Vice President for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity

The College of Wooster invites applications and nominations for the position of Vice President for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity (VPEID). Reporting directly to President Sarah Bolton, this leader will serve as a key strategic advisor to the president and as a member of the President’s Cabinet. The VPEID will collaborate with the College’s diverse stakeholders to provide leadership and strategic direction, together creating an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, anti-racist and respectful, and whose members feel equal ownership of the community with accountability to one another. 

Founded in 1866 and located in Wooster, Ohio, The College of Wooster enrolls approximately 2,000 students. The College is nationally and internationally recognized for its excellent, comprehensive liberal arts education, culminating in a distinctive senior project (Independent Study), in which each student works one-on-one with a faculty mentor over an academic year to conceive, organize and complete a significant research or creative project. 

Wooster has sought to be inclusive from its founding, at which its inaugural president laid out the importance of being “a place of studies for all” adding that “The essential test of citizenship in the commonwealth of science and letters should be character, mental and moral quality, and attainment, not condition, race, color, or sex.” The Independent Study project for all students was created in the late 1940s, based on the idea that every student could, and should, do work that had never been done before. Campus diversity has increased substantially over the past decade, and continues to grow. The student body is 16 percent international students (from nearly 70 countries) and 23 percent U.S. students of color, and one third of our students identify as queer, trans or non-binary. Our faculty is also more diverse than ever before: over half of those hired into tenure-track positions over the past three years are BIPOC faculty, and nearly a third are international faculty.

The VPEID will serve as a visible campus and community leader, leading diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and efforts across campus and building on significant commitments and resources such as the College’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion, long-standing commitment to the POSSE program, Perry-Williams post-doctoral fellow program in partnership with the Consortium for Faculty Diversity, as well as the Board of Trustees’ focus on racial equity. The VPEID will lead the final stages in the implementation of the 2017 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, and will work with campus constituents to develop new strategic goals and actions, enhance programs, and deepen connections between the City of Wooster and the campus.

The ideal candidate will be an advocate, a skilled convener and an expert on diversity, equity and inclusion, including anti-racist practices. The VPEID will possess excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and will build and sustain community and collaborative relationships. Additional qualifications include experience advancing diversity, equity and inclusion through successful strategies and initiatives and the use of data and research to inform strategic analysis, assessment and measurement of effective diversity and inclusion programs. A terminal degree is preferred, but not required.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile found at www.wittkieffer.com. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by November 8, 2021.

WittKieffer is assisting The College of Wooster in this search. Application materials can be submitted using WittKieffer's candidate portal. Confidential nominations and inquiries can be directed to the college’s consultants, Charlene L. Aguilar, Ed.M. and Christine J. Pendleton at WoosterVPEID@wittkieffer.com.

The College of Wooster is an independent college of the liberal arts and sciences with a commitment to inclusive excellence in undergraduate education. We are especially interested in hiring faculty and staff who contribute to the vibrancy and diversity of the academic community, and who are committed to ensuring the success of diverse student populations. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, physical and/or mental disability, age, religion, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy, or by state, local, or federal law.

The College of Wooster is committed by policy and practice to diversity, equity and inclusion. For more information on our nondiscrimination policy visit: https://wooster.edu/nondiscrimination/.