Western Oregon University is excited to recruit and welcome WOU’s next Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost) during a time of positive transformation. The Provost will have a career-defining opportunity to elevate the university’s position as an accessible institution uniquely tailored to the needs of its diverse student body. Working in partnership with the President, Western Oregon University’s next Provost will play a central role in defining the future of WOU as an innovative and responsive university known for student support and commitment to inclusivity.
For a copy of the full prospectus, click WOU Provost Search Prospectus
With a student enrollment of nearly 25% Latinx and 37% students of color, the university has created space intentionally for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility to reside at the forefront of the WOU experience. WOU is the first and only public university in Oregon to have formed a standing Board of Trustees committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility to ensure these values manifest at all levels. WOU’s next Provost will exemplify these values and incorporate them into their leadership of the campus.
WOU is changing the lives of students and contributing to the vitality of the State of Oregon through high quality, relevant, and unique academic programs. In collaboration with WOU’s dynamic President and capable faculty, the Provost will have the opportunity, while leveraging the climate of innovation, to ensure the curriculum and programs resonate with WOU’s students of the future, making the necessary changes to attract students and serve Oregon for years to come.
Western Oregon University exceeds its peer institutions for sponsored projects and research. Under the guidance of its Sponsored Projects Office, WOU faculty and staff submitted nearly $29 million in grant proposals in FY22 and experienced a 70% success rate in proposals awarded for FY22. The Research Institute has been serving Oregon for over 60 years through a large array of externally funded projects and Centers and, in FY22, was awarded over $9.8 million in federal and state grants.
The success of all of Western’s students demands a partnership between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs, and the Provost will work within a positive environment of collaboration and exploration. WOU is ready to get some things accomplished, to implement new ideas and new vision focused on student success.
As the university’s chief academic officer, and reporting directly to the President, the Provost has oversight responsibility for academic affairs, which includes all colleges, Hamersly Library, graduate programs, the Sponsored Projects Office, The Research Institute, international programs, academic advising, and the registrar. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate majors, an honors program, ten graduate programs, and a variety of graduate specializations, endorsements, and certificates.
The Provost also works closely with Western Oregon University’s Board of Trustees, which has a standing academic and student affairs committee. Long-term goals include the continuing development and enhancement of key relationships with all members of the President’s Cabinet, all divisions of the University, key staff members of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, Provosts from the other Oregon public universities, external accreditors, students, and external constituents while creating a working environment that is professional, collegial, respectful, enjoyable, caring, diverse, and inclusive.
Required Qualifications:
- An earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree and earned tenure with qualifications meriting appointment at the rank of full professor in an academic discipline at WOU.
- A record of progressively advancing higher education leadership responsibilities, positions, and success.
- Demonstrated ability to manage financial resources, complex budgets, and personnel.
- Commitment to shared governance in a higher education setting.
- Demonstrated experience working with and supporting the success of people who have diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages
- A spirit of collaboration and innovation.
Desired Qualifications Include:
- An excellent academic record of teaching excellence, scholarship, and service.
- Experience in improving academic excellence and student success through graduation.
- Experience with developing innovative academic programs at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.
- Evidence of using a systems approach in analysis and problem solving.
- Experience with budget models that reward productivity, effectiveness, and innovation.
- Demonstrated knowledge of critical issues in higher education, including shared governance, collective bargaining, and accreditation.
- Evidence of outstanding organizational, interpersonal, and advocacy skills.
- Appreciation for the higher education landscape, including the role of a public regional comprehensive university.
- Evidence of the ability to communicate effectively with internal and external groups.
- Experience in internationalized curricula and global initiatives in higher education.
- Evidence of commitment to transformative diversity and social justice.
- Commitment to evidence-based decision-making processes.
- Evidence and commitment to open and transparent governance that includes actively sharing information with the campus community as well as implementing processes that ensure transparency.
- Demonstrated understanding of complexities involved with student-centered technological innovation, online learning, and delivery across multiple learning modalities.
- Ability to balance entrepreneurial approaches to educational markets with academic rigor and student satisfaction.
The Search Committee invites letters of interest and nominations to be submitted directly to the search firm, Anthem Executive. Correspondence should include a curriculum vitae and a letter of interest describing relevant experience and interest in the position, and should be submitted to:
WOUProvost@AnthemExecutive.com
While applications and nominations will be accepted until a new Provost is selected, interested parties are encouraged to submit their materials as soon as possible to assure optimal consideration. Expressing interest is the first step in receiving consideration and does not make one an applicant for the position.
Western Oregon University is committed to providing equal access and opportunity to employees, applicants for employment, and service providers without regard to age, disability, gender, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or status as a Vietnam War Era Veteran.
WOU is not considering candidates who require Visa sponsorship support. Additionally, the University typically only considers visa support for employees placed in specialized positions that are continuing regular University appointments.
If any candidate would like to request disability-related accommodation(s), please notify WOU’s Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dominique Vargas at vargasd@wou.edu or 503-838-9518, and the university will coordinate with Anthem Executive on appropriate and accessible accommodations.