Provost
Blackburn College

Blackburn College, a unique four-year liberal arts college with a one-of-a-kind student-managed work program in Carlinville, Illinois, invites nominations and applications for an outstanding leader as its next Provost. The Provost is a vital member of the College's leadership team. The Provost is responsible for providing leadership and administrative oversight to support the College's strategic plan and priorities, especially for departments that fall under the Provost's purview and our academic programs, all while supporting our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Candidates should be proven leaders and strategic thinkers who seek pragmatic, creative solutions to challenges. Candidates should be collaborative leaders who are serious about their role as mentors to students, faculty, and staff and should be deeply committed to Blackburn's mission and vision. Interested candidates should know that a doctoral degree is required and evidence of earned tenure in an academic discipline is preferred. Candidates must have demonstrated successful experience in strategic planning, entrepreneurship, fiscal management, resource allocation, and academic affairs personnel management.

The Provost is the Chief Academic Officer, supporting faculty and staff and building and maintaining outstanding student learning experiences. The Provost is also a collaborative, cross-department leader for the campus. As delegated by the President, the Provost will have responsibilities for institutional policies and practices beyond academic affairs. The Board of Trustees and College employees understand the Provost is second only to the President, and the Provost acts in the stead of the President when they are not available. The faculty is organized into three divisions, each with its own chair: Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities. Within these divisions are 11 departments, each with its own chair. Staff departments reporting to the Provost include the Registrar, Lumpkin Library, Student Success Center, Technology Services, and Institutional Research. Blackburn is a close-knit community where faculty, staff, students, alums, and friends feel a deep connection to and ownership of the College. This is enhanced by the College's long-standing commitment to shared governance, transparency, and trust. Any successful Provost at Blackburn must be ready to lead in a collaborative environment.

Ideal candidates must be knowledgeable about curriculum design and its application to sound academic management; ability and skill in the design and application of methods for the evaluation of faculty and staff; ability to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, complex ideas and recommendations; ability to carry out the functions of leadership along a planned program of institutional direction; ability to develop and administer a budget of operations; ability to establish and monitor fiscal accountability within areas of responsibility; and a commitment to shared governance in a collegial environment.

Additionally, successful candidates will possess the following required education, experience, skills, and abilities:

• Strongly Preferred: appointment as Professor at a US academic Institution.
• Direct experience as a department chair or associate chair of a department.
• Demonstrated experience cooperating with multiple academic departments within an academic institution.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in administrative and leadership capacities in a college or university, including familiarity and collaboration with enrollment management, business and finance, student affairs, physical plant, marketing, performance evaluation, and state and federal certification.
• Demonstrated involvement in department-level or institution-level policy creation, management, or curriculum development.
• Experience in working with institutional accreditation and willingness to take on a leadership role concerning accreditation.
• Experience with students' academic mentoring.
• Experience in program assessment and execution of a continuous improvement plan.
• Ability to use data to prioritize, organize, and operationalize action leading to results.

• Experience and interest in growing and strengthening traditional and innovative academic programs
• Demonstrated commitment to transparent, inclusive leadership, shared governance, and amicable conflict resolution.
• Experience with student academic support programs, instruction, and information technology, developing programs to attract and retain traditional and novel student populations, and developing other revenue streams.
• A high standard of professional conduct, the ability to maintain confidentiality, and the ability to establish credibility throughout the organization and with all stakeholders, including the Board of Trustees, the President, Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni, and members of the President's Cabinet.
• Active participation in professional activities and organizations.

For additional information about Blackburn College and the position, please visit our website employment page at https://blackburn.edu/faculty-and-staff/employment/.Applications will be received, and the confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applications (in MS Word or PDF format) must include 1. a letter of interest describing relevant experience along with a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement describing what DEI means to you and why a commitment to DEI is essential in higher education today, 2. curriculum vitae, and 3. five professional references with email and telephone numbers (references will not be contacted without prior authorization from the applicant). All applications will be handled in confidence. Inquiries, applications, and nominations should be sent to HR@blackburn.edu.

Blackburn seeks to build an inclusive faculty and administration that can engage the interests of a diverse population; underrepresented persons are strongly encouraged to apply. The successful applicant must provide proof of authorization to work in the United States. Blackburn College is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law. Employment-based immigration sponsorship is not offered for this position.