The University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University invite nominations and applications for the full-time position of Dean of their Joint Institute. The Joint Institute (JI) is a unit within SJTU that is co-directed by both the University of Michigan (U-M) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) as a special educational zone on the SJTU campus.  It was established in 2006 with the goal of developing global leaders through student exchanges, research collaboration, and innovative educational programs. The Joint Institute received the 2014 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education. English is the official language of the Joint Institute.

The UM-SJTU JI offers Engineering undergraduate degree programs in China, leveraging English-language instruction, and structure typical US academic institutions. It has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 1,200 degree-seeking students. In addition, UM-SJTU JI students may apply for transfer admission to the University of Michigan for their junior year, following the same admissions guidelines and degree requirements as other international and domestic transfer students. The JI offers undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering (ME), Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). Both the ME and ECE programs were ABET-accredited in 2016. JI graduates have an extremely strong track record of admission to top graduate programs worldwide. Concurrently, a significant number of UM students pursue Summer and Fall study abroad programs at the JI, ranging from 30 to 60 each summer. Over the past 18 years, the JI has developed an alumni body of over 4,000 graduates, who have pursued both academic and industry careers. In recent years, over 90% of JI graduates have enrolled in graduate studies at top universities worldwide, with about 80% of them securing admission at universities ranked among the top 20 in the United States.

The JI recruits top-quality faculty worldwide to conduct high-impact research and direct doctoral and master’s level education, with degrees granted by the SJTU. It currently employs 65 faculty members and 19 post-doctoral researchers, all appointed at the JI within SJTU. Additional UM visiting faculty offer courses at the JI each year. The JI faculty mentors a graduate student body of over 294 individuals.  The JI’s operating budget is independent of SJTU with tuition revenue contributing a majority of the financial income. Its incoming first-year class is set at 300 domestic students, with additional international students joining its degree programs.

The next Dean will bring exceptional leadership skills, extensive experience in academic administration, a strong and innovative vision for the future of the Joint Institute, a history of academic engagements with international partners, and energy and enthusiasm for promoting the work of the Joint Institute.

A search committee with representation from both institutions has been convened to conduct the search and to recommend finalists to the UM-SJTU Partnership Board.

Position profile

The Dean, residing in Shanghai, China, is the chief academic and administrative officer of the JI.  Key responsibilities of this leader include:

● set the strategic vision and provide leadership in the JI’s pursuit of its goal of providing high-quality undergraduate and graduate education, and research;

● recruit and maintain an excellent faculty body;

● create and support educational and research programs of the highest quality;

● attract excellent undergraduate and graduate students;

● create collaborative opportunities with other schools and units within both SJTU and the U-M;

● provide leadership and guide fundraising and development initiatives to support JI’s priorities.

● enhance productive relationships with alumni, donors, and local, national, and international communities;

The Dean of the JI plays a major leadership role within the broader SJTU community, stimulating and facilitating synergistic collaborations with other schools and colleges, and providing a testbed for Western models of education and research at a Chinese campus. 

As the chief academic, administrative, and financial officer of the JI, the Dean reports directly to the UM-SJTU Partnership Board, comprising leadership members of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Michigan (https://www.ji.sjtu.edu.cn/about/organization-structure/board-of-directors/).  The Dean serves also as the chair of the JI’s Academic Programs Group, consisting of UM and SJTU senior faculty (https://www.ji.sjtu.edu.cn/about/organization-structure/academic-program-group/). The JI Academic Programs Group is responsible for evaluating all hiring, promotion, and tenure requests for the Joint Institute, assessing yearly disclosures of potential conflicts of interest by Joint Institute’s faculty and staff, providing input to the Dean on governance and academic issues for the JI, and making recommendations to the Partnership Board on all the matters outlined. The Dean also selects and leads the Dean’s cabinet, which comprises the academic and administrative leadership of the JI.

Opportunities and goals for the Joint Institute

Since its inception, the Joint Institute has established an exceptional faculty body that excels globally in research along several technology fronts. Today, the Joint Institute is at the forefront of domestic and international competitive opportunities as a center of excellence for future technology developments.

The next Dean of the Joint Institute has the unique opportunity to build on a solid foundation of excellence in research and education, to further enhance the mission and success of the UM-SJTU Joint Institute. In this context, the Dean will pursue the following goals:

● Grow and expand the diversity of the faculty and the students. The Joint Institute expects to experience growth in its faculty size, in alignment with the number of students affiliated with each of its three engineering programs. Such growth should expand faculty diversity along a wide range of dimensions, including gender, ethnicity, country of origin, cultural background, etc. The international profile of the JI’s student body has been growing as well, with significant further potential for growth in this dimension.

● Grow and expand the diversity of the JI’s graduate student population, with a target goal of steadily increasing the size of the graduate student body in the next five years. Such growth should consider the future research directions of the Institute, and expand the diversity of the graduate student body along a wide range of dimensions, including gender, ethnicity, country of origin, cultural background, etc.

● Pursue innovative and strategic education and research directions, to expand the areas of research and education of the Joint Institute along directions that promote its excellence among peer institutions, the pursuit of research grants by the faculty, both in quality and quantity, and attract even stronger cohorts of top-quality undergraduate students.

Candidate Qualifications

The next dean must have the following qualifications:

● An earned doctorate and a record of scholarly achievement appropriate for an appointment at the level of Professor with Tenure in a department within the Joint Institute. The individual should be an internationally recognized scholar with the desire, ability, and vision to lead  an organization that is at the forefront of developing new models for research and scholarship, and graduate and undergraduate education within China;

● A record of progressive and visionary academic leadership experience in higher education. The candidate must possess demonstrated effectiveness in planning, administration, and personnel and fiscal management;

● Demonstrated substantial evidence of leading sustainable transformation in diversity and inclusion initiatives and a strong ability to recruit excellent faculty;

● Effectiveness in working with a diverse student body, faculty, staff, other university constituents, and external organizations;

● Ability to work collaboratively with academic units and international partners to create curricular and co-curricular components that advance student experiences and research partnerships;

● A high level of administrative acumen, enabling them to lead a unit (the Joint Institute) that operates under different academic and procedural rules than its host institution (SJTU). As an example, the Joint Institute follows practices that are typical of the US academic system in supporting the career progression of its faculty, while SJTU embraces Chinese practices in this domain;

● An understanding of operating and governance structures in both Chinese and US academic systems. Additionally, familiarity with the U-M or SJTU (or both) governance structures is a valuable addition to a candidate’s profile;

Interested candidates should email umsjtujisearch@sjtu.edu.cn and UMSJTU-JIapplications@umich.edu for any questions. Applications should include a CV and cover letter that articulates the candidate’s interest in the deanship at the Joint Institute. Materials should be in English and be emailed as a single PDF document to both umsjtujisearch@sjtu.edu.cn and UMSJTU-JIapplications@umich.edu. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through September 30, 2024.

The UM-SJTU Joint Institute is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic university community committed to teaching and the pursuit of research in a multicultural environment. Potential applicants who share this goal are encouraged to apply.