University of Washington Bothell (UW Bothell), a branch campus of the University of Washington, invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for its next director of counseling.

UW Bothell is a public university founded in 1990 to bring the University of Washington traditions of academic excellence to residents of the growing Puget Sound region. The campus is shared with a community college, Cascadia College, and sits atop a 128-acre plot of picturesque land overlooking protected wetlands and the Cascades beyond.

UW Bothell is known for providing a participatory student experience grounded in close relationships with faculty as researchers, teachers, and mentors and for the personalized support of staff who are dedicated to student success. The university is home to more than 6,000 students enrolled in more than 55 different graduate and undergraduate programs.

The Position

HISTORY OF THE POSITION

Dr. Tim Wilson, Dean of Student Affairs, has been with UW Bothell since 2018 and is the direct supervisor for the counseling center.

Former director Dr. Rosemary Simmons led the counseling center from 2014 until 2021 (7 years). Dr. Simmons was highly regarded throughout the campus community and credited with expanding the reach and impact of the counseling center throughout her tenure. In order to take the time necessary to evaluate future needs of the center, the university appointed an interim leader after Dr. Simmons’ departure. Bernie Hershberger, a former director of counseling and wellness services at Bowdoin College in Maine who recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest, served in this capacity from 2021 until June 2022. Beginning in June 2022, two internal members of the counseling center have served as interim co-directors.

While campus stakeholders have described Dr. Simmons’ departure as leaving “big shoes to fill,” divisional leadership sees the opportunity to build on the strengths of what has been established and look to the future under new departmental leadership.

ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR OF COUNSELING 

The director of counseling is the university’s chief mental health consultant regarding student development, needs, transitions, support, and success. Serving as a member of the Enrollment Management and Student Affairs (EMSA) leadership team, the director provides guidance, feedback, and consultation about programming and services to meet student success goals. The director is a member of the university CARE team and the bias support team and provides consultation, leadership, and direction on crisis response for the university.

The director exercises functional responsibility for the center’s daily operations, including providing clinical services, outreach, assessment, and training. Supervising five professional clinicians and overseeing an internship program, the director assures counseling services that support the university’s educational mission. The leader shapes and evaluates the accessibility and effectiveness of clinical operations and creates a long-term strategic vision for the center in collaboration with students, employees, and community members. The director and all Counseling Center staff are part of a network of services working together to enhance the health and well-being of students. Colleagues with whom the director regularly collaborates include those working in Prevention, Health & Wellness; Activities and Recreation; Residence Life; Campus Safety; UW Safe Campus; and Tri-Campus Counseling Centers (UW Seattle and UW Tacoma).

The director of counseling will maintain a hybrid work schedule. Primarily the director will work from a campus-based office, though there is flexibility for some remote work (up to one or two days per week) to be determined in consultation with the immediate supervisor.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF THE ROLE

The new director will be challenged with developing a staffing model that will meet the needs of the UW Bothell campus, both in the first year and into the next year when a large number of students will move into a new residence hall currently under construction. The leader will assess the counselor-to-student ratio and utilize other demographic information and best practices to determine the appropriate staffing model. Further, the leader will set priorities in terms of the availability of telehealth as an option so that students can choose between in-person or telehealth appointments.

The director will join a counseling center that has been stretched the last couple of years without a full-time, permanent director and that has experienced growing demands for mental health services throughout the campus population. In response, senior division officers have augmented the core counseling staff with term-appointed clinicians and recalibrated salaries to adjust for evolving market realities. The next leader will face a balancing act of building capacity in the center while supporting the needs of the clinicians so that campus mental health needs are met. The director must decide about re-starting the clinical training program within the first year.

As the staffing level and training program are evaluated and right-sized for the students and campus at UW Bothell, the director will responsibly engage senior leadership in discussions to ascertain sufficient space/facilities for staff and trainees in the future.

The new director will benefit from a supportive team of colleagues at UW Bothell and a group of counseling directors across the Tri-Campus. The Tri-Campus has also unified to make purchases, such as an app that provides after-hours support for students.

MEASURES OF SUCCESS

In the short term, the new leader will be expected to build relationships with students, staff, and faculty stakeholders, assess the center’s fiscal and human resources requirements, and integrate the center’s resources with the campus constituents’ demands.

The center will be fully staffed with institutional funding for all positions in three to five years, and a training program will return.* These success measures will add more capacity for student appointments, programs, and services.

*At present, some Counseling Center positions are funded through a combination of grant funding and student activity fees with the goal of shifting this funding model under the direction of the new director. The training program—for doctoral or master’s level clinicians—will be determined based on professional licensing regulations and center capacity.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

Minimum qualifications for this role require a master’s degree in counseling and licensure in Washington State or another U.S. jurisdiction with the ability to obtain Washington State licensure within six months of hire, with experience in college or university counseling centers, or private, community, or hospital settings. At least three years of experience as a licensed mental health provider with duties including individual and group therapy, outreach, supervision, and demonstration of increasing levels of responsibility and leadership is required. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to work in a diverse environment and strong interpersonal skills with evidence of a commitment to the ongoing development of multicultural competency and social justice. A track record of partnership and collaboration, working with other clinical and non-clinical services to promote health and well-being throughout a service population is essential.

Six or more years of experience as a licensed mental health provider with progressive responsibility including supervision is preferred. Other desired qualifications include experience in a leadership role as a counseling center director, clinical director, or training director; strong research and administrative management skills; and experience with electronic client record systems (e.g., Titanium).

Counseling Center stakeholders shared the following desired characteristics of the new director.

  • Expert in crisis management and hospitalizations
  • Experience with a behavioral intervention team (BIT)
  • Advocate for the counseling center
  • Strong communication skills with an ability to navigate conflict resolution effectively
  • Open to feedback, one who includes team members in major decisions
  • Strong leader with humility, kindness, and compassion
  • Can work well with a small, relational campus where goodwill is a currency
  • Open to creating policies, not just relying on prior policies, with an understanding of legal consequences
  • Power to follow through and get things done
  • Advocate for students who are looking for a more reciprocal relationship with the center
  • Ability to see the strengths of each team member with a desire to create opportunities for people to shine
  • Self-reflective and able to take responsibility for decisions and choices
  • Social justice lens and mindset
  • Multicultural competence

Campus stakeholders shared the following desired characteristics of the new director.

  • Responsive to faculty, ability to get students into appointments fairly quickly by providing enough counselors in the center
  • Trauma-informed, ability to work well with the sexual violence prevention team
  • Experience with diverse communities, including the LGBTQ population and students from cultural backgrounds that are not historically open to counseling
  • Collaborative with advisors and faculty
  • Interest in creating a culture of self-advocacy to empower students
  • Very confident and self-aware
  • Team player and thought partner with interest in a high degree of collaboration with the enrollment management and student affairs leadership team
  • Influencer–ability to influence decision-making
  • Experience with traditional-aged students
  • Interest in looking at current trends in higher education and applying that information to services for students at UW Bothell
  • Expertise in building/reimagining the capacity for support programs to accommodate students
  • Knowledge of various ways a counseling center can serve students that are not directly related to the psychologists

Institution & Location

OVERVIEW OF THE COUNSELING CENTER

The Counseling Center is the designated department at the University of Washington Bothell to provide mental health services to UW Bothell students. The role of the Counseling Center is to provide mental health-related services to facilitate students’ adjustment to college and their personal and psychological growth in becoming high functioning and socially responsible adults. The Counseling Center promotes student learning about their emotional and psychological development and increase academic success by positively impacting academic and personal decision-making. Counseling Center staff work to help students resolve problems that interfere with personal, social, and academic functioning while also emphasizing prevention, development, adjustment, and wellness.

Services

The Counseling Center is engaged in the delivery and assessment of a wide range of services.

  • Clinical Services: Same-day crisis appointments, intakes, individual counseling, group counseling, and couples counseling (delivered in-person, via phone, and/or Zoom sessions)
  • Outreach and Community Intervention: Workshops and skills-building classes to increase students’ knowledge, skills, and self-awareness to enhance their ability to cope with everyday life problems effectively
  • Consultation Services: Individual consultations for parents, faculty, and staff concerned about a student
  • Program Evaluation: Gather data regarding student service utilization, satisfaction with services, and learning outcomes to assess the effectiveness of counseling services and provide the data needed to make ongoing improvements to services
  • Self-Help Resources: Promoting the use of numerous smartphone apps and other web-based and library resources

Community Referrals

The role of the University of Washington Bothell Counseling Center is to provide brief mental health counseling and related services to help UW Bothell students make effective use of coping skills to address personal and emotional issues that may impede their academic and career success, developmental issues associated with life transitions and life purpose, and systemic and structural barriers which create health inequities for minoritized students. Services are available to eligible students whose concerns fall within the Counseling Center’s scope of practice. Those whose needs cannot be accommodated within the Counseling Center’s treatment model are referred to community resources for care. Such referrals may occur at the time of intake or after some treatment and a further assessment of need has taken place.

Clientele Served by UW Bothell Counseling Center

Clients are undergraduate and graduate students whose concerns range from adjustment reactions and acute situational stress to more severe trauma reactions and long-standing psychological problems. UW Bothell students are eligible for ten (10) sessions, and Cascadia students are eligible for six (6) sessions per academic year.

Approximately five percent of the UW Bothell student body received services at the Counseling Center in 2020-2021.

  • Sixty four percent of clients identified as female.
  • Thirty one percent of clients identified as male
  • Three and nine tenths percent of clients identified as transgender or preferred not to answer.
  • The average age of all clients was 23 years and nine months.
  • Sixty eight percent of clients identified as students of color.
  • Ten percent of clients were international students.
  • Twenty three percent of clients identified as first-generation college students.
  • Fifteen percent of clients indicated they were taking medication for psychological reasons.

The top five reasons for which students seek counseling:
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Depression
• Family concerns
• Academic concerns

Staff

The staff is friendly, dedicated, and committed to providing quality services to UW Bothell students. In addition to employing full-time staff, the Counseling Center has historically provided training opportunities to practicum and post-doctorate students. Staff members are experienced in brief and longer-term therapy, have diverse professional interests and involvements, and strive to model integrative theoretical approaches rather than a single theoretical orientation. Within these approaches, staff actively incorporate personal and cultural values and experiences that reflect each individual’s diversity to counseling and supervision.

  • Clinical staff (current)
    • Interim Co-Directors/Licensed Clinical Psychologists
      • Lilian Chen, PsyD
      • Summer Garcia, PhD
    • Counseling Psychologist
      • Teresa Hoffman (joining the Center in September 2022)
    • Licensed Mental Health Counselors
      • Ann Ellis, MS
      • Randy Scott, MAEd
    • Temporary Consulting Psychologist
      • Charisse Williams, Assistant Director/Counseling Psychologist, UW Seattle

All staff positions, including that of the director, are considered on-site members of the UW Bothell campus community. With the emergence of teletherapy options and recognizing the need for some degree of scheduling flexibility, there is an opportunity for the director of counseling, as well as other clinicians, to arrange for limited remote work on the approval of their immediate supervisor.

https://www.uwb.edu/studentaffairs/counseling/counseling-center-staff

OVERVIEW OF THE DIVISION OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AND STUDENT AFFAIRS

The Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs collaborates with students in providing services and opportunities which foster student engagement, holistic well-being, personal and professional development, leadership, and experiential learning.

The division is comprised of the following departments.

  • Activities & Recreation Center
  • Admissions
  • Career Services
  • Center for International Education
  • Counseling Center
  • Disability Resources
  • Health and Wellness Resource Center
  • Orientation & Transition Programs
  • Registrar
  • Residential Life
  • Student Conduct
  • Student Engagement & Activities
  • Veteran Services

Organizational Chart for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

LEADERSHIP FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AND STUDENT AFFAIRS

Scott James – Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

Dr. Scott James was named vice chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, a newly created position, on June 1, 2021. Dr. James was introduced to UW Bothell about five years before his appointment when he completed a fellowship under former Chancellor Yeigh.

He joined UW Bothell in the summer of 2020 to serve in an interim role leading Enrollment Management following the retirement of the former assistant vice chancellor, Steve Syverson. Before this, he served in high-level leadership roles at Salem State University, Harvard University, New Jersey City University, and other higher education institutions. He received a master of education in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University and a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University.

INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW

The University of Washington Bothell campus was established by the state legislature’s approval in 1989. With a founding faculty of just 12, the campus held its first classes in the fall of 1990 and graduated its first class of three students in 1991.

The University of Washington Bothell was created to bring the world-renowned University of Washington traditions of academic excellence to residents of the growing Puget Sound region. The campus—which is shared with Cascadia College—sits atop a 128-acre plot of picturesque land overlooking protected wetlands and the Cascades beyond. Once home to the 500-acre, purebred cattle Boone-Truly Ranch, the property was sold in 1995 to the state of Washington.

Although thoroughly modern, UW Bothell buildings were designed to complement the land’s natural beauty; they are environmentally friendly and are equipped with advanced technology for faculty and student use. UW Bothell received the American Institute of Architects 2002 Honor Award for Washington Architecture in recognition of the campus’s stunning architecture and landscaping.

The University of Washington Bothell is known for providing a participatory student experience grounded in close relationships with faculty as researchers, teachers, and mentors; and the personalized support of staff dedicated to student success. Faculty and staff have been recognized for innovations in academic programming and support services designed to help students graduate on time and debt-free. As part of its commitment to excellence, UW Bothell places particular value on diversity, community engagement, and sustainability. The campus is also distinguished by its focus on connected learning and cross-disciplinary research, scholarship, and creative practice.

As a unit of the University of Washington accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, UW Bothell is home to more than 6,000 students enrolled in more than 55 different graduate and undergraduate programs.

UW Bothell ranks No. 1 in the nation for public colleges that provide the greatest return on investment. SmartAsset, a New York-based financial technology company, ranked UW Bothell No. 2 on its list of Best Value Colleges in the state of Washington. CNBC ranks UW Bothell No. 1 among public colleges that ‘pay off the most’ – July 2020 – News – UW Bothell

Academic Programs

UW Bothell’s academic programs are distributed throughout its five schools:

  • School of Business
  • School of Educational Studies
  • School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
  • School of Nursing & Health Studies
  • School of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)

A full list of major and minor undergraduate programs is available here: https://www.uwb.edu/degrees

UW Bothell offers graduate degrees in business, education, nursing, policy, and engineering in collaboration with the nationally recognized University of Washington Graduate School.

Faculty and Staff

Headcount as of autumn 2021

Faculty: 369
Staff: 338

https://www.uwb.edu/about/facts/fast-facts-2021

The Student Body

As of autumn 2021, a total of 6,069 students were enrolled at UW Bothell:

Undergraduate Students: 5,472 (5,157 FTE*)
Graduate Students: 598 (519 FTE*)
*FTE=Full Time Equivalent

Student Diversity

American Native or Alaska Native: <1%
Asian: 33%
Black or African American: 8%
Hispanic or Latino: 10%
International (Student Visa) 7%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: <1%
Two or more races: 6%
White: 33%
Not indicated: 2%

In autumn 2021, 40 percent of incoming first-year students and 41 percent of new incoming transfers were the first to earn a four-year degree in their immediate families.

Twenty-eight (28) percent of incoming first-year students and 32 percent of new incoming transfers were eligible for federal Pell Grants.

More than 400 students at UW Bothell are eligible for veterans’ benefits.

Ninety-seven (97) percent of incoming first-year students and 83 percent of new incoming transfers in autumn 2021 came from Washington state.

MISSION, VISION, AND CORE VALUES

Mission Statement

UW Bothell holds the student-faculty relationship to be paramount. We provide access to excellence in higher education through innovative and creative curricula, interdisciplinary teaching and research, and a dynamic community of multicultural learning.

  • Serve college-age and established adult students and the community at large by providing access to a premier institution of higher education
  • Emphasize and develop critical thinking, writing, and information literacy to graduate students with lifelong learning skills
  • Actively recruit and support outstanding faculty scholars with a passion for communication
  • Build an inclusive and supportive community of learning and incorporate multicultural content and diverse perspectives on ethnic and racial groups, gender, sexual orientation, social class, and special needs
  • Encourage and support collaborative, interdisciplinary, and cross-program initiatives
  • Provide quality curricula by using the best educational technology in support of teaching and learning
  • Attract and support an internationally diverse student body and a nationally recognized faculty and staff
  • Create and support excellence in student services, academic services such as library, writing center, computing services, and physical facilities
  • Foster productive relationships with the employment community and promote a strong public service commitment

The University of Washington Bothell is committed to achieving this mission and promotes the ongoing review of our outcomes, organizational structures, and processes that support this mission and these goals.

Vision Statement

The University of Washington Bothell will be a transformational learning community. We will serve as a catalyst to enhance the quality of life throughout our region.

Our culture of learning, committed to disciplined inquiry and responsible service, will be woven into our organizational and operational life. We will be noted for discipline-bridging scholarship, valued in the community, and respected in the academy. Our success will attract a highly motivated and diverse student population and a faculty and staff of exceptional ability and dedication.

Core Values

Three principal values underlie UW Bothell’s identity and signature strength as an institution of higher learning. These core values are crucial to the realization of UW Bothell’s mission and to the fulfillment of its vision for the future:

  • Transformational Education

“We have an overriding commitment to providing our students with the best possible university education through challenging programs of study and innovative methods of instruction. We value engaging our students in transformational learning experiences that challenge their expectations, broaden their horizons, and stimulate their ambitions.

It is our goal to foster a passion for life-long learning, intellectual engagement, and respectful appreciation for others’ perspectives.”

  • • Engaged Scholarship

“As scholars and learners, we embrace scholarship that is innovative and rigorous. We encourage intellectual contributions that transcend the boundaries of conventional disciplines and enhance the education of our students.

Our scholarship contributes to our region’s dynamic economy and enhances the lives of its people. Awareness of and involvement in our community keeps us open, responsive, and responsible.”

  • Inclusive Culture

“Our diverse community promotes understanding and collaboration across disciplines, cultures, and beliefs. All students, staff, and faculty are both learners and teachers mutually engaged in a collective effort.

Our entrepreneurial history has taught us that flexibility, responsiveness to change, and respect for multiple viewpoints are essential organizational capabilities. These principles will continue to guide our governance and commitment to the welfare of the whole.”

UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC PLAN

Charged by former Chancellor Wolf Yeigh, a campus committee composed of students, staff, and faculty prompted the campus and regional stakeholders during 2018-2019 to define the campus’ aspirational state. The three priorities of Diversity and Inclusion, Community and Campus Engagement, and Cross-Disciplinary Teaching and Scholarship, represent the integration of these diverse points of view.

The strategic plan is inspired by a belief that students, staff, and faculty should collectively and individually explore and address complex social and environmental problems. It celebrates the possibility of collective experience and the conviction that collaborative action can positively impact the UW Bothell community.

Additional information regarding the current strategic plan: https://www.uwb.edu/chancellor/strategic-plan

INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP

Kristin Esterberg – Chancellor

Dr. Kristin Esterberg is UW Bothell’s fourth chancellor. She joined UW Bothell on October 1, 2021.

Prior to joining UW Bothell, Esterberg was president of the State University of New York at Potsdam, which is one of America’s first 50 colleges and the oldest institution in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. At SUNY Potsdam, she demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and focused her leadership efforts on developing inclusive campus communities and providing transformational experiences to all students, including faculty-led research, service learning, internships, and study abroad. Among her accomplishments is the successful completion of a $33.5 million fundraising campaign and securing the largest gift in campus history—$5.25 million—in support of applied learning.

Prior to her term as SUNY Potsdam president, which began in 2014, Esterberg served as provost and academic vice president at Salem State University in Massachusetts and as deputy provost at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research has centered on gender and sexuality, social identities, research methodology, and social organization and change.

Esterberg earned her master’s degree and a doctorate in sociology from Cornell University and her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Boston University.

Chancellors senior leadership team

  • Sharon A. Jones, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
  • Gowri Shankar, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Planning & Administration
  • Rebecca Ehrlichman Blume, MPA, Vice Chancellor for Advancement & External Relations
  • Scott James, EdD, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

Benefits Overview

BENEFITS OVERVIEW

The University of Washington provides excellent benefits, including a variety of health plan options, generous retirement plans, life insurance, and long-term disability coverage.

The Washington State Employee Tuition Exemption Program is another valuable benefit offered to UW employees. For eligible staff and faculty, this state program covers about six credits per term (quarter or semester) for classes taken at the UW or other participating state, community, and technical colleges.

The successful candidate in the director of counseling search will be eligible for a relocation bonus up to 25 percent of base salary, provided that they must move more than 50 miles to join the UW Bothell campus.

Detailed information regarding employee benefits is available here:

https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/
https://hr.uw.edu/pod/overview/tuition-exemption/

Application & Nomination

APPLICATION AND NOMINATION

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. A resume with an accompanying cover letter may be submitted via the Spelman Johnson website at www.spelmanjohnson.com/open-positions. Nominations for this position may be emailed to Valerie Szymkowicz at vbs@spelmanjohnson.com. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895 or email info@spelmanjohnson.com.

Visit the University of Washington Bothell website at www.uwb.edu.

Diversity and Inclusion are core values and priorities of the University of Washington Bothell. Our work begins with the acceptance and celebration of the differences that are represented through the many diverse and minoritized communities on our campus and in the surrounding community. We recognize that we are bound together in a collective experience and that our actions impact all in our community. When we focus on the lives of the most marginalized groups among us, we also create conditions of equity, justice, and academic excellence for everyone.

As embodied in our Diversity Action Plan, we are engaged in an ongoing process of identifying and confronting the ways in which institutional and interpersonal discrimination inhibits the lives and education of our students, staff, and faculty.

Spelman Johnson has prepared this document based on personal interviews and information copied, compiled, or quoted in part from source documents obtained from our client, and as such, the contents of this document are believed to be reliable. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, the original source documents and factual situations govern, and the limited material presented here should be relied upon for informational purposes only.

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