Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of the College

Job Description

Smith College has engaged Opus Partners to support this search. Craig Smith, Managing Partner, Kenna Boyd, Partner, and Marisea Rivera, Senior Associate, are leading the search, which will remain confidential to the extent possible. For additional information, to nominate qualified candidates, or to apply, please contact Marisea Rivera via [email protected].

The Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of the College (“the VP”) is a critical leadership role at Smith College holding primary responsibility for the totality of the student experience.  Leading with strategic clarity, rigor, and empathy, the VP will sustain, design, and build structures, services, and systems that promote a healthy, dynamic, inclusive, and safe campus environment in which students thrive. College leadership will support the VP in developing a compelling vision for student life at Smith and in realizing that vision through an integrated array of effective and efficient programs managed by talented professional staff dedicated to student success. Deploying the significant resources that the college can continue to invest in the student experience, the VP will collaborate with other college leaders to oversee the development of a campus life program designed to deliver on Smith’s mission to educate women of promise for lives of distinction and purpose.

Smith College provides a comprehensive and integrated array of services that span student life from the point of admission through the arc of an alumna’s career, services that are designed for the next decade and beyond. In its current structure, the division of Campus Life and Dean of the College consists of five units comprising approximately 100 FTEs and supported by a $20M budget.

As a direct report to the President and a member of the President’s Team, the VP will be a crucial partner in the implementation of Compass 2035, Smith’s strategic plan, and will be engaged in all aspects of institutional planning and policy development. They will draw on a comprehensive understanding of best practices and national standards in campus life and student affairs, and will focus on enhancing and supporting students' growth, learning, and well-being.

Given Smith’s remarkably talented, highly engaged, and increasingly diverse student body, the VP will be intimately familiar with the challenges of building more equitable and inclusive communities. The VP will possess the cultural agility and the experiences, skills, and willingness to champion a vision for Smith’s community that appreciates and accepts differences, as well as the recognition that diversity, in all its forms, plays an integral role as part of a liberal arts education, particularly as this education sustains democratic ideals and prepares students for civic life.

Qualifications

The VP will bring energy and interpersonal skills to foster new cultural norms and programmatic innovations while respecting the value of tradition. The VP will be an advocate, role model, and mentor for Smith students, and will work directly with student leaders, faculty members, residential life staff, the Provost, the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, President Willie-LeBreton, and other campus leaders to build an increasingly diverse and inclusive community that provides opportunities for social, emotional, and intellectual engagement and growth so that every Smithie graduates as an adaptable thinker, an engaged citizen, a good neighbor, and a collaborative leader.

Finally, the VP will be energized by the opportunity to work with and on behalf of Smith students and will find joy and satisfaction in helping them navigate this time in their lives and in shaping a community where all can thrive and contribute.

Required qualifications include:

• A leadership style characterized by collaboration, transparency, and accountability
• Strong organizational management and leadership skills developed in an academically rigorous residential college or university
• Passion for innovating and overseeing providing support and opportunities for students and an authentic appreciation for Smith’s mission, values, and history
• Domain expertise in campus life and student affairs to include familiarity with national standards and trends in the student-affairs function; a record of using data and metrics to inform the design, delivery, and assessment of student-support services; a record of bringing value to a campus from participation in national associations; a record of translating thought-leadership into strategies, systems, and programs
• Talent for working across institutional and organizational boundaries to develop an exceptional living and learning student experience
• Deep understanding of the challenges that institutions of higher education experience as they work towards building more diverse, just, and equitable communities
• A proven track record maintaining complex budgets and developing optimal institutional organization structures and systems
• Readiness and ability to partner in support of major institutional fundraising goals
• A deep understanding of the value of a liberal-arts education
• Understanding of the legal, regulatory, political, and cultural context around Smith and the higher-education sector more broadly, along with experience developing policy in the student affairs space
• An undergraduate degree from an accredited institution (required); a graduate degree and/or non-degree credentials that attest to a sustained desire to develop professionally (strongly preferred)

A comprehensive position description including the full account of qualifications can be viewed here.

To Apply

Smith College has engaged Opus Partners to support this search. Craig Smith, Managing Partner, Kenna Boyd, Partner, and Marisea Rivera, Senior Associate, are leading the search, which will remain confidential to the extent possible. For additional information, to nominate qualified candidates, or to apply, please contact Marisea Rivera via [email protected].

Candidates will provide a letter of interest, and a current CV. Letters may highlight leadership experience and professional motivations, anticipate questions that might be prompted by these materials, or note an accomplishment that may not be evident on a CV. The college values equity and inclusion and will seek a leader who is committed to promoting these values throughout the organization. The college encourages candidates to address how they might promote these values and highlight initiatives designed to remove barriers and to increase participation by groups historically under-represented in post-secondary education.

In addition to a competitive benefits package, the target salary range for this role is $244,400 - $298,500. Smith College is committed to paying competitively and equitably, taking into account the selected candidate’s relevant qualifications.

Position Type

Regular

Review of applications will begin

About Smith College

Located in Northampton, MA, Smith College is one of the largest women’s colleges in the country and is dedicated to excellence in teaching and research across the liberal arts.  A faculty of outstanding scholars interact with students in small classes, as advisors, and through student-faculty research projects. The College is a member of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Hampshire and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Students cross-enroll and faculty cross-teach across the Five Colleges.

Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 151B, it is the policy of Smith College to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. The policy regarding requests for reasonable accommodation applies to all aspects of employment, including the application process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact our recruiting team at [email protected].

As set forth in our mission and values, Smith College is committed to promoting a culture of  equity and inclusion among students, staff and faculty.  The College will not discriminate in employment on the basis of age, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, genetic information, age, veteran status, physical or mental disability, or any other classification protected by law. Smith College is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination.