Position Detail

Senior Vice President for Justice, Equity, and Antiracism

Hampshire College invites applications and nominations for Senior Vice President for Justice, Equity, and Antiracism.

In partnership with the President, the Senior Vice President for Justice, Equity, and Antiracism (SVP) provides vision, leadership, and direct support for all aspects of the College’s efforts to build an actively antiracist institution, with a particular focus on curricular innovation and professional development.  The SVP serves as a strategic advisor to the President and Board of Trustees, collaborating with, and as necessary directing, other senior leaders in recommending policies, programs and practices that advance the antiracist principles and inclusive objectives of the College. The SVP provides essential leadership as the College implements its commitment to a comprehensive Race and Power curriculum, working closely with the VP of Academic Affairs and the Race and Power Committee to provide guidance and support for curriculum design, faculty development, community education, and co-curricular initiatives; the SVP manages Academic Affairs staff in these areas, and partners with the Community Advocacy, Prevention, Education and Safety department of Student Affairs. The SVP will collaborate with the Restorative Practices Task Force, which coordinates implementation of restorative practices across the College. The SVP leads the development, implementation, and assessment of the equity and anti-racist strategic plan, and is empowered to advance the policy changes and implement institutional reforms that plan requires.

Hampshire College is an experimenting institution with a mission to advance social justice and transform higher education. It has a deep and complicated history advocating for antiracist principles, articulating in the 1978 Report of the College Committee on Racism “that non-racist behavior must be decidedly anti-racist,” adopting an Active Anti-Racism Administrative Action Plan in 2008, and maintaining a long-term commitment to antiracist community education. However, Hampshire has not sufficiently engaged in the sustained work to identify how power, policy, and culture reproduce white supremacy at the College, and to act to counter its harmful effects. Recent actions, which the SVP will build upon, include committing to embed critical reflection on the role of race in perpetuating inequality throughout every student’s education and within all disciplines, practices, and interdisciplinary areas of knowledge; adopting “how can we disrupt and dismantle white supremacy” as one of the questions that organize Hampshire’s distinct curriculum; implementing actively anti-racist hiring policies and practices; centering efforts to advance inclusion and anti-racism in evaluation of the performance of senior administrators; investing in widespread competence in restorative practices; and bolstering staffing and resources to support students and faculty of color. Hampshire has a very long way to go, and we hope the SVP will bring expertise and inspiration as we pursue the collective responsibility of our community to become more just, more equitable, and more antiracist.

The successful candidate will be an experienced advocate, skilled convener, expert on inclusive and ant-racist pedagogy, and implementer of equity and anti-racist institutional practices. They will possess excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and will build and sustain community and collaborative relationships, and can drive systemic change. Expertise in working with faculty and student life professionals on curriculum development and pedagogy to advance diversity, equity, and antiracism (or demonstrated capacity for success in this work) is essential. Additional qualifications include working with institutional leadership to advance diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and initiatives, and the capacity to develop policies to advance equity and antiracism. Experience with restorative justice work and familiarity with liberal arts college environment would be helpful, though not required. Must be passionate about working in an organization that values and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism, demonstrate strong knowledge of diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, anti-oppression and social justice, and bring an understanding of the concepts of institutional and structural racism and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities. A terminal degree in an academic field is preferred, but not required.  

Applicants should submit a letter of interest and resume that includes names, titles, and contact info for three references (none will be contacted without permission). For fullest consideration, applications should be received by April 11, 2022. Please submit these materials via our website at https://jobs.hampshire.edu.

Salary range: $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 welcome 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.

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