Rutgers University-New Brunswick (Rutgers) seeks a visionary and equity-minded student affairs leader to serve as its assistant vice chancellor for student affairs – campus engagement and belonging. The anticipated start date is early summer 2023.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSTION
Reporting to the vice chancellor for student affairs, the assistant vice chancellor for student affairs – campus engagement and belonging (AVC) serves as a senior administrative officer in the division of student affairs. The AVC oversees innovative and transformative initiatives that help students feel welcomed, included, supported, valued, engaged, and celebrated through an evidence-based assessment model. The AVC is responsible for leading and assisting in implementing and evaluating programs, services, and activities related to the co-curricular experience including student engagement and success, leadership development, and student inclusion and belonging. They provide strategic leadership and collaborate with campus partners to allow students to examine new ideas and differing points of view, forge new relationships, discover their leadership potential, and connect their co-curricular experience to their academic discipline and post-graduation employment or education. The AVC serves as a member of the student affairs senior leadership team (SLT) and works collaboratively to help implement the division of student affairs mission, the divisional diversity strategic plan, and university initiatives related to the student experience.
The AVC provides direct supervision and leadership to the executive director of student centers and activities, the executive director of intercultural engagement and inclusion initiatives, and the director of fraternity and sorority affairs. Through these direct reports, this senior leader has oversight for the following departments: student centers and activities; fraternity and sorority affairs (over 80 recognized Greek chapters); and the cultural center collaborative, composed of four cultural centers (Asian American Cultural Center, Center for Latino Arts and Culture, Center for Social Education and LGBT Communities, and the Paul Robeson Cultural Center). The three functional areas have a combined budget of approximately $21 million.
QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
A master’s degree and ten years of progressive student affairs experience at the director level or higher are required; a terminal degree is preferred. The ideal candidate should be able to develop programs with a proclivity towards inclusion and community building. As such, they must be a strong student advocate and demonstrated servant leader with the ability to move organizational goals forward. The ability to work within a complex and diverse environment is necessary.
Additionally, campus stakeholders indicated that the assistant vice chancellor should be someone who can bring many of the following skills and qualities:
- High emotional intelligence
- A collaborative and collegial approach
- Genuine interest in being a thought partner with colleagues across the portfolio, division, and university
- Ability to thrive in the midst of the ambiguities of a newly created leadership role
- Passion for the complexity of the portfolio, balanced with a sense of humor
- Record of successful supervision of experienced, full-time staff
- Patience and persistence in advancing complex initiatives
- Substantive experience with resource management
- Record of success with integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals and commitments into operational and strategic initiatives
HISTORY OF THE POSITION
The assistant vice chancellor for student affairs – campus engagement and belonging is a newly created role on the Rutgers University-New Brunswick student affairs leadership team. This position was established as part of the division’s strategic planning efforts and in recognition of the national focus on engagement and belonging on college and university campuses. The successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to shape and advance this newly formed pillar within the student affairs division.
The campus engagement and belonging pillar will strategically align the talents and contributions of the cultural center collaborative, fraternity and sorority affairs, and student centers and activities. While the individual units within the portfolio are well-established, the AVC position is new and is launching in the context of a crucial and dynamic era in Rutgers’ history, including the arrival of a new president and chancellor/provost, a new academic master plan, and a new diversity strategic plan.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF THE ROLE
The new assistant vice chancellor will find a highly collegial and committed peer group in the student affairs senior leadership team who are prepared to support their new colleague. The AVC will join the Rutgers-New Brunswick community at a particularly exciting moment when the university is launching its new academic master plan and strategic diversity plan. At the same time, Rutgers-New Brunswick is a large organization with a complex bureaucracy and a five-campus structure that can initially feel confusing to a new leader. The new AVC will have to be intentional and strategic in their approach to familiarizing themselves to Rutgers’ administrative, technology, and physical infrastructure.
Within this context, the following are the key aspects of the role of the AVC in which the successful candidate will need to be prepared to lead, after a period of acclimatization and relationship building.
- The AVC will serve as a champion, thought leader, and visible advocate for the campus engagement and belonging pillar within student affairs, while also articulating a unifying vision for the work of the functions within the unit that is aligned with the divisional and university diversity, equity, and inclusion values and priorities.
- A key priority for the new AVC will be establishing trust and deeply collegial relationships with the vice chancellor and members of his senior leadership team by exemplifying high levels of integrity and emotional intelligence.
- The AVC will need to quickly familiarize themselves with the university and student affairs division’s DEI strategic plans; the divisional learning outcomes; and the current academic master planning process.
- Establishing rapport and highly supportive relationships with direct and indirect reports to the AVC, with a focus on identifying the key strengths of the existing team, will be a critical priority for the new assistant vice chancellor.
- Rutgers stakeholders were clear and consistent in their expectation that the AVC will exemplify a leadership style that values and supports relationship building and genuine collaboration.
