Associate Vice Chancellor of Graduate Studies

University of Colorado•Denver, CO

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Vice Chancellor of Graduate Studies provides university-wide leadership for graduate education at the University of Colorado Denver, shaping and advancing institutional strategy to strengthen the quality, competitiveness, growth, and impact of graduate programs and the success of graduate students. Reporting directly to the Provost, the Associate Vice Chancellor serves as the university’s senior academic leader for graduate education and leads the Office of Graduate Studies, working in partnership with deans, faculty, Graduate Council, and academic and administrative leaders across the university. In CU Denver’s decentralized graduate education model, the Associate Vice Chancellor provides the institutional leadership and coordination necessary to advance a coherent graduate education agenda while respecting the disciplinary expertise and academic authority of the schools and colleges. The position provides strategic leadership for graduate education policy, program quality and innovation, graduate enrollment and student success, graduate student support and funding, and the integration of graduate education with the university’s research and academic priorities. The Associate Vice Chancellor also serves as a senior advisor to the Provost on emerging opportunities, challenges, and investments affecting graduate education and works across the university to translate institutional priorities into effective policies, practices, and outcomes.

Requirements

Earned doctorate degree from an accredited institution.
Eight (8) or more years of experience in graduate education leadership, such as graduate program director, associate dean, department chair, or comparable administrative role.
Demonstrated understanding of graduate education policy and governance.
Demonstrated understanding of faculty led academic cultures.
Demonstrated understanding of complex, decentralized university environments.
Evidence of strong collaboration, communication, and consensus building skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience working at a public R1 or urban research university.
Familiarity with Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) best practices.
Experience implementing or managing graduate student funding, assistantships, or tuition remission policies.
Demonstrated success leading organizational change during periods of transition.

Responsibilities

Lead the university-wide vision and strategy for graduate education; advise the Provost and Chancellor; establish priorities, metrics, and accountability for graduate enrollment, quality, student success, research integration, and institutional competitiveness.
Ensure that policies provide institution-wide consistency while explicitly allowing programs flexibility to define discipline appropriate standards, as recommended by the Working Group.
Lead regular review and revision of policies to ensure clarity, compliance, and alignment with best practices in graduate education.
Lead strategies for development, review, redesign, growth, differentiation, and discontinuation of graduate programs; foster interdisciplinary and innovative graduate education responsive to student demand, workforce needs, research strengths, and institutional priorities.
Partner with academic units and Enrollment Management to advance graduate recruitment, enrollment, retention, completion, student support, mentoring, professional development, career outcomes, and graduate student well-being.
Partner with Research leadership and academic deans to strengthen graduate research training, fellowships, assistantships, external funding, and interdisciplinary scholarship.
Strategize and coordinate policy alignment among academic units, HR, and finance to ensure equitable, transparent, and sustainable graduate employment practices.
Oversee financial strategy and resource allocation for graduate education initiatives, including tuition remission and programmatic investments.
Provide strategic leadership for graduate financial support, tuition remission, assistantships, fellowships, partnerships, and external resources; collaborate with Advancement, government, industry, and other partners to strengthen graduate education.