Dean - Student Support Services
Mesa Community College
Position Description
The Dean, Student Support Services serves as a senior leader in the Student Affairs Division and provides strategic, operational, and administrative leadership for a comprehensive portfolio of student support programs and services, with a strong focus on student success, safety, engagement, accountability, and inclusion. The position will supervise leaders, establish strategy, manage complex and high-risk student matters, integrate multiple student-support functions, develop organizational capacity, and build partnerships across the college and community.
Reporting to the Vice President of Student Affairs, the Dean provides leadership and oversight for a broad, multi-department Student Affairs portfolio to include Disability Services, Student Conduct, Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT), Career Services, Student Life and Leadership, Testing Services, and the CARE Team. The Dean ensures these areas operate collaboratively, effectively, and in alignment with institutional priorities and the evolving needs of students.
The Dean is the key institutional leader for student conduct, behavioral intervention/threat assessment, crisis response, non-instructional student complaints, and support for students experiencing complex or significant challenges. The position regularly reviews and resolves student conduct matters, coordinates interventions involving students of concern, leads behavioral intervention and threat assessment processes, facilitates crisis intervention efforts, coordinates support for students with complex needs, and works across the college and with community partners to promote a safe, supportive, equitable, and student-centered learning environment.
The Dean also provides leadership and coordination for assigned responsibilities related to campus safety and compliance under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) - including coordination of required student-facing communications, reporting processes, documentation, and collaboration with Public Safety, senior administrators, and other institutional partners. The Dean supports accurate, timely, and consistent institutional reporting and helps ensure that student support, conduct, crisis response, and safety-related processes appropriately intersect with Clery reporting requirements.
As a member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team, the Dean plays a key role in ensuring compliance, promoting a supportive campus culture, and creating opportunities for students to thrive. The Dean will serve as a strategic architect and change leader to guide efforts and ensure students are supported through credential completion and transfer. This role supports the college’s long-term enrollment stability and Higher Learning Commission (HLC) expectations for evidence-based decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement.
The Dean is expected to balance two complementary responsibilities: supporting students in overcoming barriers to success while maintaining appropriate standards of conduct, accountability, safety, and institutional responsibility.
Position Requirements
Master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution in education, student personnel, higher education administration, counseling, social work, student affairs, organizational behavior, or field related to area of assignment and five (5) years of progressively responsible management and/or leadership experience in student retention, academic advising, or student support services that includes three (3) years of supervisory experience.
Examples of student affairs academic support or non-academic pathway management/leadership experience includes: program management, project management, budget development and management related to programs or projects, staff supervision, policy development, administration, evaluation and compliance.
No degree equivalency.
Desired Qualifications
A. A doctorate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in student affairs, higher education, public administration, counseling, educational leadership, organizational behavior, or similar field /related discipline.
B. Progressively responsible experience serving in a Dean, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, Director, or comparable senior-level role in higher education or another complex educational environment.
C. Progressively responsible supervisory experience, including leading and developing employees; providing oversight of multiple departments, programs, or functional areas; and implementing organizational or service improvements that produced demonstrated results. D. Progressively responsible experience with complex matters in one or all of the following: (1) student conduct, (2) behavioral intervention, (3) threat assessment, (4) crisis response, (5) Clery-related reporting, documentation, training, disclosure, notification, or compliance activities, and/or (6) closely related institutional student-support responsibilities, (i.e., conflict resolution, non-instructional complaints/grievances, etc.).
E. Demonstrated knowledge and application of laws, regulations, policies, and professional standards relevant to higher education student services, including student privacy and disability/accessibility requirements.
F. Experience developing and managing budgets and making strategic resource-allocation decisions across programs, departments, or functional areas. G. One year of full-time, relevant MCCCD experience within the previous two years.
Salary Information
$111,666.61 - $145,166.29/annually, DOE Grade 125
Institution/Organization Name
Mesa Community College
Institution/Organization Address
1833 W. Southern Avenue, Mesa, AZ 85202
Application Link to the Position Posting on Institution/Organization website