Vice President for Academic Affairs

SUNY College of Technology at Alfred (Alfred State College), a premier college of technology in the State University of New York system, has launched the search for its next Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA). This is an extraordinary opportunity for an academic leader who is focused on driving dynamic diversification efforts among faculty and staff and is committed to providing high-quality, affordable education to students from all social and economic backgrounds. Alfred State College invites applications from leaders committed to Alfred State College’s mission: to deliver outstanding associate and baccalaureate degree programs through hands-on learning, preparing in-demand and involved students in a caring community. 

The Position: The VPAA will be responsible for three academic schools: Arts & Sciences; Architecture, Management, and Engineering Technology; and Applied Technology. The VPAA portfolio also includes responsibility for Library Services, the Student Success Center, Technology Services, and the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness. The VPAA serves as a member of the President’s Council and is a highly collaborative team player with a broad vision, high integrity, and a well-developed commitment to the Alfred State mission as a college of technology. The administration at Alfred State College is committed to shared governance and promotes collaborative, productive, and respectful relations among faculty and administration. The VPAA must work effectively with the Executive Committee on matters of general College wellbeing. This position works closely with the Deans, Chairs, and faculty leaders to maintain appropriate and up-to-date academic programs, curricula, and programmatic accreditation throughout schools and to set and support institutional standards. This position also works collaboratively with the Vice Presidents for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to consistently enhance student quality, recruitment, retention, and graduation rates. 

Qualifications: An earned doctorate is required. Alfred State College seeks a leader who can build consensus, successfully guide change, and promote educational excellence. Additional preferred characteristics include a distinguished record of engaged hands-on leadership in areas related to Alfred State College, including program development and student retention; demonstrated achievement in fostering diversity and sustaining an inclusive campus environment; experience in cooperative team building, ensuring faculty success and conflict resolution; and a history of implementing organizational improvements. The Vice President will also have superior skills in written and spoken communication, knowledge and understanding of modern technology, and the ability to develop productive working relationships both on and beyond the campus. Ideal candidates will have a record of progressively increasing responsibilities in academic leadership. 

The Institution: Established in 1908 by the New York State Legislature, the SUNY College of Technology at Alfred began as a state school of agriculture. Today, Alfred State College is a selective residential institution that offers both two- and four-year degree programs; emphasizes academic excellence; and integrates hands-on applied learning throughout its scientific, technical, and professional programs. Additionally, Alfred State College maintains a commitment to local, national, and global civic engagement opportunities for students that fosters a culture of social responsibility, including nursing students’ mission trips to Haiti and trades students’ rebuilding trips to assist communities that have been devastated by natural disaster. Alfred State College is devoted to fostering meaningful, positive, and long-lasting student learning and success. Students, faculty, staff, and administration embrace the institutional culture, which is built on the core values of respect, integrity, service, and dedication. 

Ranking in the top 2.5% of colleges in the U.S. for impacting social mobility and exemplifying a commitment to their slogan of “Hit the Ground Running,” Alfred State College enrolls approximately 3,500 full-time students annually. Approximately 600 teaching faculty and professional staff support over 80 associate and bachelor’s degrees in agriculture, applied technology, architecture, business, digital media, engineering technology, healthcare and allied health, information technology, nursing, veterinary technology, and liberal arts and sciences. Alfred State College is institutionally accredited by Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). A multi-campus College, Alfred State College includes a main campus in Alfred, NY, which houses academic programs for the School of Architecture, Management & Engineering Technology and the School of Arts and Sciences, along with residence halls, a production dairy farm, and other support services. Most of the academic programs for the School of Applied Technology reside on the nearby Wellsville campus. The School of Applied Technology programs offer an Associate of Occupational Science (AOS) degree that includes an intensive hands-on component and block scheduling that places students in the lab/classroom setting for thirty hours each week. Alfred State College also offers AOS degree programs at the Northland Workforce Training Center to provide students with hands-on training at the Buffalo, NY facility. 

As a leading educational institution in western New York, Alfred State College plays a critical economic role. Alfred State College is the largest employer in Allegany County, with close to 700 employees. Alfred State College also helps fuel the New York economy by preparing well trained and highly motivated employees to meet the state’s workforce needs. Alfred State College’s outcomes and success are demonstrable with a history of strong enrollment, retention, and a placement or transfer rate at or above 98% among graduates in each of the past 11 years. For more information about Alfred State College, please visit www.alfredstate.edu. 

Location: Alfred, New York, home to Alfred State College, is located in Allegany County in the scenic Southern Tier of New York. Nestled between the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains and the Finger Lakes region, Alfred is 70 miles south of Rochester and 90 miles southeast of Buffalo. Allegany County’s pristine lakes and streams, abundant wildlife, woodland trails, and scenic countryside offer extensive possibilities to nature lovers, photographers, and sportspersons. There are many opportunities for hiking, biking, skiing, and kayaking. The county has 23 state forests and more than 56,000 acres of public land. Alfred is a center of higher education in western New York, home to both Alfred State College and Alfred University, a private university that offers a full range of liberal arts and science majors and includes the New York State College of Ceramics. Other academic institutions in the local area include Houghton College and St. Bonaventure University. In addition to excellent school systems, the immediate area also maintains two hospitals within ten miles, both affiliate of and supported by the University of Rochester Medical Center, a renowned quaternary Medical Center. 

About SUNY: The State University of New York system is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers with each having a medical school, three hospitals, two dental schools, the state’s only college of optometry and college of maritime studies, as well as one U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.3 million students in credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures systemwide were more than $1.0 billion in fiscal year 2020, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. SUNY’s leadership structure consists of a Board of Trustees, led by Dr. Merryl H. Tisch; the Chancellor, Dr. Deborah Stanley; System Administration Senior Staff; and Campus Presidents, each working together to advance the mission of the state university system: “…to provide to the people of New York educational services of the highest quality, with the broadest possible access, fully representative of all segments of the population in a complete range of academic, professional and vocational postsecondary programs including such additional activities in pursuit of these objectives as are necessary or customary.” The Chancellor increasingly looks to the campus Presidents to work collaboratively with other SUNY colleges, administrators, faculty and staff, and surrounding communities to lower cost, enhance productivity, and elevate the importance of degree completion at each institution. 

Application: Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to RPA Inc. at AlfredStateVPAA@rpainc.org. For a confidential discussion about this opportunity or to make a nomination, please contact Dana John Cohick, President, at the email address listed above. The first review of candidates will begin on December 16, 2022, and first-round interviews will commence thereafter. 

Alfred State College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Alfred State College does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion or religious philosophy, Veteran status, sexual orientation, or genetic information, in its programs and activities. Additionally, it is the policy of the State University of New York to provide equal opportunity in employment for all qualified persons, to prohibit discrimination in employment, and to promote the full realization of equal employment opportunity through a positive continuing program for the University as a whole and for each constituent unit of the University.