Provost

Saint Louis University (SLU), one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious Jesuit, Catholic universities, invites nominations and expressions of interest for the position of university provost.

Located in the heart of the city of St. Louis, MO, Saint Louis University is driven by a clear purpose: educating the whole person – mind, body, heart and spirit – within the Jesuit tradition of educational excellence. With over 2,300 faculty, SLU offers its 13,000 students (drawn from all 50 states and over 80 foreign countries) a rigorous and transformative education that helps them to develop into bold, confident leaders. The region's leading university for educating adult learners, as well as enrolling an additional 7,000 students in its 1818 advanced college credit program, SLU is consistently lauded as one of the nation's top universities with 18 of its graduate and undergraduate programs ranked among the top 50 in the country by US News and World Report (2020). SLU is also ranked within the top 10 Niche 2021 “Best Catholic Colleges in America” List, and is one of only nine Catholic universities to receive a Carnegie classification of “higher” or “highest” research activity. In 2019, SLU welcomed the largest freshman class in its history. This talented group had an average high school GPA of 3.9 and an ACT score of 28, placing them in the top 10% of test takers in the nation. Other notable accolades include its reputation as a leader in community service, ranking second in the nation for this aspect of its work by The Princeton Review, as well as being selected as a Top Place to Work for Women in 2020 by the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis.

The university takes enormous pride in its academics and research, as well as its passion for the ethical, spiritual, and compassionate preparation of its students. Saint Louis University is now entering a new and exciting era with significant opportunities for leadership and innovation for the next provost. Shortly after his arrival at SLU in 2014, the university president, Dr. Fred Pestello, initiated a broadly inclusive strategic planning process, focused on identifying the ways in which the university’s Jesuit mission might be maintained and enhanced given the challenges and opportunities of the 21st-century higher education environment.

Enrollments have remained stable despite the uncertainties prompted by the current COVID-19 pandemic. The university’s leadership has taken a science-based consensual approach to the impact of COVID-19. Its decisions have been guided by Jesuit values and the expectations of students and their families, faculty, and staff. Both faculty and students had the choice to decide how classes would be taught and taken in the fall 2020 semester. The result is that SLU is among the estimated 30 percent of American colleges and universities that are providing primarily in-person instruction to its undergraduate and graduate students. At the time of writing, positive COVID cases have been low, and a tenuous stability has taken hold.

This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced and distinguished academic leader to serve one of the nation's most forward-looking universities, and to help advance Dr. Pestello’s vision for the university: to be a global Jesuit university that is mission-focused, student and patient-centered, and research driven, while also working with the people of St. Louis to reimagine, transform, and unify the city. In addition to academic oversight, the provost's portfolio will include the Divisions of Student Development and Enrollment and Retention Management. The next provost will have an invaluable opportunity to build an academic strategic plan that enhances a student's experience from recruitment through graduation, and on to employment or further advanced study. Promoting the values of the Jesuit Catholic mission, the provost will lead this 202-year-old university to an even brighter future.

Additional information about Saint Louis University may be found at www.slu.edu.

A detailed leadership profile is available at www.wittkieffer.com. All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s Candidate Portal. Applications should include: a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile and a CV or resume.

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to Dennis Barden, Melissa Fincher, Sarah Miller and Bree Liddell at SLUProvost@wittkieffer.com.

Candidate confidentiality will be respected, and references will not be contacted without prior knowledge and approval of candidates. For fullest consideration, application materials should be received by November 2, 2020.

Saint Louis University is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer committed to providing fair treatment of all in the SLU community on the basis of merit.