Dean of Hendricks Chapel

Job #

042719

Department Code

0000-0000

Department

Hendricks Chapel

Job Title

Dean of Hendricks Chapel

Location

Syracuse, NY

Campus

Syracuse, NY

Commitment to On-Campus Experience

Syracuse University is committed to delivering an exceptional student experience through vibrant, engaged campus communities. This position is based at the above campus location and requires regular in-person presence to support our students, collaborate with colleagues, and contribute to our thriving academic environment. Syracuse University values the collaboration, mentorship, and spontaneous connections that happen when our community works together on campus. Remote work arrangements are limited in accordance with University policy.

Pay Range

$220,000 - $264,000

Pay Determination

Pay rates at Syracuse University are based on a combination of factors including, but not limited to, the job responsibilities; the candidate’s education, training, work experience and key competencies; the university’s strategic priorities; internal peer equity; applicable federal, state, local laws, grant funding and contractual requisites; and external market analyses.

Staff Level

S7

FLSA Status

Exempt

Hours

Standard University business hours


8:30am – 5:00pm (academic year)
8:00am – 4:30pm (summer)

Hours may vary based on operational needs.

Job Type

Full-time

Unionized Position Code

Not Applicable

Job Description

Syracuse University invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for a visionary, collaborative, and inclusive leader to guide religious and spiritual life at the university and to serve as the eighth dean of Hendricks Chapel.


Reporting to the chancellor, the dean of Hendricks Chapel serves as the principal leader of religious and spiritual life at Syracuse University. The dean nurtures and safeguards the spiritual well-being of the campus community, strengthening connection and relationship-building across all faith traditions while advancing the university’s commitment to a welcoming environment.

Hendricks Chapel is firmly woven into the daily life of the university, serving students, faculty, and staff across a broad spectrum of identities and beliefs. The university seeks a dean who can build upon this strong foundation – extending the chapel’s reach, influence, and impact; deepening its engagement with the full campus community; and shaping an aspirational and forward-looking vision for the chapel and its leadership team. The dean provides strategic guidance for chapel staff in programming, community engagement, and the arts; oversees the Chaplains Council; and offers administrative support to all affiliated religious organizations. The chapel leads an acclaimed suite of music programs anchored by the nationally recognized Hendricks Chapel Choir and hosts a robust calendar of major university ceremonies and signature events.

The dean collaborates extensively across the university with students, faculty, staff, and administrators, while also engaging meaningfully with the greater Syracuse community. Beyond supporting the chaplains, the dean plays a vital role in fostering students’ religious, spiritual, and ethical development. As complex issues emerge—whether globally or on campus—the dean is uniquely positioned to convene multiple perspectives and help the community find common ground.

The dean leads a team of approximately 13 administrative staff, 15 chaplaincies, and 25 affiliated religious groups and manages an operating budget of roughly $1.6 million. Some travel is required for donor cultivation, professional conferences, and university representation.

Education and Experience

Professional and Academic Credentials:

• Ordination or equivalent professional standing within a recognized faith tradition.
• A theological degree (seminary degree required; advanced degree preferred).
• Significant professional experience in ministry, chaplaincy, spiritual leadership, or religious life roles, ideally with exposure to higher education settings; experience connecting religious and spiritual life to the academic mission of a research university is a distinct asset.

Skills and Knowledge

The next dean of Hendricks Chapel should be a spiritually grounded, relational, visionary, and entrepreneurial leader with the following qualities and experiences:

Integrity, Humility, Empathy, and Pastoral Strength:

• A grounded personal spiritual identity and practice.
• Humility and self-awareness, with the ability to center the chapel’s mission rather than personal visibility.
• Genuine enjoyment of university life and deep care for students.
• Empathy as a defining leadership characteristic.
• Enthusiasm for the full scope of the role, with the stamina and energy to sustain deep engagement across a demanding calendar of pastoral, programmatic, ceremonial, and administrative responsibilities.
  

Leadership, Vision, and Strategic Capacity:

• A capacity to articulate an inspiring vision for spiritual, religious, and interfaith life at a modern research university.
• Experience developing, refining, and implementing strategic plans.
• The creativity and imagination to build innovative programs—global, interfaith, communal, wellness, and artistic—that meet students’ evolving needs.
• The ability to navigate ambiguity, guide transition, and lead through organizational change.

A Deeply Relational Presence with Exceptional Communication Skills:

• Outstanding listening skills—calm, patient, open, and attentive.
• The ability to be a steady and trusted voice in moments of crisis, protest, conflict, grief, or uncertainty.
• A demonstrated record of building trust across diverse communities, including students, chaplains, faculty, staff, senior administrators, and alumni.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across multiple audiences.

Operational and Organizational Leadership:

• Experience managing a complex organization with multiple funding streams, a diverse team, and varied stakeholder groups.
• Ability to set clear policies, ensure accountability, and support operational excellence.
• Experience guiding or supervising religious professionals, chaplains, faculty, or staff.
• Comfort using metrics, assessment, and data to inform decision-making.

Commitment to Inclusion and to Interfaith Engagement:

• Demonstrated experience leading or supporting interfaith initiatives and engaging people with a wide breadth of religious, spiritual, and ethical backgrounds and traditions—including those who claim no tradition.
• Multicultural fluency, cultural humility, and the ability to foster belonging for all.
• A record of creating environments where students feel supported in exploring spirituality, faith, doubt, and meaning.

Fundraising and Resource Development:

• Demonstrated success raising philanthropic support, cultivating major donors, and stewarding relationships over time.
• Comfort operating in financially constrained environments, including experience being strategic, entrepreneurial, and resource-savvy.
• The ability to expand donor engagement around major priorities such as global programs, chaplaincy sustainability, student emergency funds, and capital improvements.
• Experience partnering with an advisory board or governing body in advancement efforts.

Responsibilities

The next dean of Hendricks Chapel steps into a role shaped by extraordinary momentum, deep student engagement, and a campus-wide recognition of the chapel as a unifying center of spiritual, religious, and communal life. At the same time, the university is entering a period of leadership transition, rising expectations for transparency, accountability, and innovation, and a dynamic resource environment that calls for entrepreneurial and strategic thinking. The new dean will be asked to honor Hendricks’ historic mission while expanding its reach, strengthening its infrastructure, and guiding a highly committed community into a new decade marked by the chapel’s approaching 100th anniversary in 2030.

Several key opportunities and expectations have emerged for the next dean and are outlined below.

Champion and Advance a New Strategic Vision for Hendricks Chapel

An emerging strategic plan—initially shaped by the seventh Dean of Hendricks Chapel Brian Konkol, the Advisory Board, chaplains, staff, and students—is poised for fresh eyes and any refinement prior to adoption. The new dean will have a meaningful opportunity to exert leadership in shaping, finalizing, and executing this plan. The dean will be expected to:

• Articulate a compelling, contemporary vision for interfaith and religious life on campus.
• Align the chapel’s vision with university priorities at a moment of institutional transition.
• Build on pioneering work already underway, such as the Global Interfaith Scholars Leadership Project, emerging global initiatives, and expanding interfaith dialogue.
  

Strengthen and Support Chaplains, Chaplaincies, and Spiritual Communities

• Hendricks Chapel’s array of chaplaincies is a defining asset, representing a range of models, resources, and levels of engagement. The next dean will be expected to:
• Provide leadership, cohesion, and accountability across a chaplaincy structure with diverse models of funding and engagement.
• Support chaplains and religious life groups in enhancing visibility, programming consistency, and student engagement.
• Address the challenges facing fiscally constrained chaplaincies and explore creative ways to sustain and expand support, including potential donor partnerships or operational redesign.

The dean must be an accessible, trusted partner who can successfully engage a diverse group of chaplains, advocate for their needs, and provide clarity around expectations, policies, and shared priorities.

Elevate Student Engagement, Well-Being, and Belonging

• Students consistently identify Hendricks Chapel as a place of welcome, grounding, and connection. Leaders across campus emphasize that the chapel plays a key role in student retention and the student experience.
• The next dean will:
• Maintain and expand the deep culture of student engagement that has become a hallmark of the chapel.
• Meet students “where they are,” including strengthening programs across residence life, academic units, athletics, and cultural centers.
• Sustain and grow creative programming—from wellness and service programs to arts and music to interfaith engagement—that draws students into meaningful relationships with each other and with the chapel.
• Maintain a visible, relational presence on campus and be available in moments of celebration, crisis, and complexity.

Steward and Strengthen the Chapel’s Resources, Budget, and Infrastructure
Hendricks operates with a complex mix of operating dollars, discretionary/gift funds, chaplaincy arrangements, and donor-supported initiatives. Its eighth dean will face a shifting fiscal landscape and will be expected to:

• Assess the chapel’s budgetary structure, including staff salaries, chaplaincy support, and reliance on soft or discretionary funds.
• Plan strategically for a dynamic resource environment, bringing entrepreneurial creativity and sound fiscal stewardship to advance the chapel’s mission.
• Partner effectively with the development office to sustain and grow donor support, including major gifts for strategic initiatives such as global programs, chaplaincy stability, the emergency fund, and the centennial.
• Strengthen the chapel’s development capacity by establishing consistent fundraising infrastructure and staffing commensurate with its donor relationships and philanthropic potential.
• Direct capital renewal and reimagining of the chapel’s physical footprint, particularly the lower level, improving functional program space.

