Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success

Reporting to CPE president and working closely with the leadership team, the vice president advances an agenda leading to greater student success and college completion. The vice president provides leadership and management for strategies supporting the state’s public agenda for postsecondary education and advises the CPE president and senior leadership team on a range of issues affecting college preparation, academic quality, achievement gap closure, and student outcomes. Specific policies and initiatives under the vice president’s purview include college readiness, general education, dual credit, academic program assessment, approval and review, admissions requirements, transfer, programs supporting veterans and students in the military, P-12 teacher quality, the Kentucky Virtual Library and other initiatives to promote college readiness and postsecondary success.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the agency’s primary liaison with the chief academic officers of Kentucky’s public universities and community and technical college system. Through regular meetings and interaction, work with them to align institutional strengths with system-level goals and objectives.
• Develop, revise, and oversee the statewide strategies and policies to improve college readiness and student success, with a particularly focus on low-income and under-represented minority students and closing achievement gaps.
• Partner with the Kentucky Department of Education, deans of education, public schools representatives, federal and state agencies, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders to provide a seamless transition between high school and postsecondary education.
• Manage staff within the Academic Affairs unit, oversee the daily operations of the unit and track the progress of all initiatives. 
• Review and approve academic programs for public institutions, promote collaboration, and mediate any academic-related issues among institutions.  
• Prepare budget requests, authorize unit expenditures, oversee funds under the unit’s purview, and represent the Academic Affairs Unit on CPE’s senior leadership team.
• Present policy recommendations, new program recommendations, and other reports to the agency’s board.
• Monitor and evaluate all proposed and enacted legislation related to academic affairs and student success.

• Develop new and monitor existing contracts with postsecondary institutions to advance the statewide strategic agenda. 

• Serve as an external liaison of the agency with a range of state and national stakeholders on issues related to college readiness and student success.

Required Education and Experience:

The successful candidate will have an earned terminal degree and evidence of comprehensive academic leadership responsibilities in a higher education system, college, or university. Critical to the new Vice President’s success will be a record of accomplishment building partnerships and leading innovation, organizing and overseeing multiple complex projects simultaneously, and successful experience managing and leading a professional team. Desired experience includes state-level administration/management, higher education policy development and implementation, and resource development and allocation.

Other information                         

Individuals are encouraged to submit materials by February 15, 2019 for full consideration, although applications will be accepted until the job is filled. The start date is negotiable. The position is based in Frankfort and requires some travel within Kentucky and out-of-state. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits. Participation in TIAA is allowed in lieu of participation in the Kentucky state retirement system.