ASSISTANT DEAN FOR TEACHING AND INNOVATION, School of Social Work, Academic Affairs at Boston University in BOSTON, MA

As one of the nation's top schools of social work, Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, and evidence-based practice to solve the most pressing societal problems of the 21st century. Our university community welcomes differences, encourages open-minded exploration, and upholds freedom of expression. BUSSW views the racial, cultural, and social diversity of our faculty, staff, and students as essential to the excellence and distinction of our MSW and PhD programs. Thus, we are seeking and value candidates for this administrative leadership position who represent a variety of social identities, including those who have been underrepresented in higher education, who possess skills that spark teaching and digital innovation, and who, through their previous scholarship, teaching, service, and professional experience, bring expertise that will contribute to a vibrant, inclusive, and equitable community.

The BUSSW MSW program enrolls nearly 1,000 students across in-person and online modalities. The Assistant Dean of Teaching and Digital Innovation will play a pivotal role in ensuring cutting-edge and student-centered curriculum development, and integrating inclusive, technology-enhanced approaches to teaching throughout our MSW programs. A central focus of our school is our commitment to anti-oppressive practice pedagogy to combat racism and other forms of oppression based on social identities such as gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, military service, pregnancy status, and physical and/or behavioral health through community and/or organizational practice as well as policy advocacy. A key responsibility for this leader is to provide vision and integration of technological innovation into all classroom teaching (including in-person and online modalities) to enrich student learning and engagement. By establishing robust faculty development structures, fostering cross-campus collaborations, and modeling inclusive and innovative teaching practices, the Assistant Dean will play a critical role in fulfilling BUs institutional goals for high-impact learning environments. This position ensures that BUSSW continues to lead nationally in social work education, grounded in justice, equity, and pedagogical excellence across every instructional modality.

The Assistant Dean will provide both strategic and operational oversight of the online MSW program (OLP), including course planning, instructional staffing, scheduling, and quality assurance. The Assistant Dean will collaborate closely with BU Virtual instructional design teams to ensure cohesive course design and scheduling across terms and supports online faculty with tools and resources that enhance engagement and accessibility. This role includes daily administrative management for the Online program through ongoing program development, training, mentoring, consultation, and evaluation of the MSW program and digital education. The Assistant Dean collaborates with other units and university teams to develop and direct the OLP, manages budgetary activities for the OLP, develops annual budget and income projections, monitors expenditures, and oversees and negotiates affiliation agreements with host sites across the US.

Key Responsibilities:

Digital Innovation and Technological Leadership

· Develop and implement a strategic vision for online education in the MSW program that fosters program growth and differentiation, excellence, innovation, and inclusivity, while overseeing daily departmental operations of the online MSW program.

Build capacity to incorporate emerging technologies such as generative AI, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, cloud computing, and data analytics to teaching and learning.
Collaborate with BU Virtual (BUV) on online course design, instructional scheduling, and faculty onboarding to ensure quality, consistency, and student success.
Serve as a school-based leader and representative on BU’s Campus Learning Experience (LX) Transformation Initiative, participating in university-wide planning and implementation efforts.
Act as faculty liaison to the Institute for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (IETL) to align BUSSW instructional strategies with university-wide teaching resources and priorities.
Introduce and scale educational technologies—including generative AI, AR/VR, and learning analytics—into both online and in-person teaching.

Inclusive Pedagogy & Faculty Development

Lead the development and implementation of an inclusive, anti-oppressive teaching strategy across all MSW program formats.
Formalize and direct BUSSW’s Teaching Institute, including the design of workshops, peer coaching structures, faculty learning communities, and ongoing pedagogical training.
Recruit, hire, onboard, train, and evaluate part-time instructors, lecturers and facilitators.
Mentor faculty in inclusive teaching, student-centered learning, inclusive engagement and digital engagement and technology innovations.

Curriculum Design, Mapping & Assessment

Lead school-wide curriculum mapping and design to ensure alignment with CSWE Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), BUSSW strategic goals, and student learning outcomes.
Collaborate with faculty and program leadership to expand and diversify curricular offerings across delivery modalities.
Support integration of inclusive pedagogical practices into both new and revised course designs.
Lead and support efforts in assessing student learning outcomes and overall instructional quality.

Instructional Operations & Scheduling

Oversee teaching assignments and coordination of course schedules across the Charles River Campus, Off-Campus and Hybrid Program (OHCP), and Online MSW Program (OLP).
Work with the Registrar, department chairs, and program directors to ensure consistent faculty coverage, teaching continuity, and load balance across semesters.

Strategic Leadership & Collaboration

Monitor national and global trends in social work education and digital learning to inform program innovation and continuous improvement.
Participate in governance committees and contribute to school-wide initiatives related to curriculum, instructional policy, and academic planning.
Foster a culture of equity, belonging, and innovation across instructional teams and the broader BUSSW community.

Alignment of proposed position with the new BU Institute of Teaching and Learning:

Bridges digital innovation with inclusive pedagogical strategies, fulfilling the initiative’s aim to enhance both technological and cultural relevance in instruction.
Leads efforts to improve classroom experiences in every modality, directly addressing BU’s call for more engaging, high-impact learning environments.
Implements and trains faculty on effective use of educational technologies, including LMS tools, learning analytics, and hybrid engagement platforms.
Acts as a school-based leader who collaborates with university-wide teaching and learning units to strategically elevate BUSSW’s instructional impact.
Champions inclusive, culturally responsive, and anti-oppressive pedagogy across the curriculum—supporting BU’s DEI-centered teaching priorities.
Establishes peer coaching/observations and faculty development structures, aligning with BU’s emphasis on professional growth and collaboration.

Skills

Required Skills and Experience:

8+ years of post-master's experience in administrative leadership with specific experience in online education, digital learning, and digital innovations.
MSW teaching experience in online and brick-and-mortar coursework.
Demonstrative success in supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in online teaching, student support, and instruction.
Evidence of excellent teaching, facilitation, and training skills in areas relevant to the MSW curriculum and online programming and social work curriculum development.
Evidence of management and leadership experience in social work education, including demonstrated leadership in supporting an inclusive, positive team culture and successful experience collaborating with faculty, staff, advisors, and practicum teams.
Expertise and experience in global social work practice, practicum education, and curricular development a plus.

Application process: Applicants should submit: 1) a cover letter which includes a description of practice, leadership, and administrative experience as well as experience in online course development and implementation for large scale degree programs and any scholarly work; 2) a resume; and 3) the names and contact information for three references. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Experience

BU conducts a background check on all final candidates for certain faculty and staff positions. The background check includes contacting the final candidate’s current and previous employer(s) to ask whether, in the last seven years, there has been a substantiated finding of misconduct violating that employer’s applicable sexual misconduct policies. To implement this process, the University requires a final candidate to complete and sign the form entitled

“Authorization to Release Information” after execution of an offer letter.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.