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Vice Provost & Dean for Undergraduate Education

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Position overview

Position title: Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Education

Position description

The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) seeks a world-class academic and administrative leader to serve as the next Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education (VPDUE). The Division of Undergraduate Education is the hub of UCR’s many student success units and initiatives, and the next VPDUE will have the opportunity to build on UCR’s reputation as a national model for equity and excellence in undergraduate education.

Reporting directly to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, the VPDUE is an important campus leadership position responsible for promoting academic excellence and student success for nearly 23,000 undergraduates across more than 90 programs of study. The VPDUE oversees units and initiatives that enhance the quality of the undergraduate experience at UCR, including the University Honors Program, the University Writing Program, the Exploration Center for Innovative Teaching and Engagement (XCITE), the Academic Resource Center, the Health Professions Advising Center, a variety of undergraduate high impact practices, and the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. The VPDUE also supports the colleges and schools in various student success programs such as learning communities, community engaged learning and research, and transfer student outreach and success. In addition, the VPDUE plays a critical role in improving student retention and graduation rates, liaising with the University Innovations Alliance, developing grant programs and other pilot projects that promote student success, and working with Academic Senate leaders on a wide range of issues.

One of 10 campuses within the University of California system, UCR is one of the most ethnically diverse research universities in the nation and has received significant recognition for its record in research and its exceptional success at attracting and graduating low-income and first-generation students. In each of the past three years, U.S. News & World Report named UCR the top university in the nation for social mobility. In 2016, UCR won the Project Degree Completion Award from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities for increasing four-year graduation rates by 11 percentage points in four years and for having among the lowest racial and ethnic gaps in graduation rates in the country. In 2017, Education Trust recognized UCR’s success in eliminating the graduation gap for Latino and Black students. The VPDUE must share the strong campus commitment to inclusive excellence.

The next Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education will build upon this strong foundation to lead UCR into a new era of continued excellence and focused growth. Working closely with the Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor and the deans of the colleges and schools, the VPDUE will collaborate with faculty, students, and staff across UCR, as well as with leaders in the UC system and in the local community, to address a set of key opportunities and challenges:

  • Chart a vision and strategy for the future of the Division of Undergraduate Education

  • Promote an educational environment that embraces academic excellence, inclusivity, diversity, and equity

  • Amplify UCR’s position as a national leader for undergraduate student success

  • Explore and promote innovative pedagogical strategies, academic support services, and co-curricular opportunities for improved student learning and success

  • Grow and manage resources for continued excellence

About the Division of Undergraduate Education:
The Division of Undergraduate Education (UE) is home to five distinct units, led by either full-time associate deans or professional staff, who engage directly with undergraduate students from all of UCR’s colleges and schools and collaborate extensively with UCR faculty. These units form a cross-disciplinary support structure for undergraduate students and evolve in response to student need and best practices in the field. Undergraduate Education’s units perform three primary functions: supporting teaching and learning, enriching undergraduate education, and innovating for equitable achievement. The long success of the Division in identifying and responding to student needs, providing robust engagement opportunities, and measuring outcomes has contributed significantly to increased graduation rates, reduced equity gaps, and a rising national profile for UCR.

Undergraduate Education is also responsible for a range of campus-wide initiatives designed to promote student success. For example, UE led UCR’s Graduation Rate Task Force which comprehensively identified areas where UCR could help improve outcomes and streamline processes for students. UE also works closely with UCR’s academic advisors to assess challenges to student retention and success, and to develop solutions. More broadly, UE is often at the forefront of culture change initiatives that touch the entire UCR community and continue to have impacts long after the initiative has ended.

To learn more about the Division of Undergraduate Education, visit ue.ucr.edu.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, and Competencies

  • An academic record meriting appointment at the level of Professor or Professor of Teaching at the University of California, Riverside.

  • Relevant leadership experience; for example, as a dean, associate dean, department chair, or center director.

  • Demonstrated dedication to providing an inclusive workplace and fostering the success of a diverse student body.

  • Exceptional organizational, interpersonal, written and oral communication skills.

  • Demonstrated acumen in budgetary and financial affairs.

  • Demonstrated or potential for success in external engagement and fundraising.

  • Ability to envision, design, and implement major initiatives that encourage faculty innovation in teaching, student engagement in learning and participation in undergraduate research and internships, staff improvements in student services, and other programs that enhance student success.

  • A commitment to exploring and promoting the use of information technologies and technology-enhanced pedagogies for improved student learning and success.

  • A commitment to civic engagement and bridge-building between students, faculty, and the community through outreach, service learning, and research that enriches student learning and connects to community assets and needs.

  • Ability to work across colleges and units to bring stakeholders together in pursuit of campus-wide goals, including extramural funding opportunities from federal and state agencies, foundations and donors to enhance teaching, learning and student success.

  • Ability to continuously measure the effectiveness of programs designed to enhance teaching, learning and student success, and to engage with other institutions to further the development and implementation of best practices in these areas.

  • Ability to work effectively and collaboratively as a member of a leadership team.

  • Ability to proactively identify and resolve organizational problems.

  • Experience working with an Academic or Faculty Senate, or another similar organization in a shared governance structure, preferably in a leadership role.

Preferred qualifications

Preferred Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, and Competencies

  • Significant knowledge of the organizational unit's objectives and activities.

  • Thorough knowledge of University administrative organization, policies, procedures and practices including the principle of shared governance.

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

  • Cover Letter

  • Statement of Research (Optional)

  • Statement of Teaching (Optional)

  • Statement of Past and/or Planned Future Contributions to Advancing Diversity and Inclusive Excellence - In a “Statement of Past and/or Planned Future Contributions to Advancing Diversity and Inclusive Excellence”, we ask applicants to describe their past and/or potential future contributions to promoting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, which is a key requirement of the role of every faculty member and administrator at UCR. There are numerous ways to contribute, and a commitment to this part of our mission can be reflected through research, teaching, supervision, mentoring, community engagement, service, and any of the other varied activities that are a part of an academic career.

  • Misc / Additional (Optional)

Reference requirements

A formal reference checking process will be conducted as a part of the final stages of the search process.

Apply link: https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF01664

Help contact: tanyaa@ucr.edu

About UC Riverside

The University of California, Riverside is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate student body. UCR is a member institution of the American Association of Universities (AAU) as well as the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities (HSRU). Its mission is explicitly linked to providing routes to educational success for underrepresented and first-generation college students. A commitment to this mission is a preferred qualification.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.