Position Title:

President, West Valley College

How many positions are you recruiting for?:

1

Campus:

West Valley College

Definition:

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE

West Valley College, one of two colleges in the West Valley-Mission Community College District, was founded by the voters of the Campbell, Los Gatos-Saratoga, and Santa Clara high school districts. The college offered its first classes in September 1964 at the remodeled Campbell Grammar School site. That same year, 143 acres in the beautiful city of Saratoga were purchased. In 1968, the college offered classes for the first time on the Saratoga site. In its 55-year history, the college has graduated over 100,000 students who have gone on to change the business, cultural, and civic life in California, the nation, and indeed the world.

West Valley enrolls over 7,900 credit and 1700 non-credit students who reflect the diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas in Silicon Valley and our service area. The college is a statewide leader in Associate Degrees for Transfer. Students benefit from a full array of student support services that are well integrated with the instructional programs. The college is a statewide leader in its social justice approach with first of their kind programs addressing food and housing instability, community grant tuition waivers, study abroad, and service to veterans.

Our college has diverse educational and career programs that address the needs of a dynamic community and workforce. West Valley has one of the highest transfer rates to four-year colleges and universities in the state, offering 120 degrees and certificates in well recognized, high quality, career and vocational programs, many taught by nationally-recognized faculty. West Valley is celebrated for its popular distance learning course offerings. The college also offers a wide array of non-credit programs that are equally vital to our commitment to serving the community. The Vikings represent a proud, championship athletic tradition at WVC with teams competing in 12 intercollegiate sports.

West Valley College has added seven new or renovated buildings pursuant to its publicly-financed bond campaigns, and will be adding major upgrades to the colleges infrastructure in the coming years, including a new state of the art wellness center, new library and fine arts centers, and a new STEAM complex courtesy of our Measure W bond. The college has also benefitted greatly from its Community Support funding model (Basic Aid) and from the largest period of philanthropic support in its history coupled with a legacy of strong community partnership and engagement.

The College’s accreditation was reaffirmed by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges in 2020.

COLLEGE MISSIONThe West Valley College community supports students along their pathways to reach transfer and career goals in an environment of academic excellence.

THE DISTRICTSilicon Valley is a world-renowned center for high technology and an important business and financial center. It is also the Bay Area’s most populous county, with almost 2 million residents, and the site of California’s third-largest city, San Jose. West Valley and Mission Colleges serve an area of approximately 350,000 residents. The West Valley-Mission Community College District is one of the largest employers in Santa Clara County.

The Colleges are actively involved in corporate training, economic development, community education, and partnerships with community agencies and businesses on and off-campus. Grant development and foundations provide innovative fundraising and financial support to the colleges.

Assignment:

This is an executive position with an anticipated start date in August 2023. This is an exempt position and is not subject to overtime.

Salary and Benefits:

SALARY & BENEFITS

The District offers generous compensation and fringe benefits, including paid medical, dental, and vision for the President and her/his/their dependents; life insurance for the President; vacation; and holidays.

Minimum Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in education, public administration or related field;
• Five years of increasingly responsible management experience providing leadership across at least two (2) of the following organizational areas; Student Services, Academic Affairs, Fundraising/Advancement, or Business/Finance/Administration, including at least one (1) year of experience serving a community college or district at the Vice President, Vice Chancellor, or President level.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Educational preparation from an accredited institution in the form of an earned doctorate.
• Experience as a faculty member in a community college or other segment of higher education.

Knowledge and Abilities:

West Valley College has invested time, energy, and personnel to address challenges and opportunities necessary for leadership in the 21st century. The West Valley Educational and Facilities Master Plan provides goals for the college moving forward. More specifically, the following experiences describe the profile of an ideal candidate.

PRESIDENTIAL PROFILEEffective Leadership and College Governance

• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing strategies that achieve an institutional culture of equity and social justice.
• Demonstrated experience in successful team building among faculty/staff.
• Effective implementation of a college-wide initiative within a framework of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrated collaborative leadership that incorporated needs of all stakeholders by appropriately supporting the college’s participatory governance system.
• Demonstrated leadership maturity and broadened perspective to support a strong relationship between the two colleges and the district.
• Cultivated an empowering work environment that allowed for individual strengths and abilities to be maximized to achieve the college’s goals for student success.