- The AVC will craft a collaborative process to engage staff and faculty colleagues in defining and advancing high impact practices that will undergird student engagement and belonging initiatives at Rutgers.
- The AVC will partner with the fraternity and sorority affairs team to craft a proactive and forward-looking vision for Greek Life at Rutgers, and continue to advance and strengthen DEI initiatives within the entire Greek letter community.
- The AVC will be charged with developing a process to assess and strengthen the advising model for student groups at Rutgers.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
Soon after joining the Rutgers University-New Brunswick community, the successful candidate will work directly with the vice chancellor for student affairs to identify specific quantitative and qualitative measures of success, along with associated timetables.
In the short term, the AVC’s success will be measured by the degree to which they learn and are able to navigate the administrative and physical structure and complexities of Rutgers; build collaborative and authentic relationships with constituents across the division and the university; and earn the trust and respect of student affairs colleagues, students, faculty, and Rutgers senior leaders. In the longer term, the AVC’s success will be measured by the achievement of specific goals related to the development of an organizing framework for engagement and belonging, translating and integrating the divisional learning outcomes into the work of the student engagement and belonging pillar, and supporting and enhancing the student experience over the entire trajectory of their enrollment at Rutgers.
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDENT AFFAIRS CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT AND BELONGING PILLAR
The campus engagement and belonging at Rutgers University-New Brunswick includes over 50 full-time staff and more than 500 student employees, including graduate students, and comprises the following departments:
The Cultural Center Collaborative
Ji Lee, Executive Director of Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion Initiatives
Formalized in 2015, the cultural center collaborative is committed to supporting the needs of Rutgers’ campus communities by creating a welcoming and holistic learning environment for all members of the community, inclusive of all identities and allies. The Paul Robeson Cultural Center, the Center for Latino Arts and Culture, the Center for Social Justice Education & LGBT Communities, and the Asian American Cultural Center form the cultural center collaborative. While maintaining distinct and individual center identities, they are grounded in a shared belief that ending one oppression requires ending all oppressions.
Fraternity and Sorority Affairs
Joanne Arnholt, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs
Fraternities and sororities have been an integral part of Rutgers since 1845 and have nearly 3,000 members today. Fraternity and sorortiy affairs at Rutgers supports the university’s Greek community by effectively advising, educating, and training the leadership of the chapters and their general members. The recognized fraternities and sororities at Rutgers include 22 interfraternity council chapters, 30 multicultural greek council chapters, 11 panhellenic council chapters, and 11 professional fraternity council chapters.
Student Centers and Activities
Neela Patel, Executive Director of Student Centers and Activities
Student centers and activities is home to six student centers across Rutgers’ five New Brunswick campuses, as well as student involvement and leadership, meetings and event services, the esports center, student radio station and campus programs. The team is committed to providing positive interactions, robust programs, collaborative engagement opportunities, dynamic experiential learning, and vibrant venues for the Rutgers community.
Student involvement and leadership serves over 500 student organizations and their student leaders through advising, organizational development programs, and support services. Campus programs provides opportunities to create a vibrant community through annual events including Convocation and Carnivalé, the Involvement Fair, Geek Week, Senior Days, and more. A number of events for students are also organized by the university’s student-led programming board, Rutgers University Programming Association. Established in 2020 and the latest addition to the department’s functions, the esports center is a 2,700 square foot facility with 60 MSI gaming computers, 12 of which are equipped for players to play in national competitions.
OVERVIEW OF STUDENT AFFAIRS AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEW BRUNSWICK
Comprising 23 departments, over 1,000 staff members, and more than 2,300 student staff members, the student affairs division at Rutgers University-New Brunswick facilitates interactions among students, faculty, and staff members to promote students’ academic success and personal and professional development. Student affairs staff seek to help students succeed and thrive, while attending Rutgers and beyond. Divisional programs, services, and learning opportunities align with student affairs’ mission, vision, and core values, reflecting the tenets of the Knight’s Call, while using data to inform how programs and services evolve.
The four pillars of health and wellness, student life and advocacy, campus engagement and belonging, and administration and student services are central to the division’s organization, student development outcomes, and service delivery.
Salvador Mena, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Dr. Salvador Mena came to Rutgers in August 2014 as the associate vice chancellor for student affairs. In this role, he served as the deputy to the vice chancellor for student affairs and helped manage the division. Over the last 20 years, Mena has served college students at different institutional types, including both public and private colleges and universities. Prior to Rutgers, Mena served as an assistant vice president and dean of students at the City University of New York. He received his PhD in higher education, student affairs, and international education policy from the University of Maryland at College Park, a master’s degree in student development in higher education, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maine.
Nationally, Mena has been involved with several higher education professional organizations, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He is a regular presenter at national conferences and has published in the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. He also contributed a book chapter in Cultural Centers in Higher Education: Perspectives on Identity, Theory, and Practice.
INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW
Founded in 1766, Rutgers University-New Brunswick stands among America’s highest-ranked, most diverse public research universities. It is a member of the Association of American Universities and the Big Ten Academic Alliance. An academic, health, and research powerhouse and a university of opportunity, Rutgers is dedicated to teaching that meets the highest standards of excellence, conducting research that breaks new ground, and providing services, solutions, and clinical care that help individuals and the local, national, and global communities where they live. Today, more than 43,000 students attend Rutgers from over 120 countries, all 50 states, and all 21 New Jersey counties.
A distinguishing feature of Rutgers is the eclectic atmosphere across its five distinct campus centers: Busch Campus, College Avenue Campus, George H. Cook Campus, Douglass Campus, and Livingston Campus. Students enjoy a mix of engagement and leadership opportunities, eateries, housing, and study and academic spaces on each campus.
Mission
As one of the leading comprehensive public research universities in the nation, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has a threefold mission of:
- Providing for the instructional needs of New Jersey’s residents through its undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs
- Conducting innovative research that contributes to the medical, environmental, social, and cultural well-being of the state, as well as aiding the economy and the state’s businesses and industries
- Performing public service in support of the needs of the residents of the state and its local, county, and state governments
Institutional Leadership
Jonathan Holloway, President
Jonathan Holloway, a U.S. historian, took office as the 21st president of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, on July 1, 2020. He also serves as a university professor and distinguished professor.
Before accepting the university’s presidency, Holloway was provost at Northwestern University from 2017 to 2020 and a member of Yale University’s faculty from 1999 to 2017. At Yale, he served as dean of Yale College and the Edmund S. Morgan Professor of African American Studies, History, and American Studies.
Holloway’s scholarly work specializes in post-emancipation U.S. history, focusing on social and intellectual history. He serves on boards of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Universities Research Association, the Institute of International Education, and the Academic Leadership Institute. In 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy appointed him as one of four co-chairs of the state’s Wealth Disparity Task Force.
Francine Conway, Chancellor-Provost
Francine Conway, an internationally recognized child psychologist, was appointed the first chancellor-provost of Rutgers University–New Brunswick on July 1, 2021, which combines elements of the chancellor’s portfolio with those of the provost’s to establish a clear focus on academic excellence for students and faculty. She also serves as a distinguished professor.
Conway had served as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs since November 2020. As provost, she embraced a commitment to building a diverse and inclusive environment for faculty, staff, and students, including recruitment of faculty from underrepresented demographics and ensuring pathways to success for talented students from diverse and at-risk backgrounds.
Conway is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University and earned her doctoral degree from the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University, where she later served on the faculty for 13 years.
Chancellor-Provost Conways’s full biography
Fall 2022 Enrollment Statistics
Rutgers University Enrollment Fact book
Rutgers University Diversity Priorities
In January 2021, Rutgers announced five priorities that will guide the diversity strategic planning process at the university.
- Recruit, retain, and develop a diverse community
- Promote inclusive scholarship and teaching
- Define sustainable and substantive community engagement
- Build the capacity of leaders to create inclusive climates
- Develop an institutional infrastructure to drive change
Read more about Rutgers Forward, the university’s diversity strategic plan, here.
SALARY AND BENEFITS OVERVIEW
The anticipated hiring range is $160,000-$180,000 annually, commensurate with education and experience.
Rutgers was ranked number 64 of 500 employers—and is the top-ranked New Jersey-based employer—on Forbes’ 2023 list of America’s Best Large Employers. Rutgers’ commitment to its employees includes maintaining and fostering a safe, diverse, and respectful workplace environment; creating employment opportunities for the nation’s military veterans; and ensuring accessibility and accommodation for individuals with disabilities.
The university recognizes the importance of maintaining a comprehensive benefits program. To view the full benefits offered at Rutgers, click here.
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position please click on the Apply button, complete the brief application process, and upload your resume and position-specific cover letter. Nominations for this position and questions about the status of the search may be emailed to Michel R. Frendian, Senior Consultant, at mrf@spelmanjohnson.com. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895.
Rutgers University requires all prospective employees to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated and have received a booster (where eligible) against COVID-19 prior to commencement of employment unless the University has granted the individual a medical or religious exemption. Employees who are not eligible for a booster at the time of an offer of employment must provide proof they have received a booster upon eligibility and upload proof of same. Under Policy 100.3.1 Immunization Policy for Covered Individuals, if employment will commence during Flu Season, Rutgers University may require certain prospective employees to provide proof that they are vaccinated against Seasonal Influenza for the current Flu Season unless the University has granted the individual a medical or religious exemption. Additional infection control and safety policies may apply. Prospective employees should speak with their hiring manager to determine which policies apply to the role or position for which they are applying. Failure to provide proof of vaccination for any required vaccines or obtain a medical or religious exemption from the University will result in the rescission of a candidate’s offer of employment or disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Visit the Rutgers University Student Affairs website at https://studentaffairs.rutgers.edu/.
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