William K. Warren Foundation Dean

University of Notre Dame, College of Science

Notre Dame, Indiana

THE SEARCH

The University of Notre Dame seeks a strategic and collaborative intellectual leader to serve as the next William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science. This is an opportunity to be a member of a renowned university community and lead a college that inspires students to seek greater understanding of the natural world, translate that knowledge into progress, and share discoveries that make a difference in society.

Established in 1865 and guided by its Catholic mission, the College of Science includes five departments: Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy. It is home to more than 280 faculty (180 tenured and tenure-track), more than 600 PhD students, and nearly 1,300 undergraduate student majors. Its budget is $82.5 million; sponsored research expenditures in fiscal year 2025 totaled $70 million.

The next dean will join the College of Science at a critical moment. In recent years, the University has invested significantly in the College of Science. A number of internationally distinguished scientists have been recruited to Notre Dame, and the postdoctoral program, the Society of Science Fellows, has been dramatically expanded. The University has constructed new buildings–including two state-of-the-art multidisciplinary buildings, named McCourtney Hall, with over 400,000 square feet of space–for faculty and research programs in life sciences, chemistry, materials science, and related fields. Notre Dame’s Strategic Framework 2033 has set forth ambitious goals to advance Notre Dame as the leading global Catholic research university, with bold cross-disciplinary initiatives. The sciences figure prominently in the Strategic Framework, which commits to advancing work in bioengineering and the life sciences, sustainability and the environment, and data and computational science.

Notre Dame seeks an accomplished scientist and academic visionary who will consolidate recent gains and investments in science and who will capitalize on and operationalize the opportunities they present. The dean will champion academic rigor and excellence in research and teaching and raise the visibility of the College and its achievements. This person will evince a broad, informed understanding of the College’s departments, faculty, and staff; pursue excellence in all College activities; advance cross-unit collaboration; and serve as an active partner to colleagues in the College and throughout the University.

A search committee has been formed, and the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller has been retained to support this search. Confidential inquiries, nominations, and applications can be directed to the firm, as indicated at the conclusion of this document.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

The University of Notre Dame was founded in November 1842 by Rev. Edward F. Sorin, C.S.C., who sought to establish a great Catholic university in America, one that would “be one of the most powerful means for doing good in this country.” From the outset, the institution’s ambitions and purpose were evident: Notre Dame exists to be an enlightening force for a world in need. Notre Dame is both a leading undergraduate teaching institution and a formidable research university. It was admitted into the Association of American Universities(AAU) in 2023 and is the only formally religious institution among the top 20 research universities or in the AAU. The University is made up of eight academic colleges and schools: the School of Architecture, College of Arts & Letters, Mendoza College of Business, College of Engineering, Keough School of Global Affairs, The Graduate School, The Law School, and College of Science. In Fall 2025, Notre Dame enrolled 8,923 undergraduates and 4,206 graduate and professional students. Notre Dame employs 1,526 instructional faculty and approximately 4,400 staff. Notre Dame has a prominent global footprint. Over 1,700 students from more than 80 countries outside the United States come to Notre Dame; its researchers have active awards across 73 countries. Notre Dame Global oversees more than 50 study abroad programs and the institution’s Global Network. The University is a recognized leader in producing and hosting recipients of Fulbright grants. Notre Dame’s 2023–24 operating budget was $1.67 billion and the University’s endowment was valued at $17.9 billion. Annual fundraising totals are among the very highest for American universities: in 2024-25, the University raised over $1 billion in commitments and pledges.

UNIVERSITY MISSION

The University of Notre Dame is a Catholic academic community of higher learning dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of truth, advancing knowledge through original inquiry and publication, and educating students in mind, body, and spirit. The University’s mission statement notes that Notre Dame seeks to cultivate in its students “a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden the lives of so many,” with the aim “to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice.”

