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Overview

Position Summary

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide vision, leadership and direction to guide and coordinate NIU’s DEI efforts; consulting regularly with university faculty, staff and administration to achieve organizational goals.
• Educate constituents within and outside the campus regarding the importance and advantages of a culture that values and supports each member of the community.
• Work in conjunction with faculty, staff and students to address equity and inclusion within the classroom and the campus community and to encourage the development of curricula that are appropriately inclusive in content and method.
• Provide strategic leadership and guidance to the presidential commissions which report to the president through the VPDEI.
• Consult with Division of Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications (EMMC) and contribute to NIU’s Strategic Enrollment Management team, and collaborate with college-level teams to improve student success and eliminate equity gaps in persistence and graduation.
• Collaborate with senior leaders, deans, directors, chairs and faculty to ensure NIU’s core values and value proposition for diversity, equity and inclusion are reflected appropriately among the strategic imperatives for the entire university, including at the level of schools, departments and units.
  
  

• Provide vison, leadership and coordination for universitywide DEI programming and initiatives, strengthening as needed.
• Collaborate with Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and other divisions of the university to develop and deliver programs that promote open dialogue about difficult topics, increase social justice awareness, and foster a welcoming and inclusive community.
• Collaborate with academic deans, department chairs, center directors and faculty leaders to promote curricular and cocurricular innovation in areas that include Women and Gender Studies, Latino Studies, Black Studies and Asian American Studies.
• Provide comprehensive leadership and planning for all student, faculty and staff social justice education, sexual misconduct awareness and prevention, ally training, cultural competency education and equity-minded professional development.
• Provide leadership to the assessment of institutional climate and diversity initiatives, using data to drive changes that support of faculty, staff and student diversity, equity and inclusion.
  
  

• Develop and oversee annual and multiyear budgets to support ADEI operations and initiatives.
• Seek diversity-related funding through private, local, state and federal sources with the assistance of the university’s development office.
• Supervise and coach professional and administrative staff for the Division of ADEI to ensure strategic priorities and goals are achieved.
• Consult regularly with General Counsel, Ethics and Compliance, Student Affairs, Administration and Finance, Research and Innovation Programs, Campus Police, Athletics, and Human Resources regarding university contracts and policies to ensure compliance with legal and institutional commitments related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
  
  

• Collaborate with the Offices of the President and Provost, Human Resource Services, deans and vice presidents to increase academic equity, retention and graduation rates of all students from underserved communities.
• Provide encouragement, support and counsel to university leaders and hiring supervisors at all levels regarding efforts to recruit and retain faculty, staff and students from a broad range of backgrounds.
• Work with Academic Affairs, EMMC and Advancement to establish partnerships that help NIU achieve and sustain a diverse faculty, staff and student body, and prepare for status as an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution.
• Engage actively and collaboratively with local communities, including the local government and all its departments, to support DEI and belonging at NIU and the larger university community.
• Develop and maintain active partnerships with advocacy groups, community-based organizations, foundations and alumni affinity groups.
• Other duties as assigned by the president and provost.

Minimum Required Qualifications (Civil Service)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) (Civil Service)

Specialty Factors (Civil Service)

Preferred Qualifications (Civil Service)

Minimum Required Qualifications (SPS)

• A terminal degree in an academic discipline.
• Demonstrated understanding of the mission and goals of a research university; of academic culture and governance; of the needs and concerns of students, faculty and staff from underrepresented backgrounds; and of research and the national conversation on how best to promote equity, inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity.
• Experience in higher education leadership with a minimum of five years of senior level leadership experience, including direct supervision of director-level professionals.

Additional Requirements (SPS)

Preferred Qualifications (SPS)

• Demonstrated success as an effective collaborator and team leader advancing universitywide strategic initiatives.
• Proven ability to engage and manage multiple stakeholders in a collaborative, collegial manner.
• Experience promoting and sustaining a community that sees the values of equity-mindedness, inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity as fundamental parts of its mission.
• A record of thought leadership and administrative accomplishments, including a distinguished record of advancing diversity and equity in a complex organization.
• Experience as an influential communicator with the ability to clearly explain