Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Academic Affairs

The Position

The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs plays a vital role in creating a compelling, shared vision for the University of Central Missouri (UCM) and in developing creative initiatives that make this vision a reality.  As the chief academic leader, the Provost assists the deans in promoting faculty and program development, leads strategic enrollment planning and fosters collaborative alliances among campus and community members.  Perhaps most importantly, the Provost leads the campus to ensure a high-quality learning environment that encompasses the entire academic experience. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, direction and encouragement for campus partners to ensure a high-quality learning environment that encompasses the entire academic experience.
• Grow momentum for a shared vision among campus community members that supports learning in all its forms, recognizing the uniqueness of the UCM mission. This includes listening carefully, responding to issues of importance, fostering collaborative and timely decision-making processes, encouraging colleagues to be at the forefront of academic innovation and creativity, and advocating for students, faculty and staff in the best interests of the university.
• Gain visibility for academic programs and other areas of excellence to promote the institution’s reputation for intellectual excellence and responsiveness to workforce development. This will include fostering consensus around programs of distinction and setting qualitative and quantitative goals for current programs and future developments.
• Provide leadership, inspiration and accountability for direct report units supervised (the colleges; library services; academic programs, services and graduate studies; admissions; university farms; and online learning and engagement).
• Fosters organizational communications both vertically and horizontally to promote shared understanding and create a collaborative effort on the university mission, goals, and strategic plan. 
• Oversee the strategic enrollment planning process, ensuring a high level of collaboration, trust and commitment among campus constituents.  This includes developing strategies that will grow undergraduate, graduate and non-degree enrollments; analyzing return on investment; leveraging financial aid; and assessing market forces.
• Lead university efforts to foster student persistence, retention, and success efforts, working with academic units and other university areas to provide support. 
• Development and management of the budget for Academic Affairs.
• Work collaboratively to facilitate appropriate resource allocation and staffing of academic programs across the campus including development of benchmarks for achievement.
• Serve as an integral member of the President’s Council and Strategic Leadership Team.
• Take an active personal and professional leadership role in the Warrensburg community.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• A record of originating collaborative relationships across diverse stakeholder groups, benefiting academic programs and the university and fostering a collegial, effective environment.
• Successful and positive experiences with shared governance and faculty development.
• Ability to advance a sound strategic enrollment plan that includes forecasting, market analysis and financial aid policy, as well as the ability to contextualize the relationship of enrollment to overall university operations and strategic goals.
• Evidence of demonstrated success in acquiring and aligning resources to achieve strategic goals.  
• Persuasive oral and written communication skills; a high level of energy and confidence; the ability to articulate the University’s mission and programs, to ask the right questions, and to promote innovative ideas in ways that are compelling to both internal and external audiences; excellent mediation, negotiation, and brokering skills to help people solve problems.
• Familiarity with program-specific and regional accreditation processes, program assessment and performance metrics.
• Ability to lead and facilitate change in coordination with deans and other campus leaders as necessary.
• Ability to manage budgets and engage in resource allocation decision-making.
• Outstanding leadership skills, especially related to supporting high-functioning teams, empowering others, promoting innovation, solving problems and addressing challenges, and championing efforts in a collegial manner.
• Ability to successfully navigate within a state higher education system and to forge beneficial relationships with other chief academic officers in the state to further advance workforce development and excellence in learning.
• Appreciation for the unique mission of UCM, the needs of students and the opportunities and challenges of the region.
• Ability to work collaboratively with the university’s marketing division to enhance recruitment, ensuring traditional undergraduate pathways, as well as graduate enrollment and non-degree education.
• Ability to motivate programs to successfully move, sustain, and grow alternative delivery modes and structures as appropriate and incorporate modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and extended reality. 
• Evidence of utilizing data to inform decision making in areas such as program planning, staffing, budgeting, and/or enrollment planning in the traditional, distance, and non-degree academic arenas.

Experience and Education Required

• Minimum four years as dean or equivalent (e.g., associate vice president, vice provost, etc.) at a baccalaureate institution of higher education.
• A record of scholarship and teaching that would qualify for a tenured position as a full professor in an appropriate discipline at the university.
• Earned doctorate or terminal degree.

The Application Process

Applications must be submitted online (https://jobs.ucmo.edu) position number 997909. The candidate will need to attach a cover letter that addresses the qualifications outlined for the position, a curriculum vitae, and a list of at least five references with full contact information including phone number and email address. References will not be contacted without the explicit permission of the candidate.

The position will remain open until filled; however, applications received by June 17, 2024, will be given priority consideration. The anticipated start date for this position is January 1, 2025.