Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Towson, Baltimore County, Maryland

Goucher College, among the most innovative liberal arts colleges in the United States, seeks a collaborative, creative, institutionally-minded academic-builder to become the College’s next Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost). Guided by the new leadership of President Kent Devereaux, this Provost will join Goucher at a pivotal moment, where the College is well-positioned to build on the noteworthy accomplishments of the last several years.

Situated on a 287-acre campus located eight miles north of downtown Baltimore, Goucher is a residential institution and home to approximately 1,400 undergraduate students and 800 graduate and post-baccalaureate students. The College offers an attractive undergraduate program, along with selective graduate programs and professional certificates that are offered as low residency, hybrid, and fully online programs. Undergraduate students choose from 28 majors, numerous cutting-edge, interdisciplinary programs, and participate in a robust study abroad program. The College attracts students both nationally and internationally and twenty-four percent of the 2019 class are first-generation college students.

Goucher provides a transformational educational experience for its students. It was among the first private liberal arts colleges in the country to introduce medical science classes for women, early admissions, independent study and field work, accelerated college programs, and individualized majors. Goucher was also one of the earliest schools to introduce a Peace Studies major. Taking advantage of its proximity to the nation’s capital, Goucher also developed one of the original political science internship programs in the country and later expanded internships to all academic areas. Goucher was also the first college in the nation to require all undergraduates pursuing a bachelor’s degree to study abroad.

In recent years, Goucher College has undergone significant changes, specifically by consolidating its academic division into 12 academic centers, implementing a program prioritization process, introducing new majors, and pioneering a general education curriculum based upon complex problem exploration (CPE), which not only reaffirms the value of an integrative, interdisciplinary approach in higher education, but emphasizes the critical role of project-based learning, collaboration, and real-world problem solving. These curricular innovations also place the concepts of justice, race, power, sustainability, people, and the environment front and center in the academic curriculum. 

As an institution, Goucher attracts students that are driven by a deep curiosity, who possess a strong sense of self, and place a high premium on social justice. The same can be said of Goucher faculty and staff, exceptional scholars, and professionals who play a critical role in student success. In addition to Goucher’s commitment to innovation and social justice, the institution has long-standing roots in global education. Goucher remains the only traditional liberal arts college in the nation that requires an international study abroad experience of all its undergraduate students.

In the next chapter of Goucher College, the Provost will have a tremendous opportunity to impact the long-term success of the institution and to capitalize on the College’s renewed commitment to its liberal arts roots, as well as influence the continued diversification of the student body, increase student enrollment, and develop new curricula, new majors, and new organizational structures. This leader will work in partnership with the President, the senior leadership team, faculty, staff, students, alumnae/i, and Goucher’s Board of Trustees to move the College into its next significant and promising new phase in the institution’s history.

This Provost must excel at institution-building and program implementation, and champion faculty, staff, students, and academic excellence. This leader must be able to articulate the distinct value of a residential liberal arts college education in today’s challenging higher education landscape and have a demonstrated commitment to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Provost must also be a communicative, collaborative, transparent, results-driven, positive, and effective leader of culture and teams.

Goucher College has engaged Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in this search. All inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed in confidence to the following:

Rebecca Swartz, Partner or David Ferguson, Associate

Isaacson, Miller, 263 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210

Electronic submission of materials is encouraged via www.imsearch.com/7284

Goucher College is committed to creating a campus environment where everyone is welcome and encourages applications from individuals of diverse and underrepresented communities, as well as applicants with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.