Build on Momentum as a Unifying, Visible, and Trusted Campus Voice
Hendricks Chapel’s role as a moral and spiritual center positions the dean as a highly visible figure in campus life. The next dean must:

• Serve as a calm, trusted, and balanced presence in moments of tension, protest, tragedy, and polarization—someone who helps the university community find clarity, perspective, and shared humanity
• Represent the university at major events through invocations, benedictions, and other ceremonial roles.
• Work closely with senior leadership—including a new chancellor and evolving leadership team—to provide counsel, partnership, and spiritual grounding.
• Maintain strong relationships with the Advisory Board, who are deeply invested, engaged, and expect accountability, communication, and the continuation of Hendricks’ upward trajectory.

Expand Visibility, Communication, and Storytelling—Internally and Externally
Across listening sessions, campus and board leaders emphasized the need to better tell the story of Hendricks Chapel. The next dean will be expected to:

• Raise the profile of the chapel’s 1,500+ annual events, human-interest stories, and student successes.
• Improve communications and outreach to campus audiences that may not yet see themselves in the chapel’s mission.
• Champion the chapel’s role in fostering spiritual curiosity, ethical reflection, interfaith understanding, and compassionate citizenship.
• Use data, metrics, and assessment to demonstrate impact, deepen engagement, and support fundraising and resource planning.

Lead with Balance, Empathy, Accessibility, and Institutional Savvy
The next dean will succeed a leader who was widely viewed as both a pastor and partner across the university. There is a strong desire for the next dean to:

• Model deep empathy, humility, and listening.
• Maintain an open-door presence for students, chaplains, faculty, staff, and alumni.
• Navigate organizational complexity with tact and wisdom, building relationships thoughtfully across a period of institutional transition.
• Build trust quickly with constituencies who are both hopeful and anxious to sustain the chapel’s momentum.

Prepare for and Lead Toward the Chapel’s Centennial in 2030

• The Chapel’s 100th anniversary provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to:
• Mobilize donor enthusiasm and philanthropic investment.
• Enhance the building and its infrastructure.
• Strengthen interfaith initiatives and global programs.
• Celebrate Hendricks’ legacy while launching its next century.

Physical Requirements

This role requires regular movement across campus to attend events, ceremonies, and engage with the university community.

Tools/Equipment

Not Applicable

Application Instructions

All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile.


WittKieffer is assisting Syracuse University in this search. Review of applications has begun and will continue until an appointment has been made.



Please direct all nominations and applications to Robin Mamlet and Cathryn Davis through the WittKieffer Candidate Portal by clicking here: candidateportal.wittkieffer.com


You may also reach the consulting team, Robin Mamlet and Cathryn Davis at:
[email protected].

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings, and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York State, with a global footprint, and over 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience.


The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors, 100 minors, and 200 advanced degree programs offered across the University’s 13 schools and colleges; over 15,000 undergraduates and over 6,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit

About the Syracuse area

Syracuse is a medium-sized city situated in the geographic center of New York State approximately 250 miles northwest of New York City. The metro-area population totals approximately 500,000. The area offers a low cost of living and provides many social, cultural, and recreational options, including parks, museums, festivals, professional regional theater, and premier shopping venues. Syracuse and Central New York present a wide range of seasonal recreation and attractions ranging from water skiing and snow skiing, hiking in the Adirondacks, touring the historic sites, visiting wineries along the Finger Lakes, and biking on trails along the Erie Canal.

EEO Statement

Syracuse University is an equal-opportunity institution. The University prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, ethnicity, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law to the extent prohibited by law. This nondiscrimination policy covers admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs, services, and activities.

Commitment to Supporting and Hiring Veterans

Syracuse University has a long history of engaging veterans and the military-connected community through its educational programs, community outreach, and employment programs. After World War II, Syracuse University welcomed more than 10,000 returning veterans to our campus, and those veterans literally transformed Syracuse University into the national research institution it is today. The University’s contemporary commitment to veterans builds on this historical legacy, and extends to both class-leading initiatives focused on making an SU degree accessible and affordable to the post-9/11 generation of veterans, and also programs designed to position Syracuse University as the employer of choice for military veterans, members of the Guard and Reserve, and military family members.

Commitment to a Respectful and Welcoming Community

Syracuse University fosters a welcoming learning environment where students, faculty, administrators, staff, curriculum, social activities, governance, and all aspects of campus life reflect a broad range of perspectives and experiences. The University community values the many similarities and differences among individuals and groups. At Syracuse, we are committed to preparing students to engage with and appreciate the richness of backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences that shape our society. To achieve this, we strive to cultivate a community that respects and encourages open dialogue, understanding, and mutual respect.