Vice President for Academic Affairs

The College of St. Scholastica, a vibrant, multi-campus institution in the Catholic Benedictine tradition with its main campus in Duluth, MN seeks a visionary, inspiring, and transformational leader to serve as its next Vice President for Academic Affairs. The College has experienced growth and expansion over the past several years and seeks a Vice President who will help lead future academic program development for the College. As a result of the College’s recent period of rapid growth and expansion, it currently operates nine satellite campuses within Minnesota and a campus in Arizona in addition to the main campus in Duluth. Programs are offered both online and on-site to over 4,400 undergraduate and graduate students.

Founded in 1912 by the Benedictine Sisters, today St. Scholastica is a co-educational, independent, comprehensive institution of higher learning offering undergraduate and graduate programs across six academic schools. The General Education program provides students a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, cultivating a conscientious use of knowledge that prepares them for responsible living in a global community.

The new Vice President will play a significant role on the leadership team of President Colette Geary, who joined the College in the summer of 2016 as its 12th President.  President Geary’s commitment to inclusive and transparent leadership at St. Scholastica has set the tone for a team that values collaboration and communication. 

The Vice President for Academic Affairs will: ensure an ongoing commitment to the liberal arts; support the continued growth of professional programs at the College; demonstrate a passion for academic excellence; and exhibit an entrepreneurial drive to recognize new markets and guide the College’s continued growth and development for the coming era. 

The Vice President will demonstrate proven management skills; an appreciation of the complex challenges that exist for faculty, staff and students; success in guiding a complex organization through growth and change; and significant financial acumen. 

The Vice President will be an articulate spokesperson for the value of a St. Scholastica education, and will support a collaborative and collegial ethos that recognizes the richness of the St. Scholastica community’s many talents and resources and encourages engagement and a deep commitment to the challenges in private higher education today.

The Vice President will understand and support the College’s long-standing commitment to a community grounded in inclusive excellence: in the curriculum; in hiring; and in developing faculty to enhance their knowledge and pedagogical skills related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and cultural fluency. He or she will possess an earned terminal degree and an outstanding record of scholarship, teaching and service.  St. Scholastica values the role of the chief academic officer as leader, mentor, and supporter of faculty aspirations: she or he will be   available, engaged, and invested in an environment that values teaching and supports faculty in the pursuit of excellence in their work. The Vice President will demonstrate capacity for cultivating collaborative endeavors, both internally and externally, that support the College’s mission of educational excellence and address the needs of a diverse student body.

Critical to the new Vice President’s success will be a track record of leading innovative change in a complex organization, the ability to work collaboratively, communicate effectively, and move initiatives forward through implementation. Successful experience in strategic planning, personnel and organizational management, and resource allocation is necessary.   The VPAA will play a vital role in establishing the strategic direction and future priorities of the College through participation in a comprehensive and collaborative strategic planning process to take place in the coming year. 

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited.  Review of applications will begin in March, 2017 and will continue until the position is filled.  For fullest consideration, applicant materials should be received by March 1, 2017. Candidates should provide a curriculum vitae, a letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in the Leadership Statement, and the names and contact information of five references.  References will not be contacted without prior approval of candidates.  These materials should be sent via e-mail to the College of St. Scholastica’s consultants, Ann Yates, Melissa Fincher and Concetta Stewart at StScholasticaVPAA@wittkieffer.com. The consultants can be reached by telephone through Sheri Lyons at 630-575-6926. To learn more about the position, please visit www.wittkieffer.com.

The College of St. Scholastica is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an educational and work environment that is rich in diversity, inclusive and supportive of all students, faculty and staff.