Position Summary

The Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (VPFA) will serve as a strategic partner and advisor to leadership on a broad range of faculty affairs, faculty development, and career advancement programs and initiatives. The VPFA has four primary domains of responsibility: Faculty Development & Career Advancement; Teaching & Learning; Faculty Relations; and Faculty Lifecycles. The VPFA has a significant impact on the University's intellectual life and academic future by working collaboratively to nurture a robust and engaged faculty culture while supporting research, teaching, and service. The VPFA will coordinate a wide range of resources for faculty – from recruitment to retention to retirement – to help faculty develop their careers and cultivate academic leadership. These university-wide issues involve participation across the academic divisions and colleges and as such fostering the support of the academic deans is central to the on-going positive impact on the academic experience of our students. This position requires a person of bold vision and passionate commitment; dedication to leading institutional change in the four primary domains of responsibility and institutionalizing VPFA efforts and focusing on strategic growth of the office; a strong communicator with a broad expertise in pedagogy and academic life; and a devotion to supporting faculty by promoting excellence and innovation in their academic careers.

Essential Functions

• Cultivates a high-quality and sustainable culture and practice of faculty development across all ranks and series of faculty by:
  • Developing and implementing university-wide faculty onboarding and mentoring support in collaboration with Human Resources & Inclusive Community (HRIC) as well as colleges, schools, and divisions.
  • Supporting faculty career progression, from new faculty orientation through faculty transition to retirement, including support and clarity around tenure and/or promotion.
  • Overseeing and providing strategic guidance to the director of the Office of Teaching and Learning to promote student learning; strengthen practices in teaching, course design, and assessment; plan and execute campus-wide initiatives aimed at improvements in teaching and learning, including policy and departmental practices.
  • Developing relevant faculty-administrator and faculty leadership training.
  • Convening, and as appropriate facilitating, regular meetings (e.g., on-boarding for chairs and directors, collaborating with the Chairs Advisory Board, and facilitating Faculty Affairs Associate Deans (FAAD) meetings).
  • Collaborating with vice provost colleagues to support faculty across teaching, research, and service.

• Works collaboratively with academic deans, chairs and directors, HRIC, the Ombuds, Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), Office of General Counsel (OGC), and The Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX (EOIX) to:
  • Support fair and consistent execution of university-wide processes of faculty recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, and appointments.
  • Serve as a campus resource for and assists the Provost and faculty on appointment, promotion, and tenure actions in addition to faculty sabbaticals, leaves, retirement, tenure relinquishment, grievances, and terminations.
  • Promote recruitment and retention of diverse faculty.
  • Provide resource referrals to offices across campus (e.g. Employee Assistance Program, ADA Coordinator, HRIC, etc.).
  • Collaborate with Institutional Research and Information Technology to advance approaches to faculty-related data collection, accuracy, and use.
  • Implement and sustains programs to recognize and honor faculty (e.g. promotion and tenure celebrations, YouRock! Awards, etc.).
  • Assist faculty on navigating challenging professional situations.

• Provides leadership and guidance over faculty personnel policies and policies related to faculty work by:
  • Supporting or leading on initiatives, as appropriate, to advance faculty interests (e.g. supporting Teaching and Professional Faculty, workload equity, COACHE faculty symposium working groups, etc.).
  • Representing the Provost in university governance groups on issues pertaining to faculty.
  • Working with Faculty Senate on the development of policies and procedures concerning faculty personnel issues.
  • Developing collaborative relationships with the Faculty Senate, academic leadership, and all faculty, including serving on or appointing a representative to committees and task forces.
  • Providing guidance on faculty personnel processes and policy interpretation.
  • Supporting hiring and appointment processes for all faculty lines.
• Monitors faculty relations including providing oversight of faculty satisfaction and engagement surveys.
• Leads Office of Faculty Affairs Operations
  • Oversees website development and communicates consistently with deans, chairs and directors, and all faculty through the VPFA newsletter and other communication forums.
  • Provides oversight and management of Office of Faculty Affairs budget.
  • Hires and supervises Office of Faculty Affairs staff and affiliated faculty including fellows.
  • Develops and utilizes evaluation to improve programs and practices.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated leadership skills with diverse, cross-functional teams
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Innovative, with a commitment to continual learning and understanding of inclusive and emerging pedagogies
• Thoughtful, able to manage and embrace ambiguity while promoting consistency
• Experience in building, leading, and sustaining collaborative teams that are proactive and follow timelines
• Change agent – demonstrated success leading change, shifting culture
• Superior skills in oral, written, and interpersonal communication
• Collaborative team player

Required Qualifications

• Current tenured full-time faculty position at the University of Denver

Preferred Qualifications

• Three (3) years of administrative experience within an academic unit including supervision of faculty and budget
• Demonstrated success in scholarly, research, or creative work and teaching excellence as a faculty member
• Experience working on DEI initiatives
• Demonstrated experience in faculty development and mentoring
• Demonstrated experience addressing faculty matters as they progress through the university lifecycle

Special Instructions
This is an internal search, open to all tenured full-time faculty at the university, with applications due by COB January 24, 2025. Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted. 

Compensation:

Compensation includes current faculty base salary, full course release (the academic unit will receive replacement of benefited visiting line), and an additional 12-month administrative stipend of $65,000.

The University of Denver has provided compensation information that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. CV
2. Cover Letter that addresses the following prompt: As you consider the four major areas of responsibility for this position, describe how your experiences have prepared you for the role, including how you would serve faculty across all ranks and series as well as across the faculty lifecycle, support teaching and learning, and foster a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University's educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; Equal Pay Act; Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Workers' Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.