Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Bryant University

Smithfield, Rhode Island USA

Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Bryant University seeks an energetic and visionary Provost and Chief Academic Officer who will be a transformative academic leader, harnessing faculty expertise to elevate and integrate its nationally ranked undergraduate and graduate academic programs. The University’s complementary Colleges of Business and Arts and Sciences, and a growing School of Health Sciences, share a deep culture of innovation and continuous improvement, proven expertise in experiential education, commitment to international study, and global mindset.

Founded as a school of business in 1863, Bryant has a longstanding tradition of highly regarded academic programs in business disciplines. Bryant’s uniquely integrated business and liberal arts curriculum was formalized when Bryant College became Bryant University in 2004, creating both an AACSB-accredited College of Business and a College of Arts and Sciences. In 2016, the University established a School of Health Sciences and launched its Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program, marking its strategic entry into healthcare education and management. The Provost will build upon academic programs that have earned Bryant University national recognition. Bryant’s International Business undergraduate program is ranked No. 20 in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report National ranking. Bryant earned multiple high national rankings from the 2022 College Factual, including Digital Marketing No. 1; Global Supply Chain Management No. 16; Entrepreneurship No. 24; and Applied Actuarial Math No. 27. Bryant ranked No. 7 (of 175) for the third consecutive year in the 2022 US News & World Report Regional Universities North category.

Currently, 161 regular faculty members and nearly 100 adjuncts support Bryant’s 96 courses of study, teaching 3,077 undergraduates representing 36 states and 38 countries, and 356 full and part-time graduate and certificate students. Bryant faculty members are notable in the depth of their commitment to personal student interaction and visible participation in the campus community. While a slight majority of regular faculty members hold appointments in the College of Arts and Sciences, 80% of undergraduates major in the College of Business. All undergraduates complete both a major and a minor, choosing complementary disciplines from both colleges. Undergraduates benefit from innovative experiential learning programs starting the first semester and continuing through all four years with national competition experiences and real-world capstone practicum projects with industry.

Bryant has been an intentionally global institution since 1999, with the establishment of its John H. Chafee Center for International Business. An optional Sophomore International Experience, an intensive three-credit course, launched in 2007. Following the creation of its U. S.-China Institute in 2005, Bryant has continued to enhance its programming with Chinese academic institutions, including the opening of a Zhuhai campus in 2015. Bryant has been invited to participate in the ACE Internationalization Laboratory during the current academic year.

With foundation support, Bryant established a Center for Health and Behavioral Sciences in 2020 in recognition of growing professional opportunities for graduates and regional need for highly qualified health professionals. Continuing Bryant’s quest to evolve as a leader in higher education, Bryant’s Vision 2030 Strategic Plan is now in its drafting stage.

Bryant’s high impact teaching and learning produce student outcomes that are among the strongest in higher education, yielding a market-leading return on investment recognized among the top 2% in the nation. Ninety-nine percent of Bryant baccalaureate alumni are employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation, reporting a median starting salary of $60,000. Degrees from the Graduate School of Business (including the two- and one-year in seat MBA, the professional MBA on-line and the Master of Professional Accountancy) command a 34% salary increase upon completion.

The new Provost will find strong partnership in Bryant’s Division of Student Affairs and Athletics Department, which have been notably successful in delivering a holistic residential education with rich extra-curricular and student leadership opportunities. The Bryant Bulldogs have competed as a full-fledged Division I athletics program since 2012 and are currently fielding 22 varsity teams (with three additional women’s teams being added next year) as members of the Northeast Conference.

Bryant’s 50,000 alumni span all 50 states and reside in 58 countries; they play an integral role in campus culture. Nearly ten percent of Bryant alumni are CEOs, COOs, and CFOs. Engaged alumni participate in the College of Business Dean’s Council and support student success through abundant career shadowing and mentorship programs including Smart Women in Finance, The Archway Investment Fund Advisory Board, and The Wall Street Council.

