Provost

Colorado Christian University•Lakewood, CO

40d•$200,000•Onsite

About The Position

As an employee at Colorado Christian University, you'll have the opportunity to participate in an extraordinary and bold mission: Christ-centered higher education transforming students to impact the world with grace and truth. At the heart of CCU is our common commitment as a community of Christian believers who are rooted in a deep respect for higher education, centered on a Christian, conservative, worldview. As a higher education institution, we emphasize excellence in our academic programs while encouraging our students in the relentless pursuit of truth and the development of the mind and heart. Innovative individuals committed to high levels of excellence, academic innovations, and rigor are encouraged to apply. Great candidates for this key leadership opportunity will have a strong sense of how the Lord has prepared them to use their unique giftings to serve Colorado Christian University as it continues to work to advance the Kingdom through its graduates: traditional on-campus students, adult and graduate students completing online programs, and high school students participating in dual credit and associate degree courses. This may well be the most rewarding position of your career. Working at Colorado Christian University means your work centers around Jesus; this is an opportunity of a lifetime for the right person who wants to make a significant difference in the lives of students, faculty, and staff. Because Christians have varied gifts, they serve Christ in a variety of ministry vocations. CCU helps prepare students for a lifetime of service - taking the light of Christ into the world. The right person for this job will envision graduates who will succeed in their chosen professions and be leaders in their work, community, and churches and the culture at large. The University's primary academic focus is on excellence in teaching, while innovating opportunities for research and performance by both faculty and students. The University prizes academic excellence as a virtue and encourages students to strive for such excellence. This position reports directly to the President and works closely with each academic school and its related programs. The provost will build positive relationships with stakeholders and ensure CCU's mission and Strategic Priorities continue to be embedded into curriculum and the student experience to influence students, faculty, and staff to maintain and deepen their commitment to conservative Christian values. The Provost leads the University in its academic growth, working collaboratively and strategically with Cabinet and members on the traditional/residential enrollment planning and practices team. Responsibilities include providing guidance to academic schools and regularly evaluating the University's academic programs and outcomes. Other key duties include: 1) oversight of multiple budgets, 2) making capital resource allocation recommendations for academic work, and 3) providing direction to ensure the priority work of teaching, scholarship, service, and professional development is accomplished.

Requirements

A proven track record, preferably within Christian higher education. Able to demonstrate strong support of CCU's mission and Strategic Priorities.
A Ph.D. or Ed.D. and a minimum of five to ten years of teaching experience, at the Professor rank, preferably within Christian higher education. Minimum of five to ten years of progressive leadership/administration experience required. This includes a track record of engaging in academic scholarship, setting operational priorities, and achieving academic and business success through leading people, systems, and programs.
Experience fostering a culture of academic excellence, rigor, innovation, and continuous improvement among faculty, staff, and students.
Experience with ensuring compliance with accreditation standards and regulatory requirements governing Christian academic programs and operations.
Evidence of inspiring collegial and collaborative engagement to accomplish goals of significance.
A well-developed business acumen, with relevant analytics and decision-making skills.
A vision for Christian higher education that highlights innovation and honors tradition.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and vision to the academic branch of the University, integrating faith and learning in a scholarly environment that fosters critical and creative thinking, academic excellence, and professional competence.
Articulate a consistent vision and be an advocate of CCU's mission and Strategic Priorities while motivating faculty to do the same.
Lead the formulation and implementation of an academic strategic plan for each school.
Guide the evaluation of programs to ensure the University remains competitive (innovative) in its offerings.
Lead the accreditation process and ensure CCU meets or exceeds accreditation requirements.
Attend accreditation workshops and oversee the work needed to accomplish this goal for the University and required program accreditations.
Serve as the representative of university academics in daily operations with the President and/or Cabinet.
Schedules and leads regular deans' council meetings, school/department meetings, providing guidance and performance evaluations according to the UPM (University Performance Model) and department key performance indicators.
Provide clear leadership communication to deans, faculty, and academic programs to enhance academic excellence in teaching.
Communicate effectively with each dean by providing constructive and honest feedback for each school/department, addressing the area's needs and any issues.
Promote healthy communication, disseminating appropriate information to faculty, staff, and students related to the University's goals and strategic plans to generate enthusiasm for new initiatives.
Conduct regular meetings with the deans' council, fostering a culture of collegiality, professionalism, and collaboration.
Manage assigned budgets responsibility while working directly with the President and VP of Finance to construct a sound budget to meet student and faculty needs.
Ensure that those responsible for departmental budgets (including grants or other assigned funding) do not overspend their budgets.
Ensure the plan for hiring and staffing of highly qualified faculty stays within budget.
Recruit, hire, and retain highly qualified faculty and staff.
Oversee faculty promotion process.
Ensure consistency in the review of faculty promotional portfolio review.
Invest in faculty development.
Design a plan to meet this need using creativity and innovation within assigned budgets.
Ensure optimal development and successful onboarding of new or less experienced faculty members.
Coach, mentor, and establish systems to effectively support these objectives to engage performing and underperforming faculty.
As needed, maintain appropriate records to ensure job performance is properly documented in employee files.
Calibrate critical Key Performance Indicators of each department/School within the Provost's span of control using the (UPM) University Performance Model.
Conduct ongoing and regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports that occur at least once per month while scheduling three annual UPM/KPIs reviews for each direct report.
Update and re-write the Faculty Handbook as needed, as a subset of the Employee Handbook.
Supervise the design, delivery, and assessment of each school's curriculum.
Support high quality education and student achievement of key learning objectives.
Plan for both short- and long-term curricular needs.
Collaborate with other departments to develop thorough plans to support student recruitment efforts and increase retention and graduation rates.
Work with deans/and or faculty members to resolve academic student misconduct, grading concerns, and other related issues that may arise.