Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Responsibilities of the Position

Reporting to the president, the vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion plays a pivotal role in actively championing a diverse, inclusive, and equitable learning, living, and working environment within the college. The incumbent will collaborate with senior leadership, staff, faculty, and students to foster a comprehensive and collaborative approach, integrating inclusion and equity practices into every effort, aspect, and level of the institution.

As the leader of the college’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, responsibilities encompass the supervision and mentorship of staff, providing a visionary direction for the office’s work. Close collaboration with senior staff is essential to ensure a coordinated and cohesive institutional approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion excellence, involving partnerships with various offices such as student life, human resources, and academic affairs.

The role extends to providing strategic leadership in implementing the College’s diversity, inclusion, and equity strategic plan, working closely with campus leaders and internal/external constituencies. Key to the role is a focus on recruitment efforts to enhance diversity among faculty, staff, and students.

In addition, the following responsibilities correspond to the job expectations of the vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion:

• Provide leadership and support capacity-building to execute critical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and programming.
• Collaborate with the Office of Development, which contributes to furthering the work of the college’s DEI efforts.
• Support grant writing to advance DEI efforts for the campus and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
• Regularly evaluate the college’s DEI efforts—design, administer, facilitate, and assess climate surveys, equity audits, and listening sessions.

Qualifications and Characteristics of the Successful Candidate

A terminal degree is preferred and a minimum of five years of combined leadership experience in diversity and inclusion is required. The ideal candidate for this role possesses extensive experience in supervising, managing, developing, and motivating a diverse team. They should demonstrate a strong alignment with and support for the mission of a selective liberal arts college. The successful candidate must exhibit proficiency in verbal, written, technical, fiscal, interpersonal, and collaborative skills, displaying confident leadership in matters pertaining to staff, training, budgeting, operations, and project assignments. Additionally, serious candidates should bring expertise in current national best practices, along with a track record of experience in strategic planning and implementation efforts.

Excellent communication skills are crucial, extending to interactions with diverse audiences such as students, faculty, staff, and external constituents. The ability to thrive under pressure, coupled with adept problem-solving and time-management skills, is essential, as is the competency to prioritize among the multiple and often competing needs of a dynamic office. Exceptional organizational prowess and superior judgment skills are required to execute the work with accuracy and meticulous attention to detail.

In addition to the qualifications stated above, key stakeholders identified the following capabilities and attributes of a successful candidate:

• Demonstrate a commitment to the College’s goals, mission, and values.
• Possess integrity, initiative, dependability, openness, a positive attitude, and a commitment to creating inclusive communities.
• Have a track record of successful personnel development and management skills, including leading teams and encouraging initiative, teamwork, collaboration, and creative/innovative thinking; experience working in a collective bargaining environment is preferred.
• Bring innovative and creative approaches to addressing issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and incorporate best practices and staying abreast of emerging trends in higher education.
• Exhibit the ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups and a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Able to motivate and empower staff to generate outstanding results.
• Demonstrate ability to develop strategic partnerships on and off campus and to oversee major projects from development through implementation.
• Possess emotional maturity, genuineness, self-confidence, common sense, sound judgment, fairness, creativity, discretion, decisiveness, political savvy, diplomacy, tact, resiliency, adaptability, and courage of convictions.
• Be student-centered, mission-driven, passionate, energetic, and enthusiastic, ready to move the institution forward.
• Have the capacity to utilize data to inform decision-making.
• Demonstrate patience and diplomacy with a broad array of constituents who have varying perspectives, maintaining the ability to be both firm and flexible.

Opportunities and Challenges of the Role

In transitioning to Centre College, the vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion will encounter the following opportunities, priorities, and challenges, as shared by key campus stakeholders:

• Centre College stakeholders seemed genuinely interested in participating in discussions about this position, and there was a sense of unity in support of identifying a competent and visionary individual who can promote and develop the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, set departmental priorities, and continue to boldly lead successful departmental and institutional initiatives into the future.
• The vice president will need to work broadly across the campus, and be collegial, thoughtful, student-focused, politically savvy, and see their role as a relationship builder with alumni, the board of trustees, and the Danville community. In addition to being a known entity to the campus, they must create and deliver strong strategic infrastructure for diversity, equity, and inclusion for the campus and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. 
• College stakeholders repeatedly noted that Centre College has an institutional culture that emphasizes a strong sense of teamwork, mutual support, accessibility, approachability, and a highly collaborative approach to work. The vice president will find a peer group and colleagues that are welcoming, promote open communication, emphasize an orientation toward service, and share a desire for a progressive and forward-thinking professional.
• Campus stakeholders are committed to the vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion and are dedicated to offering the best programs and services possible. The vice president should make it a priority to quickly get to know the campus stakeholders, learn their particular needs, develop trust and confidence across the board, ascertain the programs and services that they conduct, and be prepared to provide comprehensive professional support.
• The next vice president must also be a strong supervisor and oversee the ongoing development of a strong team.
• The vice president must possess a broad and deep understanding of national trends and best practices with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as hold an exemplary record of strong organizational and team development skills. The vice president should be an experienced, equity-minded leader capable of managing complex situations and possess an unwavering commitment to the well-being and support of students, faculty, and the campus community.
• The next vice president must continue to build support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students on the campus, and immediately begin to focus close attention on the needs of this community.
• The vice president must establish themselves as a strategic, innovative, and decisive leader who can quickly build rapport with a broad array of internal and external campus stakeholders. The vice president should conduct a “listening tour” to foster open communication, increased transparency, opportunities for feedback, and stakeholder involvement.

Measures of Success

The items listed below will define the new vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion’s success throughout the first year of employment:

• The vice president will have developed and maintained a proactive, highly visible, well-respected, and established leadership presence on and off campus that is credible, collegial, and highly effective.
• The vice president will have reviewed organizational strengths and weaknesses and will have outlined the strategic direction and long-term plan for the Office of Diversity of Inclusion consistent with the College’s mission and goals.
• The vice president will have assessed the skills and knowledge of the staff, developed a strong sense of teamwork among staff, and built working relationships that emphasize an engaging and collaborative work environment.
• The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be defined as a strong, high-functioning, well-regarded, and resilient team that works with synergy and shared purpose, readily collaborating across departmental and division lines with a demonstrated commitment to student success.

The Student Body

Total Enrollment: 1,320

Women: 52%

Men: 48%

White: 72%

African American: 6%

Asian: 4%

Hispanic: 7%

Two or more Races: 4%

Race Unknown: 2%

Mission Statement

Centre College’s mission is to prepare students for lives of learning, leadership, and service.

Diversity Statement

“As the body entrusted with the overall governance and stewardship of Centre College, the Board of Trustees pledges continuing efforts to build and strengthen a community enriched by the differences of its members and founded upon our common humanity. We also affirm that the values of diversity and inclusion are critical to the fulfillment of the mission of higher education in general, and Centre College in particular. To that end, we welcome into the Centre community individuals of different backgrounds, viewpoints, races, faith traditions, nationalities, sexual orientations, and experiences. These differences enrich our search for truth, our understanding of our fellow human beings, and make each of us more effective leaders and actors in this world. Because Centre honors the American ideals of access and social mobility through education, we are committed to not only welcoming into the Centre community persons who have traditionally been underrepresented, but also fostering their full participation in the community. Further, we are dedicated to creating a college community known for its honesty, strength, compassion, and commitment to the greater good.

We Trustees hold this to be true for all parts of the Centre community: The Board of Trustees, the faculty, the staff, and the student body. Pertaining to the Board of Trustees itself, we affirm that diversity and inclusion are critical to the Board’s effectiveness in leading the College. Thus, as the Board exercises its responsibility to select the best and the brightest individuals to serve as trustees, we recognize that diversity in its membership is an essential priority. In addition, the Board will endeavor to set policies, identify resources, and encourage sound practices designed to achieve diversity among the faculty, staff, and the student body.”

Application and Nomination

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 Quincy Martin III at qm3@spelmanjohnson.com or Julie Leos at jal@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.

The hiring salary range is $160,000-$180,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

 Visit the Centre College website at https://www.centre.edu/

 As a fundamental policy, Centre College hires and promotes its employees and admits its students on the basis of merit, qualification, and character and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or genetic information in the administration of any of its education or employment policies.

 

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