The College of New Jersey invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of Vice President for Student Affairs.
About the College
Founded in 1855, TCNJ is a highly selective public institution that has earned national recognition for its commitment to excellence. TCNJ emphasizes the undergraduate residential experience and offers targeted graduate programs. The College’s seven schools – The Arts and Communication; Business; Humanities and Social Sciences; Education; Science; Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science; and Engineering – offer degrees to nearly 6,800 students. The College’s distinguished faculty of 348 full-time members provides a 13 to 1 student to faculty ratio, and eighty-five percent of classes have enrollments of 30 or fewer. TCNJ’s picturesque campus is located on 289 tree-lined acres in suburban Ewing, approximately five miles from New Jersey’s state capital of Trenton, and 60 minutes from both Philadelphia and New York City. A 95 percent freshman to sophomore retention rate and a six-year graduation rate of 86 percent speak to the quality of the TCNJ experience.
For the 19th consecutive year, TCNJ was rated the No. 1 public in the category “Best Regional Universities (North)”; in U.S. News & World Report. It is ranked as one of the 75 “Most Competitive” schools in the nation by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges and is considered a “Best Buy” in higher education by both Barron’s and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. In 2006 TCNJ was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter—an honor shared by less than 10 percent of colleges and universities nationally.
In 2011-12 the College engaged in a comprehensive initiative to update the institution’s strategic plan under the leadership of President Dr. Barbara Gitenstein. That process resulted in a strategic plan document with priorities and objectives for the next 3-5 years and set forth a dynamic process for implementation, review, adjustment and communication. This plan includes a goal to implement a strengthened, integrated, and transformative total student experience.
About the Position
In concert with the mission of the College, the Division of Student Affairs at TCNJ fosters a learning environment where students have the freedom to explore their own potential as they develop responsible decision-making, leadership and communication skills, and participate in multiple opportunities to gain respect for differing cultures and ideas. The new Vice President has an important and exciting opportunity to create a vision for the future that maximizes the potential of Student Affairs to develop strong partnerships with Academic Affairs and the surrounding community in support of co-curricular programs and activities that focus on student success.
The Vice President for Student Affairs reports to the President and has responsibility for Residential Education and Housing, Dean of Students Office (Student Activities, Student Conduct, Fraternity and Sorority Life), Athletics and Recreation, Campus Health and Wellness, and Career Center. . The current Vice President oversees 79 full-time staff and is responsible for an overall division budget of approximately $53 million. The Vice President also engages in coordinating communication between campus constituencies and departments and works cooperatively with the College’s senior leadership team to ensure successful achievement of institutional and divisional goals.
The principle mission of the Vice President will be to continue to build a distinctive Student Affairs Division consistent with TCNJ’s vision and values. The successful candidate will be an innovative, resourceful, high-energy professional who is an exceptional communicator and listener, an effective agent of organizational excellence, and a team builder. The position requires a high amount of visibility on campus, at campus events, and with student-leaders. The Vice President must be a student-centered professional who demonstrates a high level of knowledge about the issues that confront a public residential college, an up-to-date understanding of and the ability to clearly communicate the importance and effectiveness of student development theory, best practices, and a record of success in enhancing the quality of student learning and development outcomes.
Additional qualifications include:
• the ability to assess, understand and be a key advocate for a healthy campus climate
• a commitment to contribute to the College’s ongoing effort to promote a supportive learning community
• a commitment to supporting and understanding multicultural perspectives
• competence with the use of research, data and assessment tools to monitor progress in meeting goals
• demonstrated ability to collaborate with academic affairs in advancing a transformative higher education experience
• the ability to serve as a strong student advocate who can ensure that an integrated student experience is at the forefront of policies and practices.
• the ability to develop and maintain productive community, alumni, and campus partnerships
• the proven ability to collaborate, effectively and with enthusiasm
• strong strategic planning skills
Qualifications
The successful candidate will possess a minimum of seven years of significant supervisory in positions of increasing responsibility, budgetary, and administrative experience at a residential campus. The successful candidate will also be a person who is pro-active in responding to student concerns, who will lead a dedicated and engaged staff, who is proficient in the area of professional development, and who is an experienced educator familiar with and effective in applying best practices in the areas of student affairs. A terminal degree is required.
Interested individuals should send a letter describing their interest in and qualifications for the position, a resume, and contact information including mailing and email addresses for five references. The packet should be sent electronically to leadership {at} wspelman(.)com. The subject line in email should be TCNJ. Confidential inquiries will be received at 585.366.4329.
Documents that must be mailed should be sent to William Spelman Executive Search at 667 Midship Circle, Webster, NY 14580. Confidentiality will be maintained, and references will not be contacted without prior knowledge or approval of the candidate. For full consideration, all materials must be submitted by April 1, 2013. The process will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The anticipated starting date is July 1, 2013.
To enrich education through diversity, The College of New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