Bryant University enjoys close proximity to Boston (54 miles) and Providence (10 miles) and easy accessibility to New York City (less than three hours by Amtrak’s Acela). A neighbor of Brown University on College Hill until 1971, Bryant moved to its 428-acre Smithfield, RI campus, the donated farm of inventor and trustee Earl Tupper, in 1971. Visitors tour an architecturally distinguished, contemporary, residential campus in a pastoral setting, including state-of-the-art classroom facilities well equipped for pedagogical experimentation. Among other new construction, the Quinlan/Brown Academic Innovation Center (2016) is an interdisciplinary classroom building and a groundbreaking resource for experiential learning, with its 48,000 square feet of breakout spaces that inspire design thinking and creative problem solving.

ROLE OF THE PROVOST

The Provost will initiate and steer mission-aligned and career-focused curricular renewal attuned to emerging market trends, including intentional and innovative study integrating business, the liberal arts, and sciences. The Provost will serve as an authoritative and persuasive champion for the academic program and faculty interests, articulating compelling concepts for internal and external constituents. The Provost will be called upon to promote the merits of Bryant’s academic program to prospective students, parents and families, academic peers and media, community members, major donors, and foundation program officers. The Provost will be a partner with the president and other campus leaders in realizing a more diverse faculty and student body.

Bryant’s Provost reports directly to the president, serves as a member of the president’s cabinet, and consults with the Board of Trustees on institutional advancement and strategy, educational policy, and faculty affairs and retention. The Provost is responsible for formulating and administering the Academic Affairs budget and for recruiting, developing, and evaluating faculty members. The Provost supervises eight direct reports including: the Associate Provost; the Deans of the College of Business and College of Arts and Sciences; the Director of the Physician Assistant Program; the Director of Faculty Development and Innovation, the Center for Teaching Excellence; the Director of Academic Business Operations; the Registrar; and an Administrative Assistant. In addition, the Provost serves as a liaison to the faculty collective bargaining unit.

Bryant will invite its new Provost to:

Embrace and enhance Bryant’s Real-World Ready Education aligned with critical 21st century skills and further developing Bryant’s innovative experiential learning model;

Actively engage in fundraising, grant-development strategies, and revenue- generating program development including degree programs and lifelong learning;

Be a catalyst, supporter, and enhancer of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging on campus;

Develop and expand partnerships with corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies to advance Bryant’s mission;

Be a leader in efforts to further internationalize the University and its global programing; and Collaborate with executive leadership to implement the Vision 2030 strategic plan.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Bryant seeks to appoint a seasoned academic leader with a notable record of curricular renewal and innovation, scholarship and faculty leadership, a well-informed and persuasive perspective on post-COVID-19 trends in American higher education, and extensive classroom teaching experience. Evidence of the ability and readiness to lead change and be a catalyst for curricular collaboration between business and arts and sciences faculty is essential.

Candidates should demonstrate meaningful exposure to both business and arts and sciences study conducive to cross-disciplinary oversight and transdisciplinary program development. An earned doctorate, administrative appointment as a dean or in the provost’s or vice president for academic affairs office, and tenure at the full professor rank are required. Decanal experience in a business school or college would be advantageous.

The ideal candidate will possess credibility in academic leadership and evince the ability to advocate for academic priorities with the senior administration and Board of Trustees while communicating directly and transparently with faculty members. Candidates should be decisive but inclined to foster collaboration and engage the University deans and faculty in programmatic renewal. Bryant faculty members would especially welcome a new Provost who discerns Bryant’s strengths and opportunities and arrives with an articulated, unifying vision for the University’s academic advancement, including expanded graduate and certificate programs, that all faculty can help orchestrate.

The ideal candidate will be a creative, decisive, systematic thinker with proven ability to facilitate organizational change, build supportive coalitions within an academic community, and leverage existing faculty and staff expertise. Candidates should demonstrate intercultural competence and an inclusive disposition with an appreciation for how globalization and faculty, student, and staff diversity enhances higher education. 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, discretion, and empathy, are essential. Candidates should manifest adaptability, gravitas, integrity, sound judgment, and the ability to make and explain difficult decisions in a timely fashion. Exposure to enrollment management and experience at an institution that has successfully developed curricular responses to market demands in admission, including those driven by societal issues and new occupational and career paths, will receive the search committee’s close attention.

A detailed specification may be found at: https://provost-search.bryant.edu. Review of candidate materials will begin immediately and continue until the appointment is made. 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 Bryant’s search consultant, Mr. Chuck O’Boyle of C. V. O’Boyle, Jr., LLC, at chuck@cvoboyle.com.