In pursuing its research and educational mission, the University welcomes, and is enriched by, the presence and voices of diverse scholars and students. Catholic intellectuals play an important role in sustaining and deepening Notre Dame’s Catholic mission, but the University is home to scholars and students of all backgrounds who have “a respect for the objectives of Notre Dame and a willingness to enter into the conversation that gives it life and character.”

The University is committed to academic freedom and welcomes all areas of scholarly activity consonant with its mission. One of Notre Dame’s distinctive goals is “to provide a forum where, through free inquiry and open discussion, the various lines of Catholic thought may intersect with all the forms of knowledge found in the arts, sciences, professions, and every other area of human scholarship and creativity.”

UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP

Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. became Notre Dame’s 18th president in June 2024. A member of Notre Dame’s political science department since 2004, he specializes in comparative politics. Prior to his election as president, he served as vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives, overseeing several institutes, centers, and other academic units.

John T. McGreevy is Charles and Jill Fischer Provost of the University. He was named to the post in 2022 and is the sixth provost at the University since the position was established in 1970. He is a historian and served as the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of Notre Dame’s College of Arts & Letters from 2008 to 2018.

THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

The College of Science occupies a singular position at Notre Dame. Its faculty conduct research on some of the most pressing and urgent issues for humankind. Notre Dame aims to be a force for good; if the University is to achieve its strategic goals, the College must thrive. The College of Science operates from a position of organizational strength. There exist robust thematic connections to other academic colleges and schools–Engineering, Arts and Letters, the Keough School of Global Affairs, the Mendoza College of Business, Architecture, and Law–and an imposing array of centers and institutes. Notre Dame Research is a key partner, with 30 world-class facilities, resources, and expertise. Notre Dame has not only recently constructed McCourtney Hall, but has also renovated other research buildings with more investments in physical space on the horizon.

This is a college growing in capacity:

• The College has met with noteworthy success recruiting stellar faculty (senior, mid-career, and early career hires) and expanding its postdoctoral fellow program.

• Undergraduate education has always been a hallmark of Notre Dame; the University has more recently invested in graduate education by raising stipends.

• The College has taken a number of steps to advance public understanding of science, raising its visibility nationally and internationally and elevating Notre Dame’s reputation. These steps reflect the College’s commitment to integrate public engagement into the fabric of Notre Dame’s scientific endeavors, thereby fostering mutual learning between scientists and members of the public and empowering informed decision making.

• In 2022, the College established the Carrier Medal, which honors outstanding contributions in any field of science that have elevated the human condition. Recent recipients include three Nobel Prize winners.

Notre Dame follows a centralized budgeting model. The College’s annual expense budget is around $82.5 million. Sponsored research expenditures in fiscal year 2025 were $70 million, with the top federal sponsors being the National Science Foundation, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense.

The College of Science is close to halfway through the University’s current fundraising campaign, “For Good,” and on pace to raise nearly $400 million by the conclusion of the campaign in 2029.

ROLE OF THE DEAN

Reporting to the provost of the University, the dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of the College of Science. The dean provides strategic and operational oversight; champions, advocates for, and upholds academic excellence; fosters the conditions that enable innovation and discovery; promotes collaboration; models transparency and teamwork; and leads with energy, inspiration, and equanimity.

Above all, the dean communicates–and executes on–an inspiring, inclusive, and ambitious vision for theCollege of Science, in the context of Notre Dame’s Strategic Framework and Catholic mission.

Information about the dean’s office and direct reports can be found here.

KEY OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE DEAN

The dean will:

Develop and execute a vision for the College.

The dean will be responsible for advancing a holistic and inspiring intellectual vision for the College, drawing on the faculty and strengths of all the departments. Activities in life sciences, data science and artificial intelligence, environmental science and sustainability science, neuroscience, and quantum materials are growing, as is rare disease research. The dean will support the expansion of these activities and connect them in a joint strategy that also contributes to the University’s Strategic Framework.

