The University of Virginia (UVA) is seeking an innovative and collaborative Vice Provost for Online Education and Digital Innovation. The Vice Provost for Online Education and Digital Innovation (VP-OEDI) is a newly created position with primary responsibility for developing and implementing UVA’s digital education strategy. Reporting directly to the Provost, the VP-OEDI will help to shape UVA’s vision for online education. The VP-OEDI will partner with the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and the other 11 schools of the University, and with UVA – Northern Virginia, to help develop and deliver online offerings that serve undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, as well as alumni and lifelong learners, across the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world. The VP-OEDI will also work with the schools and the Center for Teaching Excellence to pilot and assess curricular, pedagogical, and scheduling innovations enabled by digital technology in our Charlottesville programs.

The VP-OEDI will join the University at a time of excitement, opportunity, and a shared sense of purpose. With a visionary President, James E. Ryan, and a dynamic and dedicated leadership team including EVP and Provost Ian Baucom, to whom the VP-OEDI reports, EVP and COO Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis, and CEO and EVP for Health Affairs Dr. Craig Kent, and exceptional faculty, staff, and students, UVA has excellent momentum to achieve its ambitious goals. The Great and Good, 2030 Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for the future of UVA as it enters its third century. The VP-OEDI will be integral in helping advance the plan, especially through expanding what it means to be a public university by increasing educational opportunities and access beyond the traditional undergraduate, masters, and professional programs. The plan has identified strategic research priorities that are University spanning: Democracy, Environmental Resilience and Sustainability, Precision Medicine/Health, the Brain and Neuroscience, and Digital Technology and Society. The VP-OEDI will contribute to and enhance the digital and online educational components of these research areas.

For more information, please visit:https://executivesearch.virginia.edu/searches

KEY PRIORITIES

The founding VP-OEDI will have the opportunity to envision and lead the institutional efforts for online education and digital innovation. Key priorities are to:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive strategic vision for UVA Digital Education that aligns with UVA’s mission as a leading public research university.
• In collaboration with the Deans and their respective schools, identify innovative opportunities in all digital sectors – formal and informal, longer and shorter term engagements, new or expanded online and/or hybrid programs that serve the needs of students and employers in a rapidly evolving workforce in the Commonwealth and beyond; these opportunities will align with UVA’s key research strengths, be proactive to developments in education and career paths, and/or strengthen ties to our more than 250,000 alumni. These initiatives will include graduate and undergraduate degree programs, certificates, and a range of credit and non-credit credential programs.
• Facilitate entrepreneurship by the schools by identifying promising potential cross-school collaborations; strategically building common goods infrastructure for online opportunity development and delivery; providing guidance about evaluating market opportunities and bringing new offerings to market; and coordinating administrative, operational, and financial resources to ease and expedite new experience initiation.
• In collaboration with school leadership, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and other units, develop and implement academic innovations enabled by digital technology. These may include enhancing virtual and hybrid instruction; transforming internships and experiential learning; and increasing curricular and scheduling flexibility, both within and beyond the semester.
• Lead continuous improvement in program delivery, learning, and student experience and quality assurance of our online offerings by expanding the use of data and learning analytics and establishing regular assessment practices for digital education initiatives. Establish quality standards for online offerings across the continuum: credit and non-credit courses as well as degree programs. Collaborate with Institutional Research and Analytics to collect and apply data to inform decision-making and to manage the necessary academic compliance requirements consistent with strategic interests.
• Represent UVA’s digital education programs to the Board of Visitors, global partners, state and local government, businesses, and foundations. Participate actively in professional organizations.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

UVA seeks the best candidates nationally. All candidates will possess the highest level of integrity and a steadfast commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, candidates will bring many of the following professional qualifications, skills, experience, and personal qualities:

• Experienced higher education leader and driver of online education and digital innovation with the credibility to serve as an internal and external champion of the value of technology as a tool to advance teaching and learning
• Excellent communication, presentation, listening, and interpersonal skills; ability to communicate complex information in accessible terms to a broad array of stakeholders
• Entrepreneurial outlook and keen ability to envision and identify new opportunities
• Skilled at working with school leadership to understand and pursue opportunities, and with a variety of administrative units (procurement, HR, provost’s office, etc.) to remove obstacles to schools’ entrepreneurial activities
• Excellent at defining goals, solving complex problems, and managing projects and programs
• Exceptional ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external constituents
• Experience working with budgets and adjusting priorities and programs to meet targets
• Team player with a collaborative style; connector that builds trust and delivers results
• Master’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience required. Terminal degree is preferred. This administrative leadership position does not dedicate effort to teaching or scholarship.

To Apply or Nominate

The University of Virginia is eager to build a diverse pool of talented individuals. The search committee is working with UVA Executive Search Group (ESG), an internal executive search firm in the Office of the President.

Confidential inquiries and nominations should be directed to Susan Gaines, Managing Director, at sht2n@virginia.edu. To apply, submit a letter of interest and resume via Workday. The search will be carried out with full confidentiality and will remain open until filled. The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.