Vice President and Dean of Students

Hamilton College, a pre-eminent co-educational, residential, liberal arts college of approximately 1,850 students located in the village of Clinton, New York, seeks a strategic and experienced Vice President and Dean of Students (VP). Reporting directly to the president, the VP will serve as an engaged and visible leader while enhancing collaboration between offices within the Division of Student Life and across campus. This distinctive opportunity demands visionary leadership, a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion and an ability to build a cohesive campus community, and a thorough understanding of the best practices in student affairs. 

It is an exciting moment for Hamilton, as David Wippman became the College’s 20th president in July 2016. The next VP will work closely with President Wippman and a collaborative and evolving senior staff in setting a vision for Hamilton going forward. As a result of retirements, President Wippman is in a position to recruit key leaders to his senior staff who will complement both him and the talented team already in place. Early in 2017 the campus community, under his leadership, will undertake a strategic planning process to define the College’s goals and outline a plan to achieve them. As the leader of the student affairs division, the VP will contribute to the final stages of the plan’s development and its implementation as it relates to the student experience and the campus culture and climate.

To succeed in this challenging VP role, the selected candidate must be an effective advocate and ally for Hamilton students while making difficult decisions when needed. Success will require an ability to bring people together, creating systems and processes that break down existing divisions and creating opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration. It also demands active support for the interdependence of the academic and co-curricular pieces of students’ education, and a capacity for valuing, building, and sustaining diverse and inclusive communities. The VP will lead an office delivering a complex set of services, overseeing an experienced and dedicated staff of approximately 45 and an annual operating budget of $2.8 million.

To conduct this search, President Wippman has named a nine-member search committee that includes faculty, students, administrators, and a trustee. The committee is assisted by the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. Inquiries, nominations, and applications, which will remain confidential, should be directed to the search firm at: www.imsearch.com/6084

Hamilton College is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity employer
and encourages diversity in all areas of the campus community.