Inaugral Dean of the School of Performing and Visual Arts

Role Overview

The Dean will be responsible for establishing the School and its areas of focus, provide strategic vision and operational leadership to all aspects of the school, including faculty recruitment, development of programs, engagement across the University and outside, starting the research programme, and build international partnerships. In short, the inaugural Dean will provide a direction to the development of the School, and this is an opportunity to shape an institution of impact.

About Us

Ahmedabad University (established in 2009) is a private, non-profit, research university offering students a liberal education with a focus on research and interdisciplinary, project-based learning. The University is established by India’s most well-known educational foundation, The Ahmedabad Education Society that was founded in 1935.

Ahmedabad University (www.ahduni.edu.in) offers programmes leading to degrees from bachelors to doctoral at its schools of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. The University is already attracting ambitious scholars from around the world and is developing links with some of the finest academic institutions and organisations. It is an opportunity to re-imagine a university in the global academy and within subcontinental traditions of knowledge, and to act as a bridge between the arts, the sciences and the professions.

About the School

Ahmedabad University is setting up a School of Performing & Visual Arts. The school will offer a Five-Year dual degree programme in Integrated Arts for students seeking rigorous and holistic education in the fields of Performing and Visual Arts. The Integrated Arts Programme is a unique, multidisciplinary, practice-driven programme, dedicated to educating a new generation of original art practitioners, art curators, managers, and academics. Its core is defined at the intersection of aesthetics with formal and technological innovation. Such an intersection brings together a broad spectrum of knowledge, problem-solving techniques, research skills, and creative imagination. We believe the programme will provide the intellectual preparation of the artist within the traditions of liberal arts while providing an opportunity to build original creative capabilities within a chosen art form. It will also allow for an understanding of how arts engage with and provide solutions to grand challenges facing the society (e.g., climate change, health, social inequality etc.)

Key Responsibilities

The Dean will be responsible for establishing the School and its areas of focus, provide strategic vision and operational leadership to all aspects of the school including faculty recruitment, development of programs, engagement across the University and outside, starting the research programme, and build international partnerships. In short, the inaugural Dean will provide direction to the development of the School, and this is an opportunity to shape an institution of impact.

The Candidate should be a leading academic or a scholarly practitioner in a field of Performing and Visual Arts, should have a strong research orientation, must be an institution builder, and should have an entrepreneurial disposition. The position comes with full professorship and the candidate must fulfil that stature.

The search committee is seeking nominations for and interest from potential candidates. Please contact Professor Pankaj Chandra, Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the Search Committee Ahmedabad University

vc@ahduni.edu.in