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Vice President for Student Development

Employer
Knox College
Location
Illinois, United States
Salary
Salary Not specified
Date posted
Aug 2, 2021

Knox College

Galesburg, IL

 

Vice President for Student Development

 

Following the July 1, 2021, appointment of Colby Vice President and Wesleyan trustee Andrew McGadney as its twentieth president, Knox College, an academically distinguished, national liberal arts college and a paradigmatic College That Changes Lives, seeks a new Vice President for Student Development.

 

An independent, four-year, residential baccalaureate institution of 1200 students (from 45 states and—in recent years—49 countries), Knox offers 60 courses of study with a student-faculty ratio of 12-1. As the Prairie Fire, Knox fields 16 varsity sports in the Division III Midwest Conference. The College’s enduring hallmarks, dating from its founding in 1837 by abolitionists, are academic rigor; student access without regard to gender, race or financial circumstances; a social justice ethos and a supportive, deeply elaborated student culture that inspires high affinity and loyal, active alumni devotion. The word alumni use most often in describing their Knox experience is “transformational.”

 

Knox promotes its educational approach as “human-powered.” The College has a broad-minded campus culture noted for its openness and warmth. Knox has garnered accolades from the New York Times and Washington Monthly corroborating its academic quality and effectiveness in launching engaged graduates and promoting social mobility. Its location, midway between Chicago and St. Louis, affords both urban access and a small-town environment conducive to a close-knit campus and local community engagement. Knox has the most diverse enrollment among Associated Colleges of the Midwest institutions. It is also among the most successful in retaining and graduating students from historically underrepresented groups.  Moreover, with 29% of enrolled students first generation, 40% identifying as persons of color, some 25% participating in intercollegiate athletics and nearly 30% who identify as LGBTQ+, Knox is modeling an intersectional academic community that achieves a high degree of esprit de corps, as measured by student satisfaction. 

 

Reporting directly to President McGadney and as a member of his President’s Council, the Vice President is Knox’s chief student affairs officer, providing leadership and vision in promoting the academic achievement, personal development, and campus life experience of Knox’s undergraduates. The Vice President leads and inspires a team of 29 student affairs professionals, including the Dean of Students Office (including residential life, student activities, and Greek life organizations), the Career Center, the Center for Intercultural Life, the Kleine Center for Community Service, the Health and Counseling Center and the recently revamped Office of Spiritual Life. The Vice President is an advocate for holistic student learning and represents students and their concerns to senior leadership, ensures that Knox’s student programs and services are responsive to students’ evolving needs, implements policies that promote both fair treatment and responsible conduct, and fosters strong and effective collaborative relationships among students, senior administrators, faculty, staff, parents, and guardians. The Vice President will join with campus constituents in sustaining Knox as a national leader in providing curricular and co-curricular programs that leverage the educational potential of a culturally rich and diverse campus community.

 

Qualifications: A Master’s degree in higher education administration, human/student development or a related field is required. A PhD in an arts-and-sciences discipline or higher education, or an EdD, is preferred. A minimum of seven years of professional experience, including five years of supervisory experience, is required, with a record of management and supervision of complex operations, preferably in multiple student-facing areas, preferred.   Candidates should evidence active engagement with current and emerging best practices and issues in higher education and student development. The successful candidate will be a creative thinker with the proven ability to facilitate organizational change, to improve organizational performance and to build coalitions within an academic community. Candidates should demonstrate intercultural competence and an inclusive disposition. A record of support and advocacy for individuals from diverse identities, histories, backgrounds, and experiences, as well as the ability to build the capacity of colleagues in this work, is essential. Exceptional interpersonal skills, including the ability to exercise a high degree of diplomacy and discretion, are essential. Candidates should manifest adaptability, strong collaborative energy, integrity, sound judgment and the ability to make and explain difficult decisions.

 

Review of candidate materials will begin immediately and continue until the appointment. A complete application will include a letter of interest, a curriculum vitae and contact information for five professional references who can speak about the candidate’s qualifications for this appointment. Named referees will not be contacted without the candidate’s prior consent. Expressions of interest, nominations and inquiries should be directed to Knox’s search consultant, Mr. Chuck O’Boyle of C. V. O’Boyle, Jr, LLC, at chuck@cvoboyle.com.

 

Knox College is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse staff at all levels of the College who not only reflect the demographics of our students, but also fully embrace the ideals of inclusivity.  Our campus is committed to the ongoing work of creating an equitable and inclusive community. We encourage applications from those individuals who are enthusiastic about and dedicated to exceeding the expectations of our diverse student population. 

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