Executive Director

Executive Director

Goucher Prison Education Partnership

Baltimore, Maryland

The Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP), a nationally renowned college-in-prison initiative, seeks an Executive Director who will further its mission to offer an excellent college education to Goucher students studying from within two Maryland state prisons. Beginning with just 15 students in 2012, GPEP has grown to serve roughly 130 students at any given time, all of whom are investing in themselves as scholars and leaders, while completing valuable courses on the path to a degree. Coursework reflects the core values of a liberal arts education: proficiency in English composition and another language, solid foundations in history, abstract reasoning, scientific discovery and experimentation, problem solving, social structures, and environmental sustainability, to name a few. GPEP students leverage their education to engage in pursuits of their choice and shift outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities. 

GPEP is an initiative of Goucher College, a small, private liberal arts institution with an enduring tradition of offering higher education to underserved and marginalized communities. Students at Goucher are driven by a deep curiosity, possess a strong sense of self, and place a high premium on social justice and global education. The same can be said of Goucher faculty and staff, who are exceptional scholars and professionals who play a critical role in the success of all students. Goucher is one of 40 institutions profiled in Loren Pope’s Colleges That Change Lives because of its commitment to social justice. It is also a top-100 national liberal arts college and remains the only college in Maryland offering bachelor’s degrees to students in prison.

The Goucher Prison Education Partnership is supported by seven staff, including the Executive Director, and benefits from the commitment and collaboration of the College’s faculty, staff, students, and administration, as well as scores of volunteers. GPEP’s annual expense budget over the last several years has exceeded $700,000, of which 75 to 80 percent comes from individual donations and grants and 20 to 25 percent comes from Federal Pell Grants. GPEP also enjoys a healthy reserve of approximately $400,000.

GPEP’s next Executive Director will work closely with Goucher leadership, faculty, and staff in service of the continued success of this critical partnership. The Executive Director will provide overall leadership and vision for GPEP and, in partnership with the Director of GPEP Advancement and the Office of Advancement, will be responsible for raising the annual operating budget. They will maintain a philosophy of academic excellence coupled with abundant support for GPEP’s student body and will ensure that staff experience both a rigorous and compassionate environment. The Executive Director will cultivate valuable partnerships with a range of institutions, including the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, funding bodies, and other institutions of higher education, and with a variety of stakeholders, including donors and public officials.

GPEP seeks an Executive Director who is personally and professionally committed to the value of access to higher education and the impact it has on individuals, families, and communities. They will be a passionate and results-driven leader with demonstrated experience as a deft navigator of complex bureaucratic systems, an effective manager of people, and a productive collaborator with colleagues and partners. Key attributes include transparency, integrity, creativity, empathy, patience, and a willingness both to challenge and to learn. Staff and financial management expertise is required, as is experience with fundraising. A sophisticated understanding of and experience dismantling institutional racism and systems of unequal power, privilege, and access are essential.

Goucher College has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in this search. All inquiries, nominations, and applications (including resumes and one- to three-page letters of interest responding to the opportunities and challenges outlined above) should be directed in strict confidence to:

Rebecca Swartz and Tatiana Oberkoetter

www.imsearch.com/8225

Goucher College is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The College is committed to increasing the diversity of its community and seeks applicants dedicated to applying principles of equity and inclusion in all areas of the campus commu