Associate Vice Chancellor

About the Job

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMN Crookston) welcomes applications for the position of Associate Vice Chancellor for the Division of Business, Arts, and Education (BAE). Reporting to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the scale and scope of responsibilities reflect those of an academic dean at campuses of similar size and complexity. The Associate Vice Chancellor is responsible for the overall operations of Business Department and the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education (HSSE) Department and will concurrently hold faculty standing.

The Associate Vice Chancellor also oversees the campus's Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC). Across these areas, the Associate Vice Chancellor manages the professional, instructional, and scholarly activities of the faculty and staff and provides academic leadership, and contributes to the Senior Vice Chancellor's leadership body, the Academic Affairs Council. The new Associate Vice Chancellor will support and enhance the success of all students.

The University of Minnesota Crookston is one of five campuses in the University of Minnesota System offering students an exceptional, hands-on learning experience in a safe, close-knit community. Known for its #1 best value ranking, NCAA Division II athletics, affordable tuition, #1 ranked dorms, and a supportive environment, UMN Crookston provides personalized attention and mentorship to help students thrive academically and professionally.

UMN Crookston offers more than 75 programs to choose from, including both on-campus and online options. Degree-seeking enrollment is comprised of 1100 online and 750 on-campus students. UMN Crookston serves the highest proportions of first-generation, Pell-eligible, and adult learner populations within the University of Minnesota system. As a part of its commitment to comprehensive equity and inclusion, UMN Crookston prides itself as a leading educational provider for college students from rural communities.

Leadership Qualities

UMN Crookston is looking for an effective, inclusive, action-oriented, creative, and collaborative leader to build on strengths, capitalize on opportunities, and take its portfolio of academic programs and operations to the next level. The ideal candidate will have a can-do work ethic and demonstrated capacity to scale up prior experience in engaging faculty, professional staff, and students in achieving measured results.

The Associate Vice Chancellor will have a strong commitment to enhancing collaboration and mutual respect, along with the ability to recruit outstanding new faculty as well as to retain and promote high-achieving current faculty.

The Position and the Leadership Opportunity

The Associate Vice Chancellor for Business, Arts, and Education is a compelling leadership opportunity that could serve as a stepping stone for an emergent leader who aspires to move on to a senior academic officer role at a small college or an academic dean position at a larger university. It could also serve as a landing spot for a seasoned academic leader who wishes to champion growth, development, and advancement of faculty, academic programs, and student success over an extended period of time or as the final chapter in their career.

The following are select opportunities for measured accomplishments to be achieved in the next five years.

* After receiving its 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission in 2025, UMN Crookston looks ahead to participating in development of the UMN strategic plan, Elevate Extraordinary. This process offers opportunities for strong academic leadership to assess and analyze current curriculum and support structures while generating innovative strategies for future growth and improvement.

* As a smaller regional public university, UMN Crookston depends on enrollment to fund program development and enhancement. A key opportunity for UMN Crookston is extending greater educational access by strengthening and expanding both dual-enrollment programs with local and regional high schools and dual-admission programs with nearby community, technical, and tribal colleges.

* UMN Crookston pioneered online degree programs at the turn of the 21st Century and continues to be the UMN System leader in serving non-traditional adult learners through online programs that are flexible and responsive to student needs. Eighty-seven percent of students in Business Department majors and more than half of those in HSSE Department majors complete their degrees online. Liberal education requirements, which are heavily supported by HSSE faculty and courses, can be completed through either in-person or online modalities.

Future growth for these programs in an increasingly competitive market will require continuous improvement in high-quality pedagogy, engagement with emerging technologies, as well as curriculum development and review.

* Since UMN Crookston became a four-year institution in 1993, baccalaureate…