The Director of the School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (SVMBS) is directly responsible for oversight of the research, teaching and Extension/outreach programs, including management with direct reporting from the directors or coordinators of the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center (NVDC), the Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine (PPVM; a joint DVM program with Iowa State University), and the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center (GPVEC). The directors of the NVDC and the GPVEC report to the Director of SVMBS. The Director reports to the IANR Vice Chancellor with input from the IANR associate vice chancellor and the deans of the ARD, CASNR, and Nebraska Extension. The Director of SVMBS is also Associate Dean of the Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine (PPVM) reporting to the deans of CASNR and Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. The responsibility of the Associate Dean role for administration of the professional program (PPVM) with students located at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the UNL SVMBS.
The Director promotes excellence in all facets of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences by:
Culture and Environment
- Fostering a culture within the school in which all contributions to the team are appreciated and recognized, collaboration and innovation are encouraged, and the abilities of all are engaged to fully realize the potential of the team, and the success of each person.
- Ensuring opportunities are open to all, programs are broadly accessible, and efforts are made to engage all audiences.
- Facilitating access to the school’s academic programs and faculty expertise for learners and constituents within Nebraska and beyond, with particular attention to expanding access to individuals who live and work in Nebraska and/or who will meet Nebraska’s need for veterinary medical care.
Strategic Visioning
- Leading the development and implementation of a shared vision and strategic direction integrated across teaching and learning; research, discovery and innovation; Extension/outreach/engagement; and public and professional service in the school that results in sustained impacts that are highly aligned with the school’s strengths, IANR’s vision and mission, and for the benefit of Nebraska and beyond.
- Ensuring the Department’s continued leadership in achieving UNL’s goals.
- Fostering a climate of curricular and pedagogical innovation across the continuum of learners to enhance student success and advance the unit’s strategic enrollment planning and implementation.
- Engaging, coordinating, and providing leadership as appropriate with IANR’s interdisciplinary initiatives especially those where school faculty have expertise that contributes to the expected outcomes and impacts of these initiatives.
- Strategically managing the school’s relationship with Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine to achieve school and IANR goals and outcomes pertaining to this partnership, including fostering interdisciplinary ties with appropriate departments and programs within the two universities.
- Supporting and creating strategic linkages across all areas of faculty expertise and school programming, including the Great Plains Veterinary Education Center, the Veterinary Diagnostic Center, research, teaching/learning and Extension programming.
- Communicating with transparency and clarity all aspects of school initiatives, operations, and challenges and opportunities with faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders.
Collaboration
- Supporting, coordinating, and partnering with IANR departments/schools, centers (including REECs), Extension program areas and other entities internal to the university (e.g., Nebraska Center for Virology) that support and/or align with departmental programming and faculty expertise. The emphasis will be on enhancing collaboration and partnerships with the department of Animal Science.
- Partnering with IANR administrators, unit heads, and center directors to promote and support collaborations and team building.
- Partnering with Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in delivering Nebraska’s Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine (PPVM).
- Engaging and coordinating as appropriate with relevant Extension and research program areas.
- Nurturing a strong and productive relationship with an advisory board for the school.
- Fostering linkages with external groups and industry partners to strengthen ties that advance the mission and vision of the school, IANR, and the university.
Resource, Personnel Management, and Advancement Activities
- Aligning and managing personnel, financial and physical resources responsibly to maximize the effectiveness of those resources, exhibiting fiscal discipline and transparency, and utilizing best management practices.
- Recruiting faculty, staff, and students to attract, develop, and retain a team that exhibits and values excellence.
- Providing appropriate stewardship to and supervision of the directors of the Great Plains Veterinary Education Center and the Veterinary Diagnostic Center to ensure that these entities are appropriately staffed and meet client needs.
- Working with IANR’s expanded leadership team in donor engagement, fundraising, and stewardship to advance the department’s goals.
- Ensuring all programs of the department are administered in accordance with the university’s equal opportunity policies.
Nurturing Success of Students, Postdocs, Staff, and Faculty
- Encouraging and providing support for the professional development of the faculty, postdocs, staff, and students.
- Mentoring and supporting faculty in developing research, scholarship and programming in their field of expertise.
- Providing leadership in strategic enrollment management, student success and increasing access to educational programs.
- Ensuring curriculum and other educational opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate level meets the employment needs of students in their various career paths (e.g., veterinary clinical medicine, industry, graduate school, higher education, government).
- Engaging in professional development to continually hone skills to effectively lead and manage departmental operations and initiatives, and to advance the mission of the department.
- Ensuring that guidance documents (e.g., operational procedures, bylaws, performance review standards) are relevant and up-to-date, and that they promote the success of each team member in both their content and application.
Success in the role will be measured by the accomplishments and impacts of the faculty, staff, students, and programs of the department. The incumbent accepts committee assignments, reporting responsibilities, and other special ad hoc assignments as requested at the administrative unit, college/division, institute, and/or university level.