Job Description

Executive Summary

The Dean is the Chief Executive Officer of the College of Optometry and is responsible for advancing the College's academic mission of education, research, and service. The Dean reports to the Executive Vice President and Provost and is a member of the University's Council of Deans. The dean is the chief academic officer of the college and as such sets vision and strategies aligned with the mission of the college and the strategic plan of the university overall. The dean has fiduciary responsibilities for oversight and maintenance of the established financial and operational processing environment to ensure adherence to established internal university control structures. This should include, but not be limited to, appropriate segregation of duties in the processing of all financial transactions, appropriate mandatory approvals, appropriate procedures to maintain effective custody over university resources, appropriate monitoring and oversight and appropriate mandatory reconciliations.

About the College of Optometry

The Ohio State University College of Optometry provides future optometrists with a comprehensive education that encompasses a strong scientific foundation, excellent clinical training, robust business acumen, and the development of leadership skills for the profession and the broader community.

Each year, the college enrolls between 60-70 students and provides them with a far-reaching education. The college's intentional dedication to leadership development prepares students to be excellent doctors and problem-solvers. Our goal is to prepare future leaders, the next generation of professors, and the most successful practitioners in our field. We believe that our graduates are primed and ready to tackle important problems in health care.

The Ohio State University College of Optometry’s research program is dedicated to the generation and dissemination of new knowledge in optometry and vision science. Our research includes the investigation of cellular activities that affect vision, adaptation of information from microscopic advances to optimal patient care, and studies that directly influence the care of optometric patients. In recent years, investigators at The Ohio State University College of Optometry faculty identified outdoor activity as protective against myopia development, discovered kids with uncorrected farsightedness lose ground on reading skills before first grade, and found that culture and language can influence color naming. The College’s research is internationally recognized in ocular imaging, contact lenses, refractive error development, binocular vision, infant and children’s vision, vision rehabilitation, keratoconus, visual psychophysics, and visual perception.

The Buckeye Advantage encompasses the consistently highest pass rates on boards, the most comprehensive business education among optometry schools, a curriculum intentionally dedicated to building leadership skills, an opportunity to simultaneously earn a master’s degree with an OD degree, and much more!

For a comprehensive description of what we offer at the College of Optometry —including our academic programs, clinical services, research initiatives, and our state‑of‑the‑art facilities— please visit our website: optometry.osu.edu.

Position Summary

The Dean will be expected to provide visionary leadership for the College of Optometry in academic programming and research, along with student, faculty, and staff recruitment, retention, and development. The dean will also be expected to provide financial resource management and development and play a significant role in the overall health and wellness initiatives. In addition, the dean shall have general administrative responsibility for the program of the college, subject to the approval of the president and the board of trustees.

Key Responsibilities

• To uphold expectations of the Leadership Philosophy:
  • Uphold Ohio State's Shared Values and build trust through words and actions.
  • Care for people and create conditions for well-being and productivity.
  • Set clear direction and goals for their teams and align to the mission of the tenure-initiating unit (TIU).
  • Set clear direction and goals for all faculty to align to the mission of the College.
  • Solve problems and support their teams to adapt to changing contexts.
  • Drive cross-functional collaborations to advance goals of the TIU.
  • Demonstrate commitment to continuous growth for themselves and their teams.
• To assign workload according to the TIU's workload guidelines (and faculty appointment type and rank).
• To evaluate and improve instructional and administrative processes on an ongoing basis.
• To promote improvement of instruction by providing for the evaluation of each course when offered, including written evaluation by students of the course and instructors, and periodic course review by the faculty.
• To evaluate faculty members annually in accordance with the Faculty Annual Review, Post-Tenure Review, and Reappointment Policy and TIU established criteria.
• To preside at meetings of the college faculty and to appoint all college committees unless their membership has been designated by faculty rule or by the college faculty.
• To approve courses of study for students in the College of Optometry, to warn students who are delinquent in their studies and to recommend appropriate student disciplinary action to the appropriate university disciplinary body or official, as needed.
• To present candidates for degrees to the president on behalf of the college faculty and to serve as a member of the Council of Deans (see Rule 3335-3-22 of the Administrative Code).
• After consultation with the college’s Executive Committee, to make recommendations to the executive vice president and provost concerning the college budget, the appointments to and promotions within the staff and the membership of the college faculty.
• To review salary appeals and other faculty issues in a professional and timely manner.

Day-to-day responsibility for specific matters may be delegated to others, but the dean retains final responsibility and authority for all matters covered by the Patterns of Administration, subject to the approval of the Office of Academic Affairs and Board of Trustees.

Operational efficiency requires that the dean exercise a degree of autonomy in establishing and managing administrative processes. The articulation and achievement of college academic goals, however, is most successful when all faculty members participate in discussing and deciding matters of importance. The dean will therefore consult with the faculty on all educational and academic policy issues and will respect the principle of majority rule. When a departure from majority rule is judged to be necessary, the dean will explain to the faculty the reasons for the departure, ideally before action is taken.

University Vision, Mission, and Values

Our Vision

The Ohio State University is the model 21st-century public, land grant, research, urban, community engaged institution.

Our Mission

The university is dedicated to:

• Creating and discovering knowledge to improve the well-being of our state, regional, national and global communities.
• Educating students through a comprehensive array of distinguished academic programs.
• Preparing a diverse student body to be leaders and engaged citizens.
• Fostering a culture of engagement and service.

We understand that diversity and inclusion are essential components of our excellence.

Our Values, Principles and Behaviors

Through reflection, evaluation and meaningful action, we aim to reinforce our ethical culture and live these shared values to advance our core work of teaching, learning, research and service.

• Excellence and Impact
• Diversity and Innovation
• Inclusion and Equity
• Care and Compassion
• Integrity and Respect

College Mission

Dedicated to:

• Educate excellent optometrists who reflect our diverse communities through our professional, residency, and continuing education programs.
• Conduct excellent research in vision science, through our graduate education and research programs.
• Provide excellent optometric care to the community, through our teaching clinics, externship sites, and residency programs.

An additional mission and goal shared with the Graduate School of The Ohio State University is:

• To educate and train ophthalmic and vision scientists for the advancement of those teaching, research, and service missions above.

Candidate Qualifications

Education

• Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree.

Knowledge and Work Experience

• Experience as a dean, academic director, chair or academic leader of a unit is required.
• Record of teaching, research and innovation, and community engagement that meets professor rank requirements.
• Demonstrated successful leadership and administrative accomplishments.
• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively with communities and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success raising funds through private individuals, foundations, and public grants.
• Ability to meet requirements for tenure, at the full professor level.

How to Apply

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. For fullest consideration, applicant materials should be received by May 7th, 2026 .

Applicants should submit the following

• Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Letter of Interest

All inquiries and nominations should be submitted to Matt Gebhart, Talent Acquisition Consultant, The Ohio State University Executive Search team, at ***email_hidden*** with the Subject Line “Dean of the College of Optometry”.

As required by Ohio Revised Code section 3345.0216, Ohio State will: educate students by means of free, open and rigorous intellectual inquiry to seek the truth; equip students with the opportunity to develop intellectual skills to reach their own, informed conclusions; not require, favor, disfavor or prohibit speech or lawful assembly; create a community dedicated to an ethic of civil and free inquiry, which respects the autonomy of each member, supports individual capacities for growth and tolerates differences in opinion; treat all faculty, staff and students as individuals, hold them to equal standards and provide equality of opportunity with regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Regular 40 First Shift

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