Program and Service Excellence

• Supported and enhanced innovative teaching and learning including the expanding ecosystem of modalities, in a student-centered culture.
• Fulfilled the State Chancellor’s Vision for Success through effective implementation of statewide initiatives to ensure that students attain the goals set in their Educational Plans.
• Demonstrated leadership that has resulted in seamless partnerships between student support services and instruction to increase the college’s goals for student success.

Fiscal Accountability and Facilities Development and Planning

• Ensured the fiscal health of the college, while staying competitive with surrounding academic institutions.
• Demonstrated professional experience managing college construction programs or a facilities bond.
• Advocated for and promoted a systematic approach to the maintenance and expansion of technology infrastructure specifically aligned with the goals for student success.
• Pursued new revenue opportunities including grants and fundraising to increase resources to achieve the goals and objectives in the Educational and Facilities Master Plan.

College and Community Relations

• Demonstrated accessibility to students and staff and comfort in interacting with all aspects of our diverse student population.
• Experienced in pursuing community/business/industry partnerships to support the college’s overall operation.
• Demonstrated success in positive public relations and enthusiastically embracing the responsibility to represent the college in the public arena.
• Promoted strong relationships with a wide range of entities served by the college and demonstrated a highly visible and prominent personal presence throughout the district.
• Strengthened external partnerships to create a global-minded campus culture to support the region’s evolving workforce needs.

PERSONAL/LEADERSHIP QUALITIES/TRAITS/CHARACTERISTICS

• Excellent communication skills including being a good listener.
• Open, honest, and transparent.
• Expertise and enthusiasm for public relations.
• Highly values collaboration as well as sharing his/her/their own experience and knowledge.
• Values compassion, flexibility, and accountability for all.
• Approachable, friendly with a sense of humor.

Applicant Information:

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
1. A Current Resume or Curriculum Vitae
2. A cover letter (3 pages or less) outlining and describing how well your background and experience align with the Presidential Profile (Effective Leadership and College Governance, Program and Service Excellence, Fiscal Accountability and Facilities Development and Planning, College and Community Relations ) set forth in the formal Position Announcement.
3. Equity Statement (single page) Tell your story: what experiences have shaped your beliefs and values and now inform your leadership actions relative to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
4. Confidential Reference List: At least one from each group (References from either current or former Institutions are acceptable)

• Supervisors
• Direct reports (including one support staff member)
• Community Member
• Faculty Member
• Student Leader

Please be sure to include names, titles, business and home phone numbers, and email addresses for each reference. Note: References will be contacted following finalist interviews and contingent upon an offer of employment.
IMPORTANT APPLICATION INFORMATION

• Submission of complete electronic application documents to Human Resources is the applicant’s responsibility.
• Incomplete documents will not receive committee consideration.
• Application documents will not be sent to applicants nor received by Human Resources via fax.
• All materials in your file become District property, will not be returned, and will be considered for this vacancy only.
• Applicants who, due to a disability, require accommodations to complete the application, testing, or the interview, should contact Human Resources at (408) 741-2174 to arrange assistance.

APPLICATION PROCESSNominations and applications will continue to be accepted electronically until the position is filled with an initial filing deadline of June 28, 2023. All submissions prior to that date will be considered for first-round interviews.

For nominations and confidential inquiries contact:Bradley Davis
bradley.davis@wvm.edu
(408) 741-2421

Selection Process:

• After the deadline date, a committee will review and evaluate applications and supporting materials to select the applicants to be interviewed. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not assure the candidate an interview.
• All candidates will receive an e-notification to acknowledge receipt of their application materials. If not contacted within 3-6 weeks following the close of the recruitment, no suitable match was determined at this time.
• The District may choose to re-advertise or indefinitely delay filling a position. Some positions may include first and second level interviews.
• The District reserves the right to contact former, current, the most recent employers, and others to investigate past employment records of applicants.
• Supervisor(s) name(s) and telephone numbers must be included in the application.
• Any tentative verbal offer of employment is contingent upon formal approval of the college Governing Board.

Posting Number:

FY22/23-102FT

Open Date:

05/31/2023

Close Date:

06/28/2023

Open Until Filled:

No