Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Southern Methodist University (SMU), a distinguished center for global research with a liberal arts tradition, invites nominations and applications for the role of provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Founded in 1911, SMU aims to create, expand and impart knowledge through teaching, research and service, preparing students to contribute to their communities and excel in their professions. Now in its second century, and with an ambitious strategic plan to guide the path forward, SMU aspires to be one of the premier private higher learning institutions in the United States.

SMU offers a strong foundation in the humanities and sciences and in undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs through seven schools and online. Under the leadership of President R. Gerald Turner since 1995, SMU has made unprecedented progress academically, physically and financially. Today, the university is home to more than 6,400 undergraduates and 5,200 graduate students. Twenty-six percent of all enrolled students are students of color. Fifty percent of undergraduates and 46 percent of graduate students are female. More than half of undergraduates come from outside Texas, and more than 13 percent of the student population is international, representing nearly 90 countries.

Located near the heart of Dallas in one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions and on one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country, SMU faculty, staff and students are energized by unbridled opportunities from teaching, learning and research to creativity, performance and athletic endeavors.

Building on SMU’s track record of success and working in close partnership with the president, deans and vice presidents, the next provost will sharpen the university’s plan to enhance academic excellence; catalyze and support academic innovation; and strengthen student success initiatives.

The successful candidate will be an experienced and highly collaborative leader at or above the decanal level with experience in a comparably diverse and complex research university and a track record of enhancing academic quality, faculty excellence, institutional diversity and inclusion and student success. Candidates must have earned doctorates and records of accomplishments as scholars and teachers. Read a comprehensive leadership profile of the position at www.smu.edu.

All inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. Candidates should provide, as three separate documents, a curriculum vitae, a letter of interest that addresses the expectations and requirements described in the leadership profile and the names and contact information of five references. References will not be contacted without candidates’ prior knowledge.

Applicants should email materials to Southern Methodist University’s consultants, Robin Mamlet, Philip Tang and Elizabeth Bohan, at SMUProvost@wittkieffer.com. The consultants can be reached by telephone at (630) 575-6178. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by September 20, 2019.

SMU will not discriminate in any program or activity on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. The Executive Director for Access and Equity/Title IX Coordinator is designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies and may be reached at the Perkins Administration Building, Room 204, 6425 Boaz Lane, Dallas, TX 75205, 214-768-3601, accessequity@smu.edu.