Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs
Chicago, Illinois

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) invites nominations and applications for the position of Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (provost). This is an outstanding opportunity for an engaging and effective academic leader at one of the world’s top institutions for art and design education. The provost’s portfolio at SAIC is broad, including academic affairs, enrollment management, student affairs, information technology, and libraries.

SAIC is one of the largest accredited independent schools of art and design in the country and one of the premier fine arts educational facilities in the world. As one of the two entities that make up the Art Institute of Chicago—the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago is the other— SAIC provides an unparalleled multidisciplinary approach to art and design education, with 23 academic departments offering a range of undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs. Cultivating creativity and innovation, SAIC's faculty, students, and alumni have extended the school’s influence on contemporary art and design around the world. The school is located in the heart of Chicago, a city defined by an extraordinary and rich diversity, unparalleled architecture, and innovative public art.

Reporting directly to the president, the provost will arrive at an exciting time as SAIC is thinking strategically about how the institution can continue to be a center of innovation for art and design education in the 21st century. Working closely with other senior administrators and incorporating input from across campus, the provost will have a leading role in developing and articulating a compelling vision for art and design education at SAIC and for championing this vision with key constituencies at the local and global level. The provost is expected to drive forward SAIC’s strategic planning process, inspire curricular innovation, manage facilities needs in an urban environment, maintain and develop diversity and inclusion at an institutional level, support and lead a strong internal administration, and work with the president and other campus leaders to represent SAIC externally.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned and collaborative leader with exceptional administrative skills and a proven ability to earn and retain the respect of a highly qualified and accomplished professional faculty of artists, designers, scholars, and administrative leaders; have a commitment to diversity and inclusion; and have a terminal degree or its equivalent along with academic credentials and experience that qualify for appointment as a professor with tenure.

A search committee of SAIC faculty members and administrators has been formed to conduct the search, assisted by the search firm Isaacson, Miller. Confidential inquiries, nominations/referrals, and CVs with cover letters should be sent electronically and in confidence to:

Sheryl Ash, Ben Tobin, or Jeff Kessner

Isaacson, Miller

263 Summer Street

Boston, MA 02210

www.imsearch.com/6785

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is an equal opportunity, equal access employer committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace.