investigation is performed on candidates selected for employment.
For further information, see http://www.uab.edu
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