Westfield State University Hiring for Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Westfield Full Time

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

About Westfield State University:

In 1839, Westfield State University was founded on the ideals of Horace Mann who sought to improve society through education. We were the first public education institution without barrier to race, gender or economic class. The spirit of innovative thinking and social responsibility is forged in a curriculum of liberal arts and professional studies contributing to the development of knowledge, skills, and character essential for students to become responsible leaders and engaged citizens.

Westfield State is a highly residential campus with approximately 55% of our 3,100 full-time undergraduate students living on campus. The campus is ideally situated on the edge of the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts just 30 minutes from the thriving cultural centers of Springfield, Northampton, and Amherst with a selection of museums, theater, collegiate and minor league sports, hiking trails, and restaurants. The University is within 1.5 hours of Boston and Albany and within 3 hours of New York City and the Green Mountain range of Vermont.

Thank You for Your Interest in Becoming a Westfield State Community Member

You are welcome here. You can advance your career and make a difference here. We invite you to bring your whole self and talents to Westfield State University. The University seeks applicants whose record of teaching, student advising, research, and administration positions them to contribute to the everyday practice of our institutional values.

Our Values

Westfield State commits to values that strengthen a common bond among all members of our community and promotes a rich campus environment.

• Embrace Diversity – We treat all members of our community with dignity and respect.
• Maintain Excellence and Integrity – We maintain excellence and integrity in all that we do.
• Collaborate with Each Other – We make decisions in a transparent and collaborative manner.
• Provide Accessible Education – We commit to providing an accessible, affordable public higher education for all.
• Build a Strong Community – We are inclusive and ensure equity, supporting the personal development of all community members, and embracing multiple perspectives.
• Engage the Outside Community – We support civic engagement in local, regional, and global initiatives.

Graduation and Retention Rates

For this reporting year, the cohort comprises students entering in the fall of 2014, and Westfield’s reported six-year completion rate is 63%. Our average six-year completion rate for students entering 2010-2013 is 63%. For Westfield’s five classes, students entering Fall 2012 to Fall 2016 and graduating Spring 2016 to Spring 2020, the average four-year completion rate is 52%. For students entering Fall 2011 to Fall 2015, our average five-year completion rate is 61%. The average fall to fall one year retention rates for students entering Fall 2015 through Fall 2019 is 75%.

Job Description:

The Opportunity
The President of Westfield State University invites a strategic, transformational, and innovative leader to join the senior leadership team as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA). Reporting directly to the President, the Provost serves as the university’s chief academic officer and member of the President’s cabinet. The Provost provides strategic leadership and execution across a variety of areas, including learning assessment; student success programs; general education review; academic program assessment planning and innovation; reaccreditation; faculty hiring and development; and cultivating an environment in which faculty entrepreneurship, research, and creativity flourish. Responsible for ensuring a dynamic academic experience for a diverse study body, the Provost delivers competitive undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs critical to the development of knowledge, skills, and character essential for students to become responsible leaders and engaged citizens. Prioritizing innovation, the Provost models and encourages mastery in the use of technologies associated with evolving pedagogy, online and distance learning education, and academic program evaluation. The Provost works to enhance student and faculty recruitment and retention, expand opportunities for faculty professional development, and advance the institutional culture and values. The Provost supervises the following 12 positions: Associate Provost, Dean for Graduate, Online and Professional Studies, Associate Dean of the School of Criminology, Psychology, Social Justice and Public Policy, Associate Dean of the School of Business, Mathematics, Computing and Sustainability, Associate Dean of the School of Health, Natural Sciences, and Human Services, Associate Dean of the School of Education, Arts, Communication and Humanities, Executive Director of the Center for Student Success and Engagement, Executive Director of Teacher Preparation, Executive Director of Nursing Education, Executive Director of STEM, Office of Lifelong Learning Education, and the Assistant to the Provost.

Duties and Responsibilities:
Duties include but not limited to:
Essential:

• Serves as chief administrative officer in the absence of the President.
• In collaboration with the president and senior leaders, grows academic program enrollment, diversification, and innovation by championing multidisciplinary initiatives and research, internationalizing the campus, addressing students’ academic success and support needs, expanding opportunities for adult learner engagement, and guiding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for faculty and students.
• Extends the University’s visibility as a premiere institution of higher education within the Northeast region by building partnerships with state, national, and international organizations, sponsoring innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity, and engaging in University advancement including, the Board of Trustees, Westfield State Foundation, and Alumni Affairs.
• Works collaboratively with senior leaders to ensure an effective process for engaging the University community in the development of an academic plan that will foster a vision and identify strategic priorities to advance the University and its core academic mission.
• Builds institutional capacity for multi-year planning while creating clear and transparent processes that align strategic, academic, and operational planning and resource allocation functions; creates a communication infrastructure to ensure transparency in processes and resources for effective operations and campus engagement.
• Provides clear direction and support for positive and intentional change consistent with the University’s emerging Innovation, Diversity, Engagement, and Advancement (IDEA) framework to enable a culture characterized by aspirational values such as collaboration, community, and academic excellence and integrity.
• Ensures successful continuance of regional and specialized accreditation for the University through educational quality improvement initiatives, on-going assessment of student learning, and increasingly robust data analytics. Advances the Westfield State Experience to provide students experiences that prepare them for academic success as well as productive lives, fulfilling careers and engaged citizenship
• Works collaboratively and in a consensus-building way to identify, develop and introduce best practices and new initiatives that maximize the effectiveness of the teaching and learning mission of the University, including revisiting the general education core curriculum and supporting implementation of recommended actions.
• Fosters creative synergies among and across academic departments and other University divisions, nurture Westfield’s energy for innovation, and identify and support opportunities for faculty development to help sustain it.
• Advocates for and oversees an effective process of faculty and librarian management; provides recommendations to the President on all academic appointments, tenure and promotion matters while ensuring that such processes comply with the terms of faculty bargaining agreements.
• Ensures that the faculty/librarians receive the support necessary to carry out the University’s academic purposes; works with the faculty/ librarians to ensure an effective voice in University governance; and monitors all matters relating to curriculum and instruction.
• Develops academic budgets in close association with other academic officers; provides stewardship over all unit budgets reporting to the Provost/Vice President.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

LEADERSHIP AGENDA

The next Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will have the opportunity to lead several key initiatives as part on the University’s strategic
planning process. At the core of these initiatives will be the development of a comprehensive Academic Master Plan.

