Vice Provost for Graduate, Online, Professional Education and Dean of Graduate Education

Seattle University invites nominations and applications for the Vice Provost for Graduate, Online and Professional Education, and Dean of Graduate Education. Seattle University's Graduate, Executive, and Professional Education (GEPE) division strives to best serve the growing adult student market and is positioning to become the first choice of adult learners by offering flexible and innovative programs that align with 21st-century labor needs and empower leaders for a just and humane world.

Seattle University is ushering in a new era of graduate, online and professional education with a wave of advancements aimed at enriching the student experience—from specific programs to physical spaces for learning—while meeting evolving academic interests and career trends. The university’s recent enhancements include state-of-the-art facilities for executive and hybrid education, strategic program expansions and a commitment to lifelong learning.

Seattle University is building the infrastructure to support the aggressive growth of our graduate student enrollments to better serve the growing adult student market. Key strategies include: building labor market aligned professional graduate programs; adding online and hybrid programs to extend our geographic reach; redesigning classroom spaces appropriate for hybrid and Executive Leadership education; building a new in-house marketing and graduate program support team that increases our responsiveness to the market and improves student experience from recruitment through graduation; and increasing the awareness and reputation of Seattle University’s graduate and executive programs.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Provost and Chief Academic Officer, the Vice Provost for Graduate, Online, and Professional Education and Dean of Graduate Education (“Vice Provost and Dean”) will demonstrate a proven track record of strategic thinking, development of processes and procedures and diverse graduate program portfolio management. In this position, the Vice Provost & Dean will have the opportunity to deeply engage and work collaboratively with Deans and leaders to build interdisciplinary graduate programs to meet needs and make a lasting impact on the broader business community.

The Vice Provost and Dean provides visionary leadership, strategic direction, and operational management for the graduate and online programs at Seattle University. This individual must possess an entrepreneurial drive and sprit and will oversee the development, delivery, and assessment of high-quality graduate and online education offerings, ensuring alignment with the SU mission, vision, and academic goals. The Vice Provost and Dean will work closely with university leadership, faculty leadership, and staff to foster a culture of programmatic excellence, innovation, and student success within the graduate and online education landscape.

The Vice Provost and Dean recruits and manages a highly-trained professional staff; develops and manages the GEPE budget and leads business development activities while actively engaging the SU faculty community and fostering cross-unit collaboration in the development and delivery of programs. In support of the strategic direction of the university, the Vice Provost & Dean is responsible for setting vision, developing and growing the business, and providing the day-to-day leadership for the office and models and promotes the GEPE and larger university vision and values. The Vice Provost & Dean must have a proven track record of developing business, managing strategic client relationships and work in partnership with SU’s largest and most critical clients with a student-first ethos.

This leader is an executive who partners collaboratively with Deans in the Colleges and Schools within a culture of change, ambition, and high expectation and who has the comfort setting and leading the strategy as well as identifying and leveraging optimal internal and external relationships. The incoming leader will need to understand the profile of their professional education program offerings and how market research data directly informs programs and revenue generation. The successful candidate must have experience with and understand the full university ecosystem working closely with technology, marketing, registrar, enrollment management, finance, data & analytics.

Graduate Education & Professional Education

GEPE is at a significant point of growth and institutional support where they are looking to expand and make more accessible the SU brand and the dynamic professional education portfolio of graduate offerings. This includes aligning with employers to create microcredentials and short courses, primarily through online delivery that serve working professionals. GEPE has an ambitious perspective of new program creation with new credentialing and cyber program offerings that will continue to be spearheaded by this leader.

There is tremendous potential in new graduate program creation and growth as this leader will assess all current programs, work with academic and content development leaders, instructional designers, and in-house research team to develop the specific programming and GEPE content strategy. As critical will be the ability to interface with and understand the needs of the employers and the market.

Relationship management is one of the major tenets of success in this role. The Vice Provost & Dean will interface closely and strategize with the private sector, university faculty, and staff. This role fortifies relationships with Deans, Provost Leadership Team, GEPE Leadership and other senior administrative leaders across the university for GEPE to be as collaborative, accessible and impactful as possible in the graduate education space.