Build on and promote academic excellence.

In the last decade, the College of Science has successfully recruited leading faculty, grown its postdoctoral program, and invested in infrastructure. With the guidance of the dean’s and the provost’s offices, expectations and standards for scholarship, faculty hiring, and recruitment and promotion have been further enhanced. The next dean will extend these efforts, championing rigor, identifying areas ripe for investment, and increasing support to elevate the departments. The dean will also attend to graduate student recruitment and continue to invest in postdoctoral hiring.

The dean must accomplish these things while maintaining a commitment to the College’s record of teaching excellence. The College provides best-in-class programs in a number of courses of study including pre-medical and pre-health education.

Collaborate across the University.

In order to be an effective dean at Notre Dame, one must think institutionally and partner successfully. Notre Dame has high ambitions, but retains the feel and scale of a close-knit community. The dean will capitalize on the advantages that such a setting provides, demonstrating prescience and sound judgment about opportunities for collaboration. The next dean will be a trusted, dependable thought partner to Notre Dame Research, to the other deans, and to the provost’s office and the vice presidents.

Provide operational leadership.

The dean will inherit a talented staff who are dedicated to the College and the University. The last five years have seen an expansion of activities. The dean will continue to grow operational excellence in the College, improving systems and support for the department chairs at key moments of the academic year, such as during the hiring cycle. The dean will make a special point of knowing the strengths and needs of the individual departments and faculty, empower and entrust the department chairs, and offer support and guidance as needed. The dean will lead with consistency, transparency, and positivity.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

The successful candidate will possess many of the following professional qualifications and personal characteristics:

A track record of mission-driven, collaborative intellectual leadership: Passion for the Catholic mission of the University of Notre Dame and for science. Ability to talk about both with fluency and conviction and to generate excitement and attract financial support. Sophisticated insight into the current and future states of higher education and the research landscape; ability to position the College of Science to seize opportunities and minimize adverse impacts. A record of effective partnership with units and entities across campus as well as regionally, nationally, and globally. Demonstrated commitment to teamwork and institutional citizenship.

Commitment to academic excellence: A distinguished record as a scholar; commitment to basic research; a keen eye for academic excellence. Ability to provide intellectual leadership of a large academic unit; intellectual capaciousness and engagement with all the fields of inquiry in the College. Organizational ambition; appetite for boldness and innovation. Ability to raise sights, empower, and drive toward excellence and impact. Success in strengthening learning, research, and related support structures.

Excellent administrative leadership skills: Significant leadership experience in complex settings. Financial management and operational skills, including the ability to use data and develop evidence-based approaches and solutions. Ability to attract and willingness to use social, political, and financial capital. Commitment and skill in advancing College and University aims simultaneously. Willingness to trust, delegate, and hold others accountable. Superb communication skills, including listening skills. Exceptional organizational skills. Clarity of thought; ability to focus and make difficult decisions.

Demonstrated record of commitment to the values present in Notre Dame’s Catholic mission: Commitment to community, as central to the mission of the University; a history of success in achieving a more inclusive and equitable community of scholars, staff, and students. Global experience and an understanding and commitment to global engagement.

Professional and personal qualities: Ability to bring people together; willingness to compromise and negotiate. Open-mindedness and curiosity; calm and self-possession; persistence and resilience. Orientation to teamwork. Ability to engender trust and to communicate trust and confidence in the abilities and motives of others. Personal integrity of the highest order.

TO INQUIRE

Nominations, inquiries, and application materials (CVs and letters of interest) can be submitted electronically and in confidence to Anita Tien, Partner, and Jonathan Sanchez, Senior Associate, at: William K. Warren Foundation Dean Search, College of Science  Isaacson, Miller

The University of Notre Dame is dedicated to equal employment opportunity and to the implementation of positive programs designed to ensure the prevention of any discriminatory practices, either intentional or inadvertent, with respect to race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, age, or sex.