• The Provost/VPAA will lead faculty, staff, and administrators to pursue focused goals in a clear, purposeful way, and champion academic innovation, diversity, equity and inclusion, student success, and fiscal sustainability within Academic Affairs. Working directly with the Dean structure, senior provost team, faculty, and staff, the new Provost/VPAA must engage the entire community in reflecting, visioning, and planning for the future of the institution.

In alignment with the strategic planning process, the new Provost will be expected to provide leadership to address the following key priorities and challenges:

• Creating a strong and unified vision for academic affairs that is mission consistent, innovative, strategically aligned, and financially sustainable.
• Curriculum revision and development that includes supporting ongoing university-wide efforts in general education to meet the needs of today’s learners, revising academic programs and delivery models to meet the needs of lifelong learning including micro credentials and certificate programs, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across colleges and departments.
• Developing and implementing strategies to improve student success and eliminate equity gaps in graduation rates with fidelity to the university community’s belief that excellence and equity are fundamental and interlinking values.
• Working with and supporting already established programs and leaders while encouraging new program growth.
• Providing innovative leadership and support for faculty development efforts that ensure faculty excellence and promote student learning within a shared governance and unionized environment.
• Working with faculty and administrators to develop metrics that assess critical outcomes for academic programs and policies and seek transparent, equitable accountability.
• Collaborating with staff to cultivate a positive work culture that appreciates and bolsters the staff’s contributions to student and institutional success.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Academic credentials consistent with the rank of professor, as demonstrated by a distinguished record of teaching, scholarship, creative accomplishments.
• Progressively responsible experience as an academic administrator at the Dean level or above including strategic planning, collaboration, and execution, budget oversight and personnel management.
• Extensive experience in academic policy development, program evaluation, and accreditation leadership.
• Demonstrated success in support of institutional advancement, fundraising, and grant writing.
• Evidence of the ability to work well across all segments of the university community.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion including demonstrable experience in supporting a diverse student population and cultivating a multicultural environment

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A history of championing liberal arts education and professional education, with a deep and abiding passion for the University’s mission.
• Strong advocacy for academic innovation related to new and emerging trends in higher education and market demand, including strategic use of technology across the curriculum, while supporting existing initiatives.
• Demonstrates an interest in or leadership experience with a unionized campus environment.
• Proficiency in creating connections, bridging gaps, and fostering synergies. An open-minded and versatile problem-solving approach, coupled with a willingness to address issues in a manner that promotes consensus-building within a shared governance structure.
• Ability to understand and enable diverse viewpoints and approaches to achieve the University’s goals.
• Successful experience and leadership in higher education administration including undergraduate and graduate programs, and innovative applications of current and emerging technologies.
• Experience working within a state system of higher education.
• Commitment to a range of programs serving diverse students, e.g., dual enrollment, veteran services, return-to-education students, online learning, etc.
• Bilingual language proficiency

Additional Information:

Employee Benefits:

Benefits are an important component of an employee’s total compensation package.

• Health Insurance: Westfield State offers a variety of HMO, POS, and PPO-type health insurance plans for eligible employees with coverage effective on the 1st of the month following the 60 days of employment.
• Retirement: the MA State Employee Retirement System provides eligible employees with a retirement pension following a 10-year vesting period. In lieu of the retirement pension, eligible employees may select the Optional Retirement Plan with a maximum 5% employer matching contribution.
• Tuition Waivers & Discounts: eligible employees, including spouses and dependent children, receive reduced tuition at MA state colleges, community colleges, and universities.
• Paid Time Off: employees receive 11 paid holidays and generous vacation, personal, and sick leave benefits.
• Additional information regarding employee benefits is available on the University’s Benefits & Wellness webpage.

Disability Accommodations

Westfield State University is committed to the full inclusion of individuals with disabilities and will ensure the availability of reasonable accommodations. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact Human Resources at (413) 572-8809 or visit us in the Horace Mann Building, 1st floor.

Background Check

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion and review of a background check. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration.

Application Instructions:

The search for the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Westfield State University is being assisted by Academic Search. The Provost/VPAA is expected to begin in July 2024. The position is open until filled, but only applications submitted electronically to Academic Search by January 16, 2024, can be assured full consideration. Prospective candidates may arrange a confidential conversation about this exciting opportunity with one of two Senior Consultants:

Cynthia M. Patterson Cynthia.

[email protected]

Maria Thompson

[email protected]

Applications, nominations, and inquiries must be submitted electronically and confidentially to [email protected].

Confidential nominations should provide the name, title, institution, and contact information (email address and phone) of a person whom Academic Search should contact

TO APPLY, A CANDIDATE SHOULD SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING PDF DOCUMENTS:

• A substantive cover letter that addresses the candidate’s experiences and qualifications for this position
• A current curriculum vitae (CV)
• A list of five (5) professional references with full contact information (name, title, organization/ institution, email address, phone number) and a brief description explaining the working relationship of each to the applicant. No references will be contacted without the explicit permission of the candidate

To apply, visit https://westfield.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=170124&CNTRNO=22&TSTMP=0

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