GEPE Programs

SU has both created and has in process a number of new online and hybrid graduate program offerings including an Online Master of Mental Health Counseling Program, Online Master of School Counseling Program, Online Master of Criminal Justice Program, Hybrid M.Ed. in Transformation Teaching and Learning, Online Master of Cybersecurity Leadership, Online Graduate Executive Leadership Certificate Program, Sport and Entertainment MBA. GEPE is currently conducting market research on twenty possible new programs in order to launch a minimum of 5 market-aligned graduate programs in the next year.

The Candidate

Key Responsibilities and Desired Outcomes

Chief among the leadership responsibilities of the Vice Provost and Dean is the ability to lead strategically, financially, and operationally while possessing an adept ability to work with employers, faculty and students with awareness of real-time market trends and the ability to cultivate and manage stakeholder relationships. The Vice Provost and Dean must be entrepreneurial, self-starting, future-oriented and a true coalition builder who can draw students into new programs and can share governance with other Deans and wider personnel.

The Vice Provost and Dean serves as the university-wide leader that fosters the growth and quality of SU’s graduate and professional education offerings. This role will help to generate enthusiastic support, participation, and engagement with SU faculty while building branding and reputation among business partners and industry leaders. The Vice Provost and Dean directly manages a team of diverse personnel spanning enrollment management, marketing, admissions, data & market research and works closely with faculty and staff across the university to deliver custom and hybrid graduate program offerings.

The Vice Provost and Dean identifies and cultivates business relationships while creating innovative solutions to address executive development needs through course and program creation and will work closely and collaborate with Deans and Chairs to develop and expand the diverse competencies in GEPE. This leader will measure effectiveness of GEPE programming to ensure quality and efficacy and will report out to university executive leadership on growth opportunities and financial performance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership & Strategic Planning:

o Provide leadership in the development and implementation of a strategic plan for graduate and online education that aligns with the university’s broader academic mission and institutional priorities.

o Collaborate with academic and administrative departments to ensure the continued growth and quality of graduate and online programs.

o Advocate for the graduate and online education division at the senior leadership level to support institutional priorities and funding needs.

• Program Development & Oversight:

o Lead the development and expansion of graduate and online programs, including the identification of new opportunities, the modification of existing programs, and the introduction of innovative course delivery methods all based on market data.

o Collaborate with the schools and colleges regarding the academic quality and integrity of graduate and online programs, supporting accreditation standards and compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.

o Facilitate continuous program evaluation and improvement, leveraging student feedback, assessment data, and academic trends.

• Faculty & Staff Development:

o Recruit, retain, and support a diverse staff dedicated to excellence in graduate, online and professional education.

o Promote staff development opportunities, including training in the use of technology for online instruction and best practices in graduate education.

o Foster a culture of collaboration among faculty and staff in both traditional and online settings, encouraging innovation in teaching, research, mentorship, and administration.

• Student Success & Support:

o Develop and implement strategies to enhance the student experience in graduate and online programs, ensuring robust support systems for students’ academic, personal, and professional success.

o Lead efforts to improve retention, graduation rates, and job placement outcomes for graduate and online students.

o Work closely with student services, admissions, and advising teams to streamline processes and improve the student experience from recruitment through to graduation.

• Budget & Resource Management:

o Manage the budget for the GEPE division, ensuring the efficient use of resources and alignment with university financial goals.

o Identify and secure funding opportunities, including grants, to support program development and expansion.

o Oversee the allocation of resources for faculty, staff, and technology to support the continued growth of graduate and online education programs.

• Accreditation & Compliance:

o Collaborate with the schools and colleges regarding accreditation and compliance, collectively ensuring that graduate and online programs meet accreditation standards set by relevant accrediting bodies.

o Support the preparation of self-studies and other documentation required for accreditation reviews.

o Stay informed of changes in educational regulations and best practices related to graduate and online learning, collaborating with the schools and colleges regarding compliance and continuous improvement.

• External Relations & Partnerships:

o Build and maintain relationships with external organizations, alumni, and community stakeholders to support SU’s graduate, online and professional education initiatives.

o Collaborate with industry partners to develop internship, practicum, and job placement opportunities for graduate and online students.

o Represent the university at academic conferences, professional associations, and community events to enhance the visibility and reputation of its graduate, online and professional programs.

Position Skills and Knowledge Required

• Business Acumen

o Understanding the GEPE business model and the capabilities and differentiators; able to effectively communicate that to others

o Experience making market-based decisions about academic programs

o Leveraging GEPE’s program capabilities to meet the needs of students: must know what those capabilities are, must be able to access them and must be able to tailor them to the market

o Possessing strong financial acumen in areas of budgeting, pricing, admissions and enrollment forecasting, profit and loss, reporting

o Viewing opportunities with a commercial lens considering contracting and working to mitigate risk

o Operating with integrity, considering the legal and ethical side of situations

• Sales Capability

o Leveraging knowledge of the graduate education market, competitors and GEPE products to effectively own and lead business growth

o Building external network of potential clients

o Leveraging networks to generate new opportunities and grow existing work

o Effectively identify and pursue new potential growth opportunities

• Leading Teams

o Effectively leads and engages others

o Developing others through regular and timely feedback

o Communicating updates and changes with team

o Motivating team, bringing energy to projects and people

• Design Capabilities

o Facilitating and orchestrating graduate programs across multiple academic disciplines

o Understanding the business context in which corporate leadership and executive and professional education development sits

• Client Relationship Management

o Communicating and building rapport with internal university stakeholders and external corporate clients

o Establishing and maintaining strong relationships with clients and key stakeholders

o Crossing cultural boundaries with ease and authenticity

o Sound project management and organizational skills

o Demonstrating the ability to grow clients through relationships

• Gravitas

o Building a personal brand that clients look to for advice and partnership

o Projecting confidence, poise under pressure and decisiveness

o Leadership style is nuanced, organized, engaging and inclusive

The Vice Provost and Dean’s ability to effectively communicate the GEPE mission, priorities, and impact. Additionally, they will build and strengthen external connections, focusing on new and existing corporate partnerships to support critical programs and strategic initiatives. With Seattle’s entrepreneurial culture and vibrant tech and business community—anchored by major companies like Amazon and Microsoft—the Vice Provost and Dean will have a direct opportunity to leverage the city’s proximity to create and offer valuable professional graduate education opportunities for students.

Professional Qualifications

The Vice Provost and Dean provides all leadership and strategic management of GEPE and will continue to position Seattle University as a premier provider of flexible and impactful graduate programming with public and private sector organizations in the region, nationally, and internationally. This role is responsible for developing and implementing a clear strategic vision, aggressively identifying and pursuing growth opportunities, managing resources, and overseeing the quality of program delivery.

To meet these challenges, the university seeks an individual with the following experience and qualifications:

• Earned doctorate in an appropriate field related to one of SU’s six schools and colleges with a strong and balanced record of academic achievement qualifying them for the rank of Professor or will have extensive industry experience paired with a deep appreciation for scholarship and research.

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in academic leadership roles, with a strong focus on graduate and online education.

• Proven track record in program development, and student success within graduate and online education.

• Experience with accreditation processes and maintaining compliance with regional and program-specific accrediting bodies.

• Strong understanding of online teaching modalities and learning technologies, along with a commitment to advancing innovative instructional practices.

• Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments and with external stakeholders.

• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education.

• Experience in a mid-sized private university or similar academic environment.

• Knowledge of industry trends and challenges in graduate and online education.

The Process

Procedure for Candidacy

Applications should include a detailed curriculum vitae and a letter of interest highlighting the applicant’s personal interest and relevant leadership experience. For priority consideration, inquiries, nominations, and applications should be submitted electronically in confidence by February 21st to:

SU-DeanGEPE@kornferry.com

In support of its pursuit of academic and scholarly excellence, Seattle University is committed to creating a diverse community of students, faculty and staff that is dedicated to the fundamental principles of equal opportunity and treatment in education and employment regardless of age, color, disability, gender identity, national origin, political ideology, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. The university encourages applications from, and nominations of, individuals whose differing backgrounds, beliefs, ideas, and life experiences will further enrich the diversity of its educational community.

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Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis.