Eastern Washington University - Vice President for Student Affairs

Eastern Washington University (EWU or “Eastern”) seeks a visionary, forward-thinking and collaborative leader to serve as its next vice president for student affairs (VPSA).

Founded in 1882, Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney and Spokane, Washington, with over 150 areas of study in over 70 programs offered throughout the state and online. EWU provides high-quality student-centered education to a diverse population of over 10,300 students. Over one-third of the student population is first-generation university students and 34% of students are from historically underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. EWU’s campus is a driving force for the culture, economy and vitality of the Inland Northwest region, providing students a small-college-town, residential campus experience (1,300 beds) with high-quality experiential learning, exceptional faculty mentoring, and civic and community engagement opportunities for undergraduates and graduate students alike. With its main campus in Cheney, Eastern also offers programs in downtown Spokane’s “University District” at both the new Catalyst building (“South Landing”) and on the shared Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane campus. Additional programs exist throughout the state in partnership with community colleges in Bellevue and Everett. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the NCAA and is a member of the Big Sky Conference.

Reporting directly to President Shari McMahan, Eastern’s next vice president for student affairs will lead the student affairs division and collaborate with campus leaders to execute the university’s strategic planning and decision-making activities. Furthermore, the next VPSA will support the university’s commitment to student success by actively developing, implementing and maintaining programs that enrich student learning while building and maintaining a strong sense of community. The VPSA should also promote growth through engagement in the life of the university by working productively with internal and external constituents. Working with students, administration, faculty and staff, the VPSA will serve as an advocate for student learning in all dimensions of student life, have a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the campus community and value the educational experience offered by a public comprehensive regional university.

The incoming VPSA will be an energetic professional with the cultural competence, skill set, experience and knowledge required to lead Eastern’s Division of Student Affairs. The VPSA will demonstrate a deep and authentic commitment to students – particularly those who are first-generation college students from low-income and diverse backgrounds – and a genuine willingness to support their needs and success. Likewise, the VPSA should be highly committed to closing the achievement gap of underrepresented students and have demonstrated experience partnering with faculty and academic administrators to support these efforts. The next VPSA will have a personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; a successful track record in maximizing student involvement to enhance the quality of student learning; large-scale fiscal-management experience; strong experience in managing talented teams; and will possess deep knowledge about best practices in student affairs. A master’s degree is required, a doctorate is preferred.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume, a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile, a sexual misconduct disclosure form which is required by chapter 28B.112.080 RCW, and a diversity statement responding to the following prompt: Please describe how you will apply an approach that is supportive to the diverse needs, including universal access, of our students, faculty, staff, and the public.

WittKieffer is assisting Eastern Washington University in this search. For fullest consideration, application materials should be received by April 10, 2023.

Application materials should be submitted through WittKieffer’s candidate portal by using the buttons below. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:

Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D., Jen Meyers Pickard, Ph.D. and Julia Bradley at
EasternVPSA@wittkieffer.com

Compensation and Benefit Information
Compensation range: $190,000 to $230,000
Benefits: On top of salary, the university offers a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, life and disability insurance. Choice of retirement plans may include a choice between an employer and employee funded (403b) or a Washington state Department of Retirement Systems defined benefit and defined contribution plan. Employees also have additional options for voluntary savings. In addition, EWU offers generous vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays per year and fringe benefits, such as tuition waiver for employees, and free transportation through STA buses. For additional information regarding insurance benefits please see our Benefits page: https://inside.ewu.edu/hr/benefits/insurance/.

Eastern Washington University is committed to diversity and inclusivity. We recognize that our success is dependent on how well we value, engage, include, and utilize the rich diversity of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni. We believe that prejudice, oppression, and discrimination are detrimental to human development, and that a vibrant and diverse campus community enhances the learning environment of the populations that we serve. We are committed to treating all with dignity and respect, and to working collectively on an ongoing basis to build and maintain a community that understands, celebrates and promotes diversity, while promoting inclusivity at all levels.

EWU does not discriminate in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, genetic information, age, marital status, families with children, protected veteran or military status, HIV or hepatitis C, status as a mother breastfeeding her child, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability, as provided for and to the extent required by state and federal laws.

Applicants will be asked to complete an Employee Affirmative Action and Demographic Data Form. Information provided on this form may be subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56).

This position, during the course of university employment will be involved in the receipt of, or accountability for, university funds or other items of value; as well as the unsupervised access with the developmentally disabled, vulnerable adults or children under the age of 16. The offer of employment is contingent upon successful completion and passing of a background check prior to beginning employment.