Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty

Search:	#1108
Date Posted:	10/24/2022
Type/Department:	Administrator in Dean of Faculty Office
Search Status:	Position Filled
Apply Now:	Currently we are not accepting resumes for this position.

Undergraduate liberal arts education needs a revolution; Hampshire College seeks to lead it. An experimenting institution with a mission to advance social justice and transform higher education, Hampshire seeks a creative, iconoclastic, collaborative leader to serve as Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. Hampshire is a private residential liberal arts college and member of the Five College consortium (Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts), located in Amherst, MA.

Hampshire College represents a genuine alternative in higher education and is committed to ongoing innovation. Every student designs an individualized curriculum and completes a year-long substantial original project. Students are provided narrative evaluations of their work instead of grades. The College has no programs, majors, or departments, reflecting a commitment to transdisciplinary learning that brings specialization to bear on the questions students and faculty identify. Our student community is distinctively diverse: this year 39% are BIPOC or international, 37.5% receive Pell Grants, approximately a third are neurodivergent, and a substantial majority identify as LGBTQIA+.

Building on its singular student-driven approach, Hampshire is implementing a radically new academic program that emphasizes urgent challenges, transdisciplinarity, antiracism, community engagement, and project-based skills. Instead of departments or programs, the College is organized around a set of cross-disciplinary Learning Collaboratives that gather faculty, students, and staff to address urgent contemporary issues and challenges. For 2022–23, the urgent challenges are: (1) How should we act on our responsibilities in the face of changing climate?; (2) How do we disrupt and dismantle white supremacy?; (3) How do we decide what constitutes truth in a “post-truth” era?; and (4) How can art and creative practices address trauma? Every faculty member designs half their course load to connect with one of the challenges mentioned above. The “Race and Power” requirement will ensure that students engage in critical reflection on racial justice and equity throughout their course of study and faculty actively interrogate the impact of white supremacy on every discipline. The new VPAA will play a substantial role in the ongoing development of this vision.

The College is in the third year of a plan to achieve financial sustainability by 2026, via rebuilding enrollment and completing an ambitious campaign to raise unrestricted funds. This plan remediates the decision in spring 2019 to explore “strategic partnerships” and not enroll a new class. In response to creative efforts by the staff and faculty and an upwelling of support from alums and other stakeholders, the decision to pursue a partner was reversed, the Trustees committed to maintain Hampshire’s independence, and a new President was hired; however, the initial decision significantly impacted enrollment, provoking a substantial fiscal challenge. Over the last three years the faculty, staff, students, and administration have worked together to control expenses, raise new funds, and revitalize the College’s experimenting mission. The results have been striking.  Entering class enrollment has grown each year since 2019, and the fall 2022 entering class increased by almost 70% over the previous year. The College has raised $34.6 million in unrestricted operational support since 2019, and is on track to meet a $60 million campaign goal. The faculty, president, and VPAA have collaborated to develop annual salary plans avoiding involuntary separations of faculty, and as enrollment recovers the College has begun hiring new faculty.

The VPAA is a member of the president’s senior leadership team and acts as the president in their absence. The VPAA oversees the Library, Registrar, Center for Academic Support and Advising, the College Farm Program, Global Education, Center for Design, Assessment, Teaching and Learning, the Academic Deans, and office staff. All members of the faculty (full and part-time) report to the VPAA.

The successful candidate will be excited to embrace the unique challenges and opportunities of Hampshire’s current moment:

• shape and extend Hampshire’s reimagination of the liberal arts.
• recruit and retain faculty eager to pursue this vision, significantly expanding the faculty over the next four years.
• lead the restructuring of academic governance to support and extend curricular innovation and scholarly/artistic work.
• serve as a public advocate for Hampshire’s mission and seek opportunities to secure resources to strengthen and extend our impact on higher education.
• support and extend staff, student, and faculty collaboration in educational projects and activism that extend beyond or transform the traditional expectations for courses and credits.
• work closely with the Senior Vice President for Justice, Equity, and Antiracism to pursue the College’s aspiration to become an antiracist institution, reckoning with the ongoing reproduction of white supremacy that is endemic to the traditional practices of persistently white institutions, and which suffuse disciplinary practices across the curriculum.
• in concert with the senior team, staff, and faculty, ensure that Hampshire College remains at the forefront of radical thinking and practice in higher education.

Qualifications:

• Earned Ph.D. or a terminal degree in the field.
• Scholarly/creative accomplishments sufficient to merit a faculty appointment.
• Record of progressively responsible academic administrative experience in higher education.
• Vision for successfully recruiting, supporting, and retaining faculty and staff of color in a predominantly white institution.
• Experience with academic leadership, budget management, accreditation, shared governance, and curriculum development.
• Passionate about working in an organization that values and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.
• Deep listening skills and consultative leadership
• An understanding of the concepts of institutional and structural racism and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.
• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive and equitable working relationships with students, faculty, staff and community members.
• Committed to curricular innovation and experimentation.

Nominations for or questions about the position can be directed to president@hampshire.edu or deanoffaculty@hampshire.edu. The current Interim Dean of Faculty has announced he will not be a candidate for the permanent position.

Candidates should apply via the College’s website at https://jobs.hampshire.edu/ and submit the following: 1) cover letter of approximately two pages which addresses the candidate’s experience and vision for Hampshire College; 2) current resume or vita; 3) contact information for 3 references. For fullest consideration, applications should be received by January 18, 2023; review of applications will continue until the position is filled. The annual salary for this position is $150,000-175,000.

Hampshire College is an equal opportunity employer and deeply committed to a community of excellence, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We’re particularly committed to revealing and combating the social and institutional structures that support racism and white supremacy in all phases of employment and college life. We believe that the educational and employment environment is enhanced when diverse groups of people with diverse ideas come together to work and grow. We encourage applications from women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, sexual minority groups, veterans, and other candidates who will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives. Hampshire College is committed to removing barriers to employment faced by equity-seeking groups and encourages (but does not require) members of these groups to self-identify in their application materials. Applicants whose work incorporates a global perspective and a demonstrated commitment to issues of diversity in the work environment are particularly encouraged to apply.

 

Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity and inclusion in education and employment.