Clark University - Vice President for Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Assistance

Clark University seeks a collaborative, transformative, and innovative leader to join the institution as vice president for undergraduate admissions and financial assistance (VP) and play a lead role in shaping the vision, direction, and success of this highly respected private, liberal arts-based research university.

Founded in 1887, in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University has thrived at the nexus of world-class teaching, boundary-pushing discovery, and creative invention, truly embodying the University’s motto, “Challenge Convention. Change Our World.” A student-centered institution, each year Clark educates approximately 2,400 undergraduate and 1,100 graduate students to be imaginative and contributing citizens of the world and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative effort. Included in the Colleges that Change Lives guide since it was first published in 1996, Clark has also been recognized for its diversity and inclusion efforts; innovation, community engagement and impact; as a top green campus; and for its distinguished geography, psychology, and media arts/game design schools.

This is an exciting time to lead undergraduate admissions and financial assistance at Clark. The first-year application pool has reached record levels, and in fall 2022, the University enrolled its largest-ever incoming class and increased the representation of BIPOC and first-generation students. Additionally, the VP will join a leadership team that is being shaped by distinguished alumnus and President David Fithian ’87, Ph.D., who took office in July 2020, at a time when the University is making strategic investments to chart a course for a future that is ambitious and inspiring.

Reporting to the president and overseeing both the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Financial Assistance, the next VP will play a critical role in President Fithian’s focus on amplifying Clark’s prominence and distinctiveness within the national higher education landscape. The VP will be charged with developing both immediate and long-term strategies to ensure enrollment goals are met, with a focus on continuing to enroll students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, optimizing financial aid and scholarships, opening new markets, and increasing the number of international students. Enhancing Clark’s profile to make the University a first-choice institution for students and their families; fostering collaboration and information sharing among campus stakeholders; cultivating a high-performing team and a culture of inclusion; and furthering the use of data analytics will also be key priorities for the VP.

The successful candidate will be an enrollment professional with a track record of innovation and creativity in delivering an enrollment program that achieves multiple goals within an expected timeline. The agility and inclination to advance complex projects and solve problems collaboratively, coupled with the willingness to act resourcefully and resolutely, will be important. The VP should be able to demonstrate success in recruiting and enrolling an academically strong and diverse student population and possess a high level of cultural competence with the knowledge and understanding of the historical dynamics that continue to disenfranchise people of certain backgrounds and identities. Patience, resilience, and tenacity, along with a liveliness of intellect, common sense, and outstanding judgment will be assets for the role.

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 the leadership profile. Professional references are not requested at this time.

WittKieffer is assisting Clark University in this search. Review of applications has begun and will continue until the position is filled.

Application materials should be submitted using the buttons below.

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:

Shelley Arakawa, J.D., Randi Miller and Jessica Cummings
ClarkVPAFA@wittkieffer.com

Clark University embraces equal opportunity as a core value: the University believes that cultivating an environment that embraces and promotes diversity is fundamental to the success of our students, its employees, and its community. This commitment applies to every aspect of education, services, and employment policies and practices at Clark. Clark’s commitment to diversity informs its efforts in recruitment, hiring, and retention. All positions at Clark share in the responsibility for building a community that values diversity and the uniqueness of others by exhibiting integrity and respect in interacting with all members of the Clark community to create an atmosphere of fairness and belonging. Clark strongly encourages members from historically underrepresented communities, inclusive of all women, to apply.