Executive Vice President and Provost

Executive Vice President and Provost (Provost)

Virginia Commonwealth University seeks an inaugural Executive Vice President and Provost (Provost). Reporting to the president, the Executive Vice President and Provost serves as the university's chief academic officer with oversight of the core university functions, including academic affairs, faculty affairs, student affairs, strategic enrollment management, and student success. The provost is the second-ranking executive officer at VCU and serves as the president's partner in the articulation and execution of a compelling vision that builds on a history of excellence and access in higher education and further propels VCU's upward trajectory of impactful, interdisciplinary research and innovation.

The provost partners closely with the president, the senior vice president for Finance and Administration and CFO, the senior vice president for Health Sciences and CEO of the VCU Health System, and other executive officers of the university in formulating the goals, priorities, and policies of the institution. They will be a compelling leader ready to meet VCU's aspirations, lead our exceptional academic leadership team, and champion success and opportunity as a catalyst for institutional excellence and societal progress.

The provost works closely with the deans of VCU's 17 colleges, schools, and libraries to oversee and support their objectives and operations related to faculty affairs, research, scholarship, and teaching, and facilitates collaborative efforts between the schools to support institutional priorities. Additionally, the provost oversees the following senior and vice provosts and officers:

• Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success
• Vice President for Student Affairs
• Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
• Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
• Senior Vice Provost for Academic Administration and Operations
• Vice Provost for Global Initiatives
• Vice Provost for Innovation and Strategic Design
• Associate Vice Provost for Institutional Research and Decision Support
• Vice Provost for Community Engagement
• Executive Assistant to the Provost

The most successful candidates will have the skills and experiences that enable them to provide innovative and collaborative leadership to advance an engaged and rising university whose core mission is to serve, along with its academic health sciences center, as one national urban public research institution committed to the success and well-being of its students, patients, faculty, staff, and community.

The ideal candidate will be a highly accomplished academic leader, hold an earned terminal degree, and bring a distinguished academic record that merits appointment as a tenured full professor  addition, the individual must have significant administrative experience appropriate to the size and complexity of VCU and, preferably, an understanding of the health sciences in a large academic medical center.

All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in leadership profile. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by February 9, 2026.

Application materials should be submitted using Witt Kieffer's candidate portal.

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:
Zachary

A. Smith, Ph.D., Sandra Chu, and Julia Bradley

Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to providing accessible and equitable living, learning and working environments free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), political affiliation, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or disability.