Office of the President

The Role of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

The provost and senior vice president for academic affairs reports directly to the president and is the chief academic officer of Ithaca College, serving as the primary steward and champion of the institution’s academic mission. In close partnership with the president, the provost plays a significant role in strategic planning and implementation. The provost acts to safeguard and advance the college’s teaching and learning enterprise with the highest integrity and standards for academic excellence.

The deans of the School of Business, Roy H. Park School of Communications, School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, School of Humanities and Sciences and School of Music report to the provost.

Additional direct reports include a vice provost for academic programs, who oversees the registrar; international programs and extended studies; Center for Academic Advancement, which comprises the Academic Advising Center, Student Accessibility Services, Tutoring Services and Center for Faculty Excellence; library; State Grants Office; Honors Program; Exploratory Program; and Ithaca Seminar; and an assistant provost for finance and administrative operations.

The following is a summary of the provost’s primary responsibilities:

• Working with the deans, the provost has responsibility for supporting and advancing the teaching, scholarship and development of full-time and contingent faculty across the School of Business, Roy H. Park School of Communications, School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, School of Humanities and Sciences and School of Music. The deans of the schools report directly to the provost.
  
• The provost has ultimate responsibility for all matters related to academic programs and curricula including the college-wide Integrative Core Curriculum.
  
• The provost has significant financial planning responsibility and works closely with the vice president for finance and administration to manage the academic budget, co-chairing – with the vice president for finance and administration – the college’s budget committee. The provost oversees the budgets of the schools and works collaboratively with the deans to set school-based goals that are aligned with college-wide priorities.
  
• The provost works in close partnership with the vice president of the Division of Student Affairs and Campus Life to ensure alignment and coordination among academic programs, curricular matters, student success initiatives and co-curricular and other student-related programming and activities in support of an integrated, coherent and holistic student experience.
  
• The provost oversees the development and implementation of academic policies in accordance with college-wide principles and priorities, in collaboration with members of the Ithaca College community.

• The provost champions and promotes an authentic culture of learning assessment, anchored by defined learning objectives and driven by a shared goal of continuous improvement of academic programs to maximize both teaching effectiveness and student learning outcomes.
  
• The provost ensures adherence to the expectations of institutional and professional accreditation organizations.
  
• The provost is responsible for ensuring compliance with the terms of the college’s contract with Service Employee International Union (SEIU) Local 200 United, which represents contingent faculty at the college, and leads all negotiations with the union as necessary working closely with other college officials.

Opportunities and Expectations for Leadership

In full collaboration with the president, vice presidents, deans, department chairs, faculty, students and staff, the provost will intentionally strengthen a discrete and distinctive academic identity for the college across divisions and develop a shared definition of an Ithaca College education. Specifically, the next provost will be expected to:

Serve as a principal steward of Ithaca College

A senior member of the college’s executive leadership team, the provost will be a close partner to President Collado in advancing IC’s strategic priorities and objectives, working in unison with other college officers. In providing such leadership, the provost will model the college’s core values, be a champion for diversity and inclusion and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to transparency, democratic engagement, openness and communication.

Catalyze and inspire academic leadership across the college

A deeply engaged, inclusive and committed academic community is critical to the realization of IC’s mission. The next provost will work in close partnership with the deans to strengthen this community by developing a shared vision and sense of purpose, fostering shared accountability for academic excellence and cultivating the creativity, innovation and common purpose required to advance Ithaca’s standing as a leading comprehensive college. This effort includes a continued and considered assessment of the college’s recently-implemented college-wide Integrative Core Curriculum.

Enable, facilitate and champion faculty success

The provost will serve as a compelling advocate for academic priorities and the faculty. Together with the deans and other academic leaders across the college, the provost will work to recruit, retain and develop a robust, diverse and highly productive faculty, ensuring that teaching loads and faculty responsibilities are aligned to ensure both the success of the faculty and the most rewarding academic experience for Ithaca College students. The provost will lead in a transparent and collaborative manner, helping to build and enhance a sense of community among all who are key to IC’s success.

Assess and enhance the Integrative Core Curriculum

The Integrative Core Curriculum (ICC) is a set of liberal arts requirements that comprise the common academic experience for all Ithaca College students. The next provost will lead a comprehensive program review and assessment of the ICC, including broad stakeholder input from students, staff, faculty, department chairs and deans, to ensure that this distinctive and innovative aspect of the IC experience delivers on its promise to prepare graduates to make a transformative impact on society by developing their skills in integrative thinking, critical and analytical problem solving and reflective learning.

Strengthen a budget process that prioritizes academic planning

The provost will work with the vice president for finance and administration, deans and other college leaders to link academic and financial planning, aligning them with both long-term strategic priorities and short-term needs in the context of a resource-constrained environment.

Position the Office of the Provost for maximum impact and effectiveness

The provost is at once responsible for providing institution-wide leadership in general and academic leadership specifically, and for making a host of strategic academic and personnel decisions, ensuring compliance with regulatory and compliance requirements, managing critical college-wide operational matters and responding to emergent crises. The next provost will partner with President Collado to examine the academic structure of the institution and how the provost’s office is structured and deployed. In so doing, the provost will prioritize structures and processes to maximize impact, effectiveness, support for academic strength, development of strong and diverse faculty leadership and engagement in the life and governance of the college.

Qualities and Qualifications

Ithaca College seeks a visionary leader with significant academic and administrative accomplishments to advance the college as a pre-eminent, innovative institution of higher education in the 21st century. The college’s next provost will require all the traits of effective leadership including integrity, emotional intelligence and maturity; honesty; intelligence; optimism; prodigious energy; a commitment to excellence; outstanding judgment; energy; creativity; decisiveness; courage of conviction; diplomacy; tolerance for ambiguity; and a sense of humor.

Specifically, the ideal candidate will have the following professional qualifications and personal characteristics:

• Ph.D. or other terminal degree in a field relevant to Ithaca College academic priorities
  
• Demonstrated and unrelenting commitment to undergraduate education
  
• Experience in recruiting, retaining and developing an increasingly distinguished faculty that advances the academic standing and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion
  
• Experience ensuring adherence to institutional accreditation expectations and requirements and those of other relevant professional or programmatic accreditation agencies
  
• Strong and informed commitment